Book Reviews
Pastiche:
An
Essayist
in
Search
of
a
Theme
by
Daniel
Paul
Thomas
Essays
in
anticipation
of
a
new
day
while
savoring
the
flavor
of
the
moment
Pastiche is the French version of the Greco-Roman dish pasticcio which is made from a variety of ingredients, primarily cheese, noodles and béchamel. The word can also imply a hodgepodge of various ingredients creating the whole. Similarly, my essays reflect a medley of information, ideas, and experience consolidated to create a single book.
I favor the concept because it allows me to write about a range of people, places, and things that interest me without binding me to a particular story line. It also allows me to create a relationship with my readers, a dialog, by sharing thoughts, memories, desires, and whimsies in a frank, conversational manner.
I frequently visit the past, a retrospective glance which comes naturally to me. It’s not that I have a distaste for fresh faces or contemporary ideas. Nor do I evade the present or mock the future as my essays will clearly illustrate. What I do instead, is to frequently represent an older person, s point of view. From my vantage point it’s only natural to look back at the roads not taken and the choices made. And, generally speaking, what I see makes me feel both pleased and proud that I have survived this living drama of an aging self and look forward with great optimism to the next act.
This particular writing format serves me well because it allows me to roam through the clogged files imbedded in my mind in search of all aspects of my life, both lovely and tragic. It also allows me to write of my anticipation of a new day while savoring the flavor of the moment.
And somewhere within each of those moments lies the meaning we all strive to find, which is why I shall always be,
An essayist in search of a theme.--from preface to Pastiche by Daniel Paul Thomas
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