Debbie Morrison (Author of Flowers of Heaven)

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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
Jan 27, 2026 08:37AM · 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 Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Train Dreams by Denis Johnson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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">
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Debbie rated a book really liked it In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain by Tom Vitale	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
What a ride! Tom Vitale, Anthony Bourdain’s director/producer of shows starring Bourdain that included No Reservations and CNN’s Parts Unknown, takes the reader behind the scenes with startling and incredible insights into the filming on location of ...more
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Debbie rated a book really liked it The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James	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 am in awe at how a book, written over a hundred years ago, can feel fresh, relevant, and engaging. The Portrait of a Lady (first published in 1880-81) by Henry James is such a book. Considered a classic, the book, according to critics, also moved l ...more
Dec 15, 2025 10:54AM · like · see review
Debbie and 4 other people liked Ken's status update Ken added a status update: For those who followed my blog "Updates on a Free-Verse Life," some news! I've migrated to Substack, where I can post for free vs. for an annual fee. Substacks are a little different. They're newsletters readers subscribe to and receive in their inboxes. Anyway, if you're interested, head over to updatesonafreeverselife.substack.com. It's the same new, same new: riffs on reading, writing, publishing, and teaching.
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Debbie rated a book liked it Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers by Jean Strouse	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 expected Family Romance by Jean Strouse to be about the relationship between the portrait artist, John Singer Sargent, and the Wertheimer family, of whom he painted a total of twelve portraits. Even though Strouse did allude to some interactions be ...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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In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain
by Tom Vitale

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What a ride! Tom Vitale, Anthony Bourdain’s director/producer of shows starring Bourdain that included No Reservations and CNN’s Parts Unknown, takes the reader behind the scenes with startling and incredible insights into the filming on location of ...more

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The Portrait of a Lady
by Henry James

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I am in awe at how a book, written over a hundred years ago, can feel fresh, relevant, and engaging. The Portrait of a Lady (first published in 1880-81) by Henry James is such a book. Considered a classic, the book, according to critics, also moved l I am in awe at how a book, written over a hundred years ago, can feel fresh, relevant, and engaging. The Portrait of a Lady (first published in 1880-81) by Henry James is such a book. Considered a classic, the book, according to critics, also moved literature into the modern era with its literary techniques that include the interior monologue, which provides the reader insight into characters’ inner thoughts and motivations.

I was most surprised by how James portrays his female characters: Isabel Archer (protagonist), Madame Merle, Henrietta Stackpole, and Mrs. Touchett, who are all independent, assertive, and savvy. James’s depiction of women is a stark contrast to Anthony Trollope, another author of the same era, who wrote Can You Forgive Her (first published in 1864-65). Trollope portrays his female characters in Can You Forgive Her as needing ‘forgiving’ given they violated, in some way or another, the patriarchal standards of Victorian society.

Trollope, by his novel’s end, deprives his female characters of any agency, whereas James does the opposite. In the era of both books' writing, there was social change afoot in Europe and America. America represented independence and freedom—starkly different values than those of Victorian England, which was patriarchal and class-conscious. Of note, James, was an American who traveled frequently in Europe, while Trollope, was UK-born and bred.

‘Besides, I try to judge things for myself; to judge wrong, I think, is more honorable than not to judge at all. I don’t wish to be a mere sheep in the flock; I wish to choose my fate and know something of human affairs beyond what other people think it compatible with propriety to tell me—Isabel speaking to Caspar Goodwood, pg. 164

In James's novel, the themes of cultural identity and freedom are leveraged through Isabel Archer, an American woman who, with several suitors, both British and American, expresses her desire for independence and a voice. Through James’ intricate plot and character development, Isabel achieves neither independence nor agency due to her idealism and stubbornness, which results in a portrait of a woman who is beholden to a misogynistic husband in a patriarchal society within Europe.

The theme of money as a corruptor is a backdrop to the story, given Isabel inherits a fortune from her uncle, which triggers a conspiracy by Madame Merle and her confidante, Mr. Osmond, to facilitate a marriage to the latter. But wealth and money appear as a factor but not the cause in the struggle between the values of the old world and new and between freedom and responsibility.

I have more James classics on my list; he’s a keeper. ...more

Debbie and 4 other people liked Ken's status update

Ken added a status update: For those who followed my blog "Updates on a Free-Verse Life," some news! I've migrated to Substack, where I can post for free vs. for an annual fee. Substacks are a little different. They're newsletters readers subscribe to and receive in their inboxes. Anyway, if you're interested, head over to updatesonafreeverselife.substack.com. It's the same new, same new: riffs on reading, writing, publishing, and teaching.

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Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers
by Jean Strouse

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I expected Family Romance by Jean Strouse to be about the relationship between the portrait artist, John Singer Sargent, and the Wertheimer family, of whom he painted a total of twelve portraits. Even though Strouse did allude to some interactions be ...more

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