《当我们谈论爱情时我们在谈论什么》于1981年4月出版时，美国传统的现实主义写作正处于萎靡不振的状态，取而代之的是各类试验性的后现代写作，小说流派多到了令人眼花缭乱的地步，如“超小说”、“非虚构小说”、“自省小说”和“寓言小说”等等。同时，短篇小说集的销售极为窘迫，即使是名家的短篇小说集，也只能卖出去几千本。
卡佛的这本短篇小说集如同一针强心剂，为美国短篇小说写作注入了新的生命，对美国现实主义写作传统的复苏起到了决定性的作用。小说集里篇幅不长的十七篇小说也使当时名不见经传的卡佛成了一个备受瞩目的小说家，并为他赢得了“美国的契诃夫”这一称号。文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
《当我们谈论爱情时我们在谈论什么》出版后，效仿者趋之若鹜，卡佛成了美国继海明威之后受到模仿最多的作家。那一时期美国文学杂志经常收到被编辑戏称为“卡佛式小说”的投稿。《时尚先生》Esquire)曾开出一个现代人必读的书列(共75本)，《当我们谈论爱情时我们在谈论什么》就名列其中。文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
A Vintage Shorts “Short Story Month” Selection文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
From one of the most celebrated short-story writers in American literature, the story that launched a thousand homages, in word and film—a haunting meditation on love and companionship, and finding one’s way through the dark.文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” is included here with its unedited version, “Beginners,” which was originally submitted to Carver’s editor, Gordon Lish. In this eShort, readers can compare both versions of this iconic work of fiction, gaining insight into Carver’s aesthetic and the foundations of the contemporary American short story.文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html文章源自：力哥爱英语（ienglish521.com）力哥爱英语-https://ienglish521.com/1965.html
