Raymond Carver's seminal collection, 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,' is a masterclass in minimalist fiction. It explores the complexities and failures of human connection, particularly love, through the stark, unadorned lives of its characters. Carver's spare prose and ambiguous endings force readers to confront uncomfortable truths about communication, intimacy, and the often-unspoken desperations of modern life, making it a cornerstone of 20th-century American literature.