Call it What You Want

Overall, this was an extremely provocative collection of short-stories. The underlying theme is the goals and dreams that we set for ourselves and how we can be both confined and freed by them. The way that Morris plays with dreams – both too lofty and not lofty enough – being captors of the dreamer was a unique take to me, and one I found very compelling.

Many of the stories share features in common aside from the theme: a male, disaffected main character with a distant relationship with his wife and/or kids, a fugue of some sort and occasionally surreal elements. In my opinion, where Morris really soars is his most mundane stories. My favorite in the collection, Camel Light, is merely about a man finding a cigarette in his kitchen. But Morris' honest take on the thought process and the minute ways we fail ourselves was so poignant and truthful. The most surreal stories are also excellent – some, such as Tired Heart and Cyclist, which start out mundane, but slide increasingly into surrealism are captivating and the theme shines in them. Rockier are some of the stories in the middle, both physically in the middle of the book and in the middle such that they are neither truly realistic, in the most mundane sense, nor fantastical.

By far, the majority of the stories are readable, an interesting and novel take on the theme of dreams and goals and beautifully written.