It’s been quite an experience reading this anthology. I’ve learned so much in watching Peter Taylor skillfully focus and bring out the innermost personality of his characters while weaving a setting that grounds the players together in an American South that is still reacting to the supposed liberation brought by the Civil War. Yet there is still a war of sorts going on as society attempts to adjust to not only racial but gender bias that is just beneath the surface.
I’ve already written much about Taylor’s use of narrator, trustworthy or unreliable though he/she may be, and his intense work in allowing the reader to form opinions about the narrator and what is going on. The stories aren’t usually featuring a major event that changes lives, but rather a normal situation that brings out the deeper feelings of the characters.
I’m ordering Taylor’s A Summons to Memphis, to see how he handles a longer narrative. I’m also planning on reading more of Taylor’s short stories and see what else I can hope to learn.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology