STORYTELLING

A unique scrapbook of ideas and observations that redefines what it means to tell a story.

Colon-Jones’ debut collection of stories is an experimental work that expands the usual limitations of fiction. Each story defies the rules of writing and presents separate but linked vignettes that examine seemingly ordinary jobs. The collection begins with “The Artist”; it lists the tools the artist uses and includes brief paragraphs of scenes with details about the completion time for a project and working with an art gallery’s museum director. Through this unique style of exposition, Colon-Jones portrays the artist’s physical and emotional reality of trying to succeed. “The Businesswoman” follows a similar format. The story outlines a woman’s actions as she boards a plane to Paris and lists what she must remember to bring—perfume, gels, creams—and the order in which she unpacks her bags upon arriving at the hotel. The collection contains similar lists and brief scenes that describe various professions—a psychologist, a photographer and a teacher. The intriguing tale about the psychologist lists a series of terms such as “psychodrama” and “psychosocial,” defining them and then illustrating psychology in action with three brief scenes. The author illustrates several other professions, highlighting every working person as a composite of universal parts who brings his or her own approach to the task at hand. The economical scenes quickly and vividly outline a life, sometimes via a list of simple, everyday objects, such as paintbrushes or paint. Readers may experience a “remystification” of the familiar; suddenly even the most mundane of jobs takes on a new, deep meaning, and the realization that there is a human being behind the title will become all the more profound. The collection has something for everyone, and its unusual method of storytelling pays homage to the contributions of all workers.

A progressive, postmodern collection of vignettes that celebrate the personalities behind occupations.