Little Things

“Little Things” is an alternative title. First published in 1981 in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver’s short story “Popular Mechanics” was republished in 1988 under the title “Little Things” in the short story collection Where I’m Calling From: New and Selected Stories. The story was originally named “Mine”, and it was published under this title in the 2008 Beginners short story collection, the manuscript version of the What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection.

The title of “Little Things” seems to refer directly to the baby the separating couple in the story fight over. While they both seem to be parenting the baby, the couple see him or her as a commodity when they separate. The story suggests they treat the baby as a personal good and disregar...