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 where he had returned home. Though Taftly descends from a storied line of Southerners, his father has long ago vanished and his mother died. 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 wants what any pathetically noble creature deserves: to love and be loved. Instead, he 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 the 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.
Signed First Edition
