They're Not Your Husband

'They're not your husband' tells the story of Earl and Doreen's tragic and hopeless marriage. Earl is an unemployed, cynical and pitiful man who is obsessed with how his wife looks to other people and treats her like a worthless piece of dirt. Earl starts this controlling act after two men at the coffee shop where Doreen work, witness her "rumpled and gray and a little hairy" thighs and joke about how "some jokers like their quim fat". He insensitively damands Doreen "lose a few pounds" and throughout her weightloss incessantly records her weight.

Doreen ignores her husbands incompetency and listens to his selfish requests. When she breaks her fasting diet, Earl calls her a "slob" and tells her to "Go ahead, eat! Go on!". Earl treats Doreen with no respect and trys to hide his own insecurities and patheticness by alienating his wife.

Raymond Carver writes with little description, besides one of  Doreen. Each of his sentences are to the point and are hardly emotive.

I didn't really enjoy this story and the disrespect and rudeness Earl treats his wife with anger and frustrate me. I also did not appreciate the bland ending.