Blog Tour: The Sense of Touch by Ron Parsons

Collection of short stories
252p.
Publisher: Aqueous Books
Available Now
Source: From TLC Book Tours for Review

Sprung from the variously lush, rugged, and frozen emotional landscapes of the north country, this luminous collection of stories captures the progress of a diverse ensemble of souls as they struggle to uncover themselves and negotiate a meaningful communion, of any kind, with the world around them. A brilliant but troubled Bangladeshi physics student searches for balance, acceptance, and his own extraordinary destiny after his father disappears. When a Halloween blizzard immobilizes Minneapolis, a young woman is forced to confront the snow-bound nature of her own relationships and emotions. During an excursion to an idyllic swimming hole hidden in the Black Hills, two old friends unexpectedly compete for the affections of an irresistible, though married, Lakota woman. Like a mythical expedition to reach the horizon or the quest to distill truth from the beauty around us, the revelation confirmed by these imaginative stories - elegant, sometimes jarring, always wonderfully absurd - is that the very act of reaching is itself a form of touch.

My thoughts:
I wanted to review this one mostly because of the diversity of people within these pages. When so many stories seem homogenous, I wanted to read something a bit different. This one did have what I was looking for and like all good short stories, some won me over and some didn't quite make it. However, I still enjoyed myself within these pages.

I have to admit that the first tale I did dnf. The story was going good until there was a bit about harming a pigeon. I have gotten to the point where I will automatically dnf anything where an animal is abused to death. I just can't do it no matter the reason. I did think that it was just that story, so I had no problems reading the rest of the book.

The other stories are more like character explorations. Exploring a small part of their life and sometimes to making a decision. We don't get to know how it turns out, but then that wasn't the point of the story. There is also the story that has the same title as the book. It becomes more philosophical and then seems to meander on different themes. While this may bug some people, others will see it for what it is.. a creative exploration.

I recommend this book to anyone wanting something different. The short stories in itself can be used as a good palate cleanser while you are in between books. It can also just be something to let your mind explore.