The Book of Disbelieving

by David Lawrence Morse

The nine stories in The Book of Disbelieving open portals to fabulist worlds and magical objects: a village built on the back of a whale, a holiday that requires literal leaps of faith, a tower that houses an entire civilization, a diary that blurs the line between imagination and memory. The worlds Morse creates are fantastical, but the challenges his characters face are grounded in reality, calling into question issues of love, memory, and the subjectivity of experience. Steeped in the existential crises of our era, The Book of Disbelieving is a wondrous collection of fables and lore.

Genres: Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Anthologies

168 pages, Paperback

Published July 18, 2023

Reviews

[Aswin Sridhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are intriguing, imaginative and capture the reader's attention easily. The parallels with reality are explored in a cool way. The fantasy worlds where the various stories take place are my favourite part of the book.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not typically the kind of person that goes out of their way to read surrealist fiction, but after David Morse came and did a reading at my university, I was intrigued by his work. I must say, I was not disappointed. The stories aren’t just surreal for the novelty of it, though I found them to be quite novel. They showed off the human condition in ways that were very thought provoking. They thinned the line between what’s real and what is fantasy, showing that the fundamental parts of humanity exist even in places that we wouldn’t expect. Positive aspects like love and hope as well as negative ones like fear and anxiety are all spread throughout the stories, and vast amounts of detail help bring these strange foreign worlds to life. Despite their unfamiliarity, I ended up getting very invested in what happened in these worlds. More importantly, I ended up relating to many of the characters despite living in completely different circumstances. In fact, I think that those differences serve to highlight the similarities between the reader and the characters and demonstrate how fundamental those feelings and behaviors are to the human experience. I’d highly recommend this book, even if you’re new to the genre like I was. Though the sheer strangeness of it may seem intimidating at first, you eventually begin to realize that “strange” is subjective and that there are many things in our own world that would be considered absurd from a certain point of view, and that’s something that no other book I’ve read has done in this way.

[Hana Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

received an advanced review copy courtesy of the one story gala. these fables are as far flung as they are complete in their own worlds. a beautiful bed time story collection for adults!

[Becca V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because of the short story format and the imaginative narratives that kept me on my toes. David Lawrence Morse did a great job of making the reader feel slightly unsettled and curious about what happens next. All the stories seem like they could happen in the real world, but there's always an element that is extraordinary. I liked the relationship dynamics in each story whether it was between husband and wife or father and son. With just a few pages Morse was able to draw the reader in and paint a new world of disbelief with each story. You can tell he has many inspirations whether it be religion, watches, death, or the sea. My favorite stories were "The Tower" with its dystopian setting and doubting narrator, and "The Watch" with the mother driven insane because of a strange gift from her dead father. Each story transported me to a different time or dimension, and I found it refreshing to embark on a new adventure with every chapter.
I read this book for a class, but I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to be entertained with an easy read. Some of the stories were kind of dark and reminded me of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I could see this book being turned into a mini-series because they're the perfect format and length for shorter episodes. The only critique I have is that the stories do start to sound the same after a while because they all have similar themes like death and insanity. But overall, such a fun and fresh book!

[Le Casas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in Chicago and thought it would be a great idea to bring it home and take my time reading the stories. These are extraordinary tales that feel more like fables, as they always leave you with something to ponder. The Great Fish is a thought-provoking story about exploring the unknown and breaking free from societal constraints, set in a fantastical town built on the back of a whale. The Book of Disbelieving explores the idea of discovering what others imagine about us. Finally, The Watch offers a poignant reflection on the meaning of life, as a father gifts his daughter a faulty watch shortly before his death.

Some of these stories were difficult to understand, and I couldn’t fully connect with them since English is not my first language. However, I recommend it to anyone looking to improve their writing skills and expand their vocabulary.

[Rainey Tisdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. It is so imaginative: each story a new world unto itself built around a fantastical premise, and each story at the same time so believable and real in the way Morse tells them. It reminded me of Aimee Bender's The Color Master--if you liked that collection of short stories you'll also like The Book of Disbelieving. Morse's prose is beautiful--deep and curious but also gentle on the reader. I learned new things about humans from reading this. More, please.

[Matt Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really beautiful stories from the fantastical imagination. The prose was never too flowery or pretentious, but each story painted a easy to picture landscape, dropping you into a new world where something impossible was the norm without worrying you with the how or why. With repeated themes covering the nature of death, the importance of independent thought, the pursuit of feminist ideals, and fate, the stories all independently were page turners and made this a quick and enjoyable read.

Thanks for the recommendation from Madison Books in Chicago!

[Kyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique, immersive collection of stories which provided a thought provoking reading experience. The story which stood out most to me was "The Market", though the story which will sit with me longest was perhaps "The Serial Endpointing of Daniel Wheal" which was deeply unsettling at it's core. Definitely worth reading this collection!

[Ashley Gilland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast and immersive world-building; phrases complicated dynamics so precisely; great wisdom; delicious descriptions. The kind of philosophical short fiction stories I want to write. My favorites are the first one and the oarsman one.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the imagination behind the stories. The people all behaved normally in absurd situations. They were matter of fact and without any questioning. Makes you wonder how others would view us and what we are doing?

[Jim Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of longer short stories with a heaping helping of creative and well-crafted storytelling. Such unique visions, with such refreshingly satisfying narratives and conclusions. Bravo.

[Torie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cool cover, but just ok stories. I liked the length of these, most feel satisfying...but they all really just felt like the same plot flow over and again tbh. i would've preferred just reading one or two more expanded.

[Diletta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storie non molto brillanti e abbastanza dimenticabili. Buona scrittura però!

[Beril · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf abt halfway through bc every story was literally the same thing

[Cristina Sherer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eccentric, fun, and thought-provoking. A unique, almost off-putting writing style as well (which I mean in a good way and I'm not sure how else to describe)

[J Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single story in this was so insanely good that it is truly impossible for me to pick a favorite. Sooooooo glad I picked this up :)

[Gillian Harrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each one of these creative stories could be its own novel. It’s crazy how much world building goes into each short vignette. I’d get sad whenever one ended because there was so much more to explore.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, artful stories

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would make for great book club discussions. Some twilight zone, some dystopia, some contemporary issues

[Avery Zieper · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m always a sucker for surrealistic fiction but especially loved this collection - ‘the market’ and ‘the tower’ have my heart

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Book of Disbelieving” is a wonderful fabulistic piece filled with thought-provoking, absurd stories. “Spring Leapers” was one of my favorite stories of the collection. Reminiscent of “The Lottery” by Shirey Jackson, this story starts not telling us the whole truth. The couple Octie and Magaline are standing atop their roof, bickering, strapped together, discussing Leaping Day. We have no idea what this Leaping Day is, nor why these two are practicing for it. We get more information in the second narrative regarding Beulah Duckett. She doesn’t want her husband to participate this year. She tells us that he “has broken his ankles or a wrist or leg every year leaping for the last eight years but still plans on leaping this morning.” As we are fed information piece by piece, we don’t get the sudden shock of realizing that these people are leaping off things, potentially to their deaths, in the absurd notion that God will choose them to be reaped up to heaven. We don’t fully grasp the horror until Flora—a woman who has had four children die in the leaping—watches her last son jump to his death. In a horrible twist of events, it is Flora herself who rises into heaven when she leaps from the tower in grief over her son. Instead of ecstatic, she is wailing. This work calls to mind the ancient motherly saying, “If your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump too?” In this fable-esque piece, reminiscent of the others in this novel, we are led to question the perhaps absurd things we believe, how far we would go in our obedience to them, and what it means to be saved.
“The Book of Disbelieving” is funny, witty, absurd, and at times deeply moving. I highly recommend it to any and every lover of the fantastic and the surreal.