"A Conversation with My Father" is Paley's most critically discussed work, perhaps because it is also her most overtly metafictional one. When it was first published in 1972, critics hailed it as one of the best stones about storytelling ever, since it is a story which reflects the complexities of life through the complexities of fiction. It has also been commended for its articulation of feminist themes.

The question of Paley's relationship to her characters has been a matter of critical debate. The disclaimer at the beginning of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute states that "Everyone in diis book is imagined into life except the father. No matter what story he has to live in, he's my father, I. Goodside, M.D , artist, and storyteller." This statement leads one to assume that the unnamed narrator is Paley herself. Further proof is Paley's discussion elsewhere about visiting...