Summary

The short story “So Much Water So Close to Home” by Raymond Carver begins with Claire, the narrator, describing her husband, Stuart, who is eating lunch. Claire thinks Stuart is on edge. The telephone rings, and Claire answers it, although Stuart tells her not to. Afterwards, Claire deliberately breaks the dishes.

The story reveals that Claire is tense around Stuart, who has returned from a fishing trip with his three friends. Before camping, the four men discovered a girl’s dead body, but did not immediately report her death to the police. Instead, the men continued their fishing trip and enjoyed their time together near the girl’s body. At the end of the fishing trip, Stuart eventually reports the girl’s death to the police and, upon returning home, he is intimate with his wife. It ...