Debbie Morrison (Author of Flowers of Heaven)

Debbie liked Wanda Pedersen's status update Wanda Pedersen is on page 87 of 288 of Excellent Women: Today the preacher was to be Archdeacon Hoccleve, a name that was unknown to me, and I guessed that he would be some old country clergyman who would certainly mumble. But I was completely wrong. He was an elderly man, certainly, but of a handsome and dignified appearance and his voice was strong and dramatic. Nice to see the Archdeacon from Some Tame Gazelle!
Apr 28, 2026 02:55PM
Debbie rated a book it was amazing The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Sea, The Sea, considered one of Iris Murdoch’s finest works, won the Booker Prize in 1978. I found it challenging to get my head around this book. It’s dense and deep, but at times it’s funny with antics of the characters that appear similar to a ...more
Apr 16, 2026 03:15PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Debbie rated a book really liked it The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Lost Steps feels haunting and lonely. Authored by Alejo Carpentier and translated from Spanish, the book frequently reads like a fantasy novel due to how the author uses his protagonist's diary entries to describe his travels through remote, jung ...more
Apr 04, 2026 11:19AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Debbie rated a book really liked it The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze. I cannot help it; I have stuck to my idea of being in a country cottage with a silent listener, h ...more
Feb 22, 2026 11:55AM · like · see review
Debbie is now following Steven Godin and Jim Fonseca
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Debbie rated a book it was amazing Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a remarkable work of fiction. I loved it. Thomas Hardy’s story about Tess, an upstanding but wronged woman from rural poverty, created shock and awe among its readers when first published in 1892. It delivered an engaging ...more
Feb 12, 2026 02:48PM · like · see review
Debbie rated a book it was amazing Train Dreams by Denis Johnson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. It’s a story about Robert Grainier, an average working man in the American Midwest who loses his wife and daughter to a house fire and makes his way through life alone and friendless. It's set in the early 1900s. Grainier, a labore ...more
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Debbie rated a book did not like it Modernism: A Literature in Crisis by Terry Eagleton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Modernism, A Literature in Crisis, piqued my interest after reading its review in WSJ. In 2026, I plan to explore modernism in literature, visual arts, and architecture. This book seemed a good fit. And though the book made some references to specifi ...more
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Debbie rated a book it was amazing Explosion in a Cathedral by Alejo Carpentier	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Rarely have I read a book as rich in history, literary depth, and sublime prose as Explosion in a Cathedral. The story is set in the French colonies of the Caribbean during the French Revolution. It depicts the turmoil, upheaval, and revolts via its ...more
Jan 18, 2026 04:58AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Explosion in a Cathedral by Alejo Carpentier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Explosion in a Cathedral by Alejo Carpentier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Debbie liked Wanda Pedersen's status update

Wanda Pedersen is on page 87 of 288 of Excellent Women: Today the preacher was to be Archdeacon Hoccleve, a name that was unknown to me, and I guessed that he would be some old country clergyman who would certainly mumble. But I was completely wrong. He was an elderly man, certainly, but of a handsome and dignified appearance and his voice was strong and dramatic.

Nice to see the Archdeacon from Some Tame Gazelle!

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The Sea, the Sea
by Iris Murdoch

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The Sea, The Sea, considered one of Iris Murdoch’s finest works, won the Booker Prize in 1978. I found it challenging to get my head around this book. It’s dense and deep, but at times it’s funny with antics of the characters that appear similar to a The Sea, The Sea, considered one of Iris Murdoch’s finest works, won the Booker Prize in 1978. I found it challenging to get my head around this book. It’s dense and deep, but at times it’s funny with antics of the characters that appear similar to a comedic stage play, showcasing the complexities of human relationships and the absurdities of life. It’s like no other fiction book I’ve read. The protagonist, Charles Arrowy, a successful theater director, retires to the seaside near a remote village outside of London. The novel is written in his voice, as a memoir.

After moving to the village, Charles discovers, by accident, that his long-lost love, his teenage first love, whom he’s been pining after for forty years, happens to live in the same village. Soon after Charles’ arrival, he’s overwhelmed by a steady stream of people from his London theater life, including his cousin James, several former lovers, and a handful of friends. To complicate matters, the adopted eighteen-year-old son of his teenage heartthrob is added to the mix. Murdoch crafts a compelling story of complicated and tumultuous relationships, woven within themes of existentialism, religion, aging, and obsession.

Unlike other novels I’ve read where I either like or dislike the protagonist, inThe Sea, The Sea, I experienced a host of feelings about Charles. At the beginning I liked him; two chapters in, I disliked him; halfway through the novel, after Charles kidnaps his first love and keeps her captive (“for her own good"), I abhorred him, and by the novel's end, I felt empathy and compassion for him. I have never before experienced such a wide range of emotions towards a protagonist. The behaviors of Charles and several other characters made me think quite differently about obsession, specifically how it manifests in people and why. Another concept highlighted by Murdoch is the power dynamics that exist between men and women and how they can be covertly and overtly wielded by each.

What I also enjoyed reading were the (many) descriptions Charles provided of his meals:

I ate and drank slowly as one should (cook fast, eat slowly) and without distractions such as (thank heavens) conversation or reading. Indeed, eating is so pleasant one should even try to suppress thought. Of course reading and thinking are important, but, my God, food is important too.

How fortunate we are to be food-consuming animals. Every meal should be a treat, and one ought to bless every day that brings with it good digestion and the precious gift of hunger.

I’m not clear on the literary purpose that the frequent descriptions of Charles’ meals serve, but maybe it was Murdoch’s aim to reveal Charles’ nature, his hedonistic tendencies. Another thought is that Charles frequently behaves as if he were a god, as someone who knows all and knows what is best for others. Yet, his enjoyment of and need for food clearly demonstrate to the reader, and perhaps to Charles himself, that he is not a god or God but rather on the same level as everyone else, where food is for sustenance and pleasure.

The Sea, The Sea is a tremendous book, truly a classic work of literature. ...more

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The Lost Steps
by Alejo Carpentier

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The Lost Steps feels haunting and lonely. Authored by Alejo Carpentier and translated from Spanish, the book frequently reads like a fantasy novel due to how the author uses his protagonist's diary entries to describe his travels through remote, jung The Lost Steps feels haunting and lonely. Authored by Alejo Carpentier and translated from Spanish, the book frequently reads like a fantasy novel due to how the author uses his protagonist's diary entries to describe his travels through remote, jungle-like areas of South America. This passage is an example:

There were stairways without beginning or end, suspended in the void, and balconies with mullions hanging from a window frame open to the sky. Lily of the valley shone pale through the curtains in vast salons with scratched tiles, and in the corners were the burnished gold of acacias and the flesh-pink of poinsettias and cactuses like candelabra, arms trembling through cross breezes in the hallways as though held by invisible sacristans’ hands (p. 93).

It’s beautiful prose. Carpentier’s style is categorized as ‘magic realism,' a genre that depicts reality yet incorporates magical elements that borrow from fantasy. Carpentier leverages magic realism to highlight the qualities of Spanish American history, geography, and culture in his literary works. Another similar work of fiction is his novel Explosion in a Cathedral, and though a different storyline, the writing is similar, as is the setting (South America). Below is another gorgeous passage:

An entire rampant fauna hinted at its presence, borne of timeless grime and glaucous fermentation under dark waters that smelled sour like mud kneaded with vinegar and carrion, and on its oily surface trod insects for which liquid was solid ground: translucent vermin, pale fleas, bandy-legged flies, and tiny mosquitoes that were little more than a quiver in green luminosity (p. 129).

The Lost Steps, though fantastical, is a story of loneliness, displacement, and man’s search for meaning. The protagonist (the story's narrator) leaves a big city (New York) on a journey to discover ancient musical traditions and instruments. He personifies one who is lost—one who seeks purpose, cultural identity, and a human connection, motivations that make Carpentier’s novel timeless, relevant, and grounding. The theme is relatable; many of us seek cultural identity—what makes us 'x,' e.g., American, Asian, Native American, or European? And what are the cultural traditions that have been forgotten yet make up who we are? It doesn’t appear that the narrator finds what he is looking for in the novel, and by the story’s ending, he’s lost a great deal—friends, cultural grounding, and love. I view the theme of loneliness within The Lost Steps as interleaved with the theme of cultural identity, which some critics describe as alienation.

Another theme, explored in depth and important to mention when discussing themes that personify The Lost Steps, is the contrast between a primitive way of life and a civilized society. The narrator begins his story in the thick of New York City, embedded in none other than the entertainment industry via his wife, yet he ends up living a simple and primitive existence deep within the jungle. The description of the ceaseless rain, the primitive living conditions, and the lack of basic items like writing paper highlights the stark contrasts. In one chapter the narrator is writing a work of music on scraps of paper, and when he runs out, he becomes desperate to find more. His lover cannot understand his obsession with writing; the concept is foreign to her. Hers is a world of doing, of presence, and of verbal interactions.

The Lost Steps is complex and nuanced. A moving and thought-provoking read. ...more

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The Good Soldier
by Ford Madox Ford

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I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze. I cannot help it; I have stuck to my idea of being in a country cottage with a silent listener, h I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze. I cannot help it; I have stuck to my idea of being in a country cottage with a silent listener, hearing between the gusts of the wind and amidst the noises of the distant sea, the story as it comes. And, when one discusses an affair—a long, sad affair—one goes back, one goes forward (p 167).

The quote above embodies the essence of the book, The Good Soldier—it’s a tangled web of characters and events told in a rambling, scattered fashion, which is the author’s intention. Ford was experimenting with a newish literary vehicle called literary impressionism, a style adopted by a handful of authors in the early twentieth century, including Woolf, Conrad, and Proust. The style is similar to that of the impressionist artists of the day, who painted impressions of reality. These authors did the same, where they departed from the traditional modes of narrating events and instead wrote of characters’ fleeting impressions and thoughts via interior monologues. We see this in The Good Soldier; it’s one long interior monologue, and by the end of the story readers are meant to view the narrator, John Dowell, as unreliable, emotionally fragile, and naive.

The Good Soldier is told in the first person, with Dowell taking the reader back and forth in time while describing complicated interactions between two married couples, of which John and his wife are one. The novel was first published in 1915 and is set in England just prior to WWI. The story is depressing, with themes of deception and loneliness, as well as two suicides. It’s sad, which is how the book opens: “This is the saddest story I ever heard” (pg 1), which is a theme repeated throughout.

I did enjoy the references to real places and events in Ford’s story, such as the town of Nauheim, Germany, which references the spa town of Bad Nauheim, where Dowell’s wife frequents due to a feigned bad heart. Ford also references the bank failure of 1907, which affected Dowell’s Philadelphia-based family. It’s in this part of the story, the discussion about Dowell’s family, where Ford weaves in insightful paragraphs about first impressions, which he states are often accurate. Ford also refers to the American town of Waterbury, CT, where Dowell’s wife, Florence, was from, which, in reality, was one of the first cities in the United States with a host of wealthy, genteel families. The references to real places and events ground the story, which is a good juxtaposition to the fragility of the unreliable narrator. Perhaps this is one of the points that Ford was trying to make, that people are unreliable, fragile, and emotionally vulnerable, and it was time (in his opinion) that literature reflected real life.

I found the book difficult to read, but I still enjoyed the story. I appreciated it more when I compared it to Virginia Woolf’s writing style. I recently finished Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and I now see how the new writing style developed. The style of descriptive storytelling and straight dialogue was becoming outdated, and writers began to see the need for giving insights into the feelings and motivations of characters through their thoughts. ...more

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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy

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Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a remarkable work of fiction. I loved it. Thomas Hardy’s story about Tess, an upstanding but wronged woman from rural poverty, created shock and awe among its readers when first published in 1892. It delivered an engaging Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a remarkable work of fiction. I loved it. Thomas Hardy’s story about Tess, an upstanding but wronged woman from rural poverty, created shock and awe among its readers when first published in 1892. It delivered an engaging narrative that went against 19th-century English values with its portrayal of female sexuality, violence, religious skepticism, and the questioning of the patriarchal system’s role in English society. There’s also a good deal of hypocrisy that plays out among the characters in their discussions about societal values and religion, which is why the story feels current and relevant.

I enjoy Hardy’s writing, which, I gather, mirrored his pessimistic views of the human condition. Hardy was greatly influenced by, and maybe even a follower of, the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who was the ultimate pessimist and believed that evil was stronger than good, that life was filled with pain and suffering, and that happiness was but fleeting. These sentiments appear to be the theme in Tess of the D’Urbervilles , where Tess is hounded by evil (Alec D’Urberville), and when she does encounter good, like her love for Angel, she experiences pain, destitution, and eventually death because of it.

Religion also plays a role in Hardy’s book. Belief in God is challenged by Angel, the son of a preacher, who declares himself a pagan as a youth and had once challenged his father’s beliefs by stating that ...it might have resulted far better for mankind if Greece had been the source of the religion of modern civilization, and not Palestine (p. 158). Religious skepticism runs rampant in the book, and even when the protagonist, Alec, appears to have a religious awakening, it is short-lived, and his evil ways return, though Hardy implies they never really left. I feel that Alec’s character reflects the influence Schopenhauer had on Hardy’s writing. Other questions that Hardy puts forth in his text include, does God really exist, and if so, how can he let suffering happen to good people, and finally, what is the purpose of life?

Another theme, which marks this work as an example of early modernism in literature, is Hardy’s portrait of the patriarchal system, which he deliberately appears to undermine by highlighting its hypocrisy. A discussion in chapter thirty between Angel and Tess highlights how the patriarchal system, a system where family names carried significant weight and status, was under threat. Hardy creates a scene to illustrate the phenomenon where Angel, in a conversation with Tess after learning of her noble family roots within the D’Uberville family, says this: I should have been glad to know you to be descended exclusively from the long-suffering, dumb, unrecorded rank and file of the English nation, and not from the self-seeking few who made themselves powerful at the expense of the rest (p. 189). The quote suggests on one hand that Angel was turning against society's values, yet on the other he continues to cajole Tess to adopt the D’Urberville name so that it will make her more 'acceptable' to society and his mother. Brutal! As is this quote Angel makes to Tess, “For your own sake I rejoice in your descent. Society is hopefully snobbish, and this fact of your extraction may make an appreciable difference to its acceptance of you as my wife, after I have made you the well-read woman that I mean to make you (p. 189). This exchange between the two lovers is just one example of Hardy's writings that highlight the hypocrisy of society, of people really, where Angel appears to love Tess but would love her more once he polishes her up and makes her a well-read woman.

I’ve discovered via my research into the genre of literary modernism that Thomas Hardy is considered one of the forerunners of the movement. The movement, later, also included the works of Virginia Woolf, who was a great admirer of Hardy. Woolf wrote numerous essays about Hardy, suggesting that she admired him greatly and had read many, if not most, of his novels and poetry. Hardy’s character development may have been inspiration for Woolf, given Woolf introduced a writing technique of internal monologues of characters labeled as ‘stream of consciousness,’ which gave readers unique insight into her characters’ motivations, thoughts, and actions. She also introduced a technique of shifting perspectives within chapters that kept readers wondering which character was speaking or thinking. The latter was likely her invention, but no doubt it’s Hardy’s themes, such as the challenging of societal norms, the mingling of classes, and religious skepticism, that influenced Woolf and other writers of her era.

I admire Hardy’s writing immensely. His literary works, including my favorite Hardy novel, Far From the Madding Crowd, reflect the depth of his knowledge of philosophy, religion, and art, which make reading Hardy’s books challenging but rewarding. ...more

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Train Dreams
by Denis Johnson

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I loved this book. It’s a story about Robert Grainier, an average working man in the American Midwest who loses his wife and daughter to a house fire and makes his way through life alone and friendless. It's set in the early 1900s. Grainier, a labore ...more

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Modernism: A Literature in Crisis
by Terry Eagleton

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Modernism, A Literature in Crisis, piqued my interest after reading its review in WSJ. In 2026, I plan to explore modernism in literature, visual arts, and architecture. This book seemed a good fit. And though the book made some references to specifi Modernism, A Literature in Crisis, piqued my interest after reading its review in WSJ. In 2026, I plan to explore modernism in literature, visual arts, and architecture. This book seemed a good fit. And though the book made some references to specific works of literature and a smattering of visual artworks, it was a bust. Its thesis is murky, the writing is pompous, and it doesn’t describe why modernist literature is in “crisis,” as the title implies.

The author outlines in chapter one that modernism emerged from a “historical crisis of immense proportions,” specifically imperialist powers, WWI, a capitalist system, economic depression, elitist sensibilities, and the destabilization of new technologies. This appears to be Eagleton’s thesis, which he continues to build throughout the short book.

“Modernism is also typically the art of the coteries, one ambiguously suspended between an elite and a vanguard, and Irish modernism found such a group ready to hand in the Anglo-Irish intelligentsia” (p 53).

“The Professor’s disdain for the masses, typical of certain strains of modernism, would seem here to merge with that of the author’s own” (p. 36).

“Abstraction is thus itself a form of politics, of however a negative kind. Yet we have seen already that the commodity, too, is a kind of abstraction, so that abstract art colludes with the sphere of capitalist production in the act of fending it off” (p. 105).

This last quote about abstract art struck me as funny. I’ve read a good deal about artists of Abstraction; many, like Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner, were living hand-to-mouth for years, constantly seeking buyers for Jackson’s art, even after Peggy Guggenheim commissioned Pollock to complete a mural, which subsequently launched his career. Pollock and Krasner were more concerned about putting food on the table via sales of Pollock’s art than making political statements.

I slogged through the book (reluctantly) and persevered; I reasoned that i) the book was short, and ii) I could be swayed by the author’s arguments. At the book's conclusion, I didn't come around to the author’s thesis and found myself vehemently disagreeing with his premise. I suggest, in contrast to Eagleton, that modernism be framed as emerging during the developments (mentioned above) at the turn of the century and during WWI rather than caused by them.

Works in the category of modernism, I’ve decided, are best understood by reading the works, viewing the artworks and learning about the artists who created them. ...more

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Explosion in a Cathedral
by Alejo Carpentier

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Rarely have I read a book as rich in history, literary depth, and sublime prose as Explosion in a Cathedral. The story is set in the French colonies of the Caribbean during the French Revolution. It depicts the turmoil, upheaval, and revolts via its Rarely have I read a book as rich in history, literary depth, and sublime prose as Explosion in a Cathedral. The story is set in the French colonies of the Caribbean during the French Revolution. It depicts the turmoil, upheaval, and revolts via its characters: three teenagers (fictional) and Victor Hughes, a French politician of the era.

I was taken by the book’s title; it is also the title of an existing painting, Explosion in a Cathedral (1630s), which is referenced in Chapter One. The painting is described as hanging in the home of the young teens, Sofia, Carlos and Estaben—sister, brother, and cousin, respectively. The painting is also described as by an “unknown master” and narrated as an image “that negated every law of plasticity: an apocalyptic catastrophe in indefinite suspension” (p 10). The artwork is real, credited to François de Nomé, and currently resides in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, with a new name, King Asa of Judah Destroying the Idols, assigned within the last fifteen years. It is an intriguing work. It appears almost like a split screen; on the left, upright, majestic, and massive columns within a staid church, while on the right, we see a scene of chaos with a lightning gash in the roof, a shattered altarpiece, smashed columns in midair, and piles of rubble and detritus on the church floor.

I believe Carpentier inserted this artwork into his book to serve as a metaphor for the destructive events occurring on the Caribbean islands during France’s revolutionary period, which Carpentier narrates through his skillful prose. Furthermore, Carpentier frequently makes covert references to the destruction depicted in the painting, as in the above quote where Carpentier mentions “gothic inventions,” “plaster,” and a “palace draped in gold”—all images one can see in the painting.

More overt is Carpentier’s reference to the concept of before and after, e.g., before—the serene beauty and way of life on the islands prior to the colonists’ arrival—and after—the death and destruction instigated by the introduction of the guillotine, forced labor, and frequent battles. The following passage illustrates the point with an allusion to what occurs at the point between the before and after: “In this struggle without compromise, two irreconcilable historical moments collided, pitting the Man of Totems against the Man of Theology” (p 216). In the context of after, this may be a reference to when the Caribbean islands fall into decay, as in the painting with its depiction of the destructive explosion in a cathedral.

The painting's genre is labeled by art historians as a work of fantasy art due to its strange and surreal depiction. Aligning with the artwork’s fantasy label is another, magic realism, which is a genre of literature that Explosion in a Cathedral has been described as by some literary critics. Magic realism, similar to fantasy, occurs in a work of fiction and involves elements of the supernatural world, where, for instance, a scene takes on characteristics of magical or fantastical qualities that wouldn’t exist in everyday life. Carpentier employs the technique frequently, most often when the character Esteban is coming to terms with the flaws of the revolution and its impact on the islands. This is when Carpentier’s writing is most beautiful. For instance, between pages 153 and 158 there is a description of underwater scenes and beaches that is stunning, poetic, and a pleasure to read. It’s evident from these pages the depth of Carpentier’s knowledge of Greek literature, the Bible, classic texts, and zoology. He is also a master of prose.

I highly recommend Explosion in a Cathedral to anyone who loves classics of literature or historical fiction. It’s a stupendous read. ...more

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