THE TOTAL VIEW OF TAFTLY
A Novel
Scott Morris | Author
$18.95NOW $4.95 hardcover
- 224 pages | hardcover
- 1-892514-70-2
- Fiction
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“Consider it nitrous oxide with a side of grits.”—National Review
the book
When we first meet Taftly Harper he is happily ensconced in the boozy Copiah Harper Tavern, an establishment named after his granddaddy, in bucolic Copiah Springs. Though Taftly descends from a storied line of Southerners, his father has long ago vanished and his mother is dead. Left to his own devices, Taftly seeks an adventurous and heroic existence for himself: a life of honor with an occasional splash of splendor. Our newly svelte Taftly foremost wants what any pathetically noble creature deserves: to love and be loved. Instead, he finds and loses love, gets assaulted-almost raped-by the obscenely obese Clydesdale twins, pestered by a fanny pack-wearing, body-building, alien-abducted sidekick; and tormented by the memories of his mother. From peaks of ingenious hilarity to valleys of soul-searching depth, debut novelist Scott Morris has created a character cynical enough to be genuine and ridiculous enough to be loveable. Taftly's saga is not soon forgotten and, through him, we are forced to explore our own position in the world whereby we are left with a rare glimpse of the "Total View" or how to wrench grace and triumph from an otherwise barren and plotless world.
the author
Scott Morris studied philosophy at Oxford University and is a graduate of the University of Mississippi. In addition to work as editor for The Weekly Standard and The Oxford American, he boasts a varied past as fisherman, grape-picker in Provence, pizza deliverer, and orange grove tractor operator. He has reviewed books for numerous publications including the Washington City Paper and the Washington Post Book World. This is his first novel.
the praise
"On its own, The Total View of Taftly is eloquent, penetrating, and very funny. But besides that, it is quite possibly a harbinger of even greater things."—Mark Smirnoff, Oxford American
"Morris's courtly eloquence reminds me of an Allan Gurganus; his pure, pitch-perfect dialogue reminds me of Mark Twain."—Los Angeles Times
"Consider it nitrous oxide with a side of grits."—National Review