Pauls, the debut short-story collection by the exciting young writer Jess Taylor, is about people: the things that remain unseen to them; how they cope with their unforgettable pasts; the different roles they take in each other’s lives; how they hurt each other; how they try to heal each other; the things they want to learn; and the things they'll never discover. At the same time, Pauls is a portrayal of the world as these people see it — they all exist in a universe that is strange and indifferent to those within it. Coincidences, relationships, conversations, and friendships all pose more questions than answers.
With a unique tone that balances humour, irony, and heavy themes, this series of interconnected stories has already garnered attention from awards' panels, with the title story winning Gold at the 2013 National Magazine Awards. Its contemporary tone and playful language offer an enjoyable read for people who like lively short fiction that focuses attention on themes of identity, relationships, and love.
Praise for Pauls:
“A magical and penetrating collection of strange, mundane, traumatized and ecstatic people who are all named Paul. Its simple sentences are little atoms of wonder.” —Heather O’Neill, author of The Girl Who Was Saturday Night and Lullabies for Little Criminals
“Reading a Jess Taylor story is like planting a magic bean and watching, with a flashlight, as it grows overnight into something you’ve never seen before. But then you climb up the stalk of the story and look around and realize there is no magic at all, at least, nothing un-real. These are true stories, illuminated with the wisdom of Flannery O'Connor and the wild leaping logic of Hans Christian Andersen.” &mdashMichael Winter, author of Minister Without Portfolio and Into the Blizzard: Walking the Fields of the Newfoundland Dead
"I read Jess Taylor’s debut with a kind of childlike enthusiasm. As a writer, she’s thoughtful, compassionate, imaginative and intellectually curious. Her stories tend to establish themselves slowly, like a storm moving in, and they always revolve around a strong emotional centre that pulls you in, some sort of gravity. Don’t resist." —Guillaume Morissette, author of New Tab
Authors
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2015.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- C813/.6
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Short stories Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781771661706 9781771661683
- LCCN
- PR9199.4.T29567
- LCCN Item number
- P38 2015eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (192 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00236162 (OCoLC)919014300 (CaOOCEL)450771
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- For Mom Dad 6
- Paul 10
- A Comprehensive List of Pauls 14
- To Kill A Mockingbird 15
- Claires Fine 22
- Sorry to hear about your rape. 25
- We Want Impossible Things 42
- Youre making a bad decision again. Youre provoking him 49
- If this is a baby if shes really alive then I should be able to go to his house How romantic 49
- Ive got work to do. Dont bother me at home. 50
- Breakfast Curry 54
- Multicoloured Lights 70
- Last night at the club Paulina went missing and it turns out something bad happened to her and I cant believe we lost track of each other and I should have 74
- I need to escape. If I am naked I am more likely to be attacked. I cant escape that way. 84
- No youre not. I am. 86
- Wishweeds 88
- And We Spin Like Records and We Climb Like Trees 98
- Below the Spoon-Tree 110
- The Letters 122
- Too gentle 135
- Degenerate 136
- Youre mine. 146
- You know who you love Kayla and he needs you 154
- Acknowledgments 190
- Colophon 193