Title: A Montage of a Mauve Reality: A Collection of Unusual Short Stories
Author: Thomas James Taylor
Publisher: XlibrisAU
ASIN: B07QNBFC8R
Pages: 268
Genre: Short Story Collection
Reviewed by: Thomas Macolino
Pacific Book Review
A Montage of a Mauve Reality by Thomas James Taylor is an exercise in wonderfully competent writing. It is impossible to give a complete overview of each one of Taylor’s collection of nineteen stories. It covers such a broad range of subjects that, alliteration aside, it is perhaps more fit to call it an agglomeration rather than a montage. If I were to pick a central theme for the collection, however, I would say that Mauve Reality does a credible job exploring the nature of perception and how it affects reality. While it may be a true that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, does the beauty of the rose matter if it only exists in the dream of a comatose patient?
This books strongest asset is indisputably its word-painting. Taylor writes like an oil painter with a page for a canvas, slathering colorful imagery across in the page in heavy, broad sentence-strokes. And like a painting, these stories are not meant to be absorbed at a glance. The pace of each story is slow, deliberate, requiring the reader to sit and admire the craft that went into it. Any logophiles will enjoy Taylor’s broad use of vocabulary, which provide the paint for Taylor’s vivid work.
Even though it is impossible to describe every story, as a reviewer it feels disingenuous to write a review without mentioning any of them. I will discuss the two I personally found the most notable here, there will be some small spoilers, so if that bothers you, skip to the following paragraph. The final story in the collection, “Somewhere to Call Home,” was not unique in substance or craft, but it is the only short story I’ve ever seen that ends with a “…to be continued.” Leaving a rather unsatisfying ending to a collection that deserved better. Next I would recommend my personal favorite, “Bastards.” I found the themes of this story particularly fascinating because it captures the fears of a very specific subsection of the population: amateur writers. This story takes a fear that many first-time writers have—having their unique idea stolen by a publishing professional with better connections—and takes it to the extreme. It also has, in my opinion, the best ending of the collection.
A Montage of a Mauve Reality can sometimes drift a little into the pretentious, but on the whole, Taylor’s collection is enjoyable, well-written, and well-executed. If you’re the sort who likes to sit down for a half hour every now and then and read a lovely piece of wordcraft, this is definitely a worthwhile purchase.
