What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

On the surface, the story appears to be nothing more than four friends sitting around a table, chatting. Although Nick is the narrator, he barely speaks, and the reader learns next to nothing about him. Instead, he presents the events of the afternoon, which center on Mel and Terri’s macabre anecdotes about love. Nick is an impartial observer; he does not make any specific judgments or comments. The banal plot is an example of Carver’s literary style, where he provides a “slice of life,” almost as if the reader is voyeuristically watching people go about their ordinary routines. There is no action or change of setting, and the story is predominantly dialogue, apart from a few descriptions by Nick about the changing light or the characters’ behavior. The story’s ending is an example of ambiguity because there is no clear resolution. Instead, Carver’s use of subtext allows readers to think more deeply about the nature of communication and love. Through the principal character of Mel McGinnis, Carver thematically explores The Inability to Define Love and how Talking About Love Is Ineffectual.