The Strophes of Job
It's 1907, and a terrible snow storm rages across the Midwest, burying a rural community but also revealing its citizens' closely guarded secrets. Two farm families - the Johnsons and the Fryes - struggle while their women fight to give birth during the storm. The only midwife must decide which mother and which baby to help, if she is able to make it through the deepening snow at all. The difficult and dangerous births force a host of people to risk going out in the storm, which has turned the familiar countryside into a strange and confusing landscape. Meanwhile, the snow storm has emboldened a band of coyotes that normally stays close to the mysterious and forbidding Hollis Woods, where thirty years before the Hollis children disappeared one by one without a trace. Their ghosts haunt the woods still, say locals. But it turns out everyone has a past that haunts them, and the relentless storm provides the perfect canvas for painting memories and images best left forgotten. The Strophes of Job is a prequel to multi-award-winning Crowsong for the Stricken, a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of 2017 ("strange and beautiful," starred review).
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"And if I were to be so bold, there are a few mid-20th century authors I'd compare these stories to, one of whom is Harper Lee and another, is Truman Capote." - Leslie Obrien, The Book Revue, 5/5 stars
"Provocative, powerful and intense . . . Morrissey's storytelling is immersive as he digs deeper into the inner world of his multifaceted characters, delving into their fears, insecurities, doubts, traumas, longing, and desires. Deeply absorbing, thought-provoking, and bittersweet." - The Prairies Book Review
"[D]eeply descriptive, imaginative, and sometimes haunting tales; the author excels in setting an atmospheric and natural scene ... in vivid, descriptive prose ...." - Kirkus Reviews
"The style of the language and the overall tone seemed to harken back to the stalwarts of the literary fantasy and horror genres like Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson." - Flyleaf Journal
"Those who revel in how closely observed detail and powerful language can infuse the most mundane experiences with beauty and tenderness will relish [his work]." - BlueInk Review
"[His] work ... resists easy description; recommended for those looking for something strange and beautiful." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
