Of All Things, Great and Small


Fiction - General
Kindle Edition
Reviewed on 06/04/2018
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Jordan G. Farrell comes from the northeastern United States, where he lives with hi wife Michele, and his family in rural Connecticut. His background is varied as he has reinvented himself many times, managing multiple careers while pursuing several graduate degrees at the same time. Today, he manages his career in finance, while pursuing his creative endeavors, of which writing has been a continual part throughout his life. While pursuing a Doctorate in Organizational Behavior, he honed his writing technique so that complex concepts could be communicated simply and imaginatively. His first love has always been an occupation of expressive creativity through art, music and writing. His interests span from history and religion, to chemistry, astronomy and cosmology. His broad range of interests and pursuits provide him a unique perspective of the world and comes through in this latest work, to share and enjoy.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Paranormal, intense, and deep, Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell is a novel that follows a psychological phenomenon in the life of aspiring writer Justin. It begins with the flu that quickly takes a different toll on him, plunging him into a state of delirium. Now, he has strange dreams which he documents in his journals, dreams that estrange him from his immediate reality. As this psychosis grows stronger, he begins to see reality through the eyes of different creatures. Are his dreams just dreams or are they a representation of the other lives he’s lived? This is a novel with strong spiritual and philosophical implications.

Like Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, this is a novel that features great symbolism and a man’s metaphysical journey to the truth about life and himself. The novel is written after a poem featured in the prologue and contains a lot of symbolism as well. Of All Things, Great and Small is the story of a moment when one ceases to be the object and becomes the subject, when one is no longer involved in conflict, but becomes its raison d’être, when time loses its significance and yields to a cosmic eye that observes. The writing is evocative and beautiful in the sounds it produces, the images it evokes, and the feeling it inspires. Jordan G. Farrell’s descriptions are powerful, somewhat poignant, and it is hard to read them without becoming emotionally connected to what is being described. The pacing is not rushed and, although there is not much action in the story, it is psychologically and emotionally intense, a dizzying read that could leave a reader disoriented.

Gisela Dixon

Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell explores metaphysical questions about life, death, the soul, rebirth or reincarnation, the universe, etc. Of All Things, Great and Small is written mostly as a series of diary entries by Justin, a man who is recuperating from a fever. He experiences dream states and alternate realities while in this condition, and these are what form the bulk of his personal diary entries. In his dreams, he is one with many different creatures or living organisms, sometimes being aware of his one-ness with not just himself, but also with the surrounding things and creatures. In this dream state, which leaves us with questions about what is real and what is a dream, time does not have any meaning as the past, present, and future at times merge and interchange with each other. This diary of thoughts, reminiscences, experiences, and reflections forms the bulk of the novel.

Of All Things, Great and Small is an interesting read and comes across as very subjective in nature. At times, it is difficult to grasp what’s real and what’s not, but that is precisely the question that Jordan wishes to raise. The descriptions of Justin as various forms - even one such as a tree - are quite fascinating and definitely made me wonder about the nature and cause of the universe and how much we don’t know about it. Indeed, reading this book made me realize the insignificance of human life or even earthly life in a certain sense. This is a good book for anyone interested in metaphysical subjects.

Lesley Jones

Have you ever had a dream and believed it was really happening? In Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell, follow Justin, a writer, and a tortured soul, as he tries to make sense of the various strange dreams he has while battling a high fever. Throughout the experience, he chronicles the events in his diary, trying to fathom out why these dreams seem so real to him. The line between reality and dream becomes blurred as he falls in and out of sleep. Justin is, in fact, living past, present and future reincarnations, and views the world through the eyes of different creatures and beings. Through these dreams, Justin believes that his present form as a struggling writer is, in fact, the nightmare and his dreams are the reality. When the ordeal is over, he understands what it feels like to be truly alive and his concept of the world is changed. What is real; how do you know you are, in fact, here ... or is this a dream?

Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell is a thought-provoking book regarding reality and dreams. The author has an amazing ability to transport you into the story through his descriptive writing. I felt an affinity with each creature and related to their pain and torment, especially the lion as he fights to avenge his father. This story has a unique concept regarding reincarnation and the past lives we may have lived, and the lives and creatures we will become in the future. An intriguing story and one which would make a great discussion topic. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down until it was completed. Highly recommended.

Maureen Dangarembizi

Of All Things, Great And Small by Jordan G. Farrell is a speculative fiction novel like none I’ve read before. The story centers around Justin, a young man delirious from the flu. As he drifts in and out of a dreamscape, he takes us on many adventures. Justin becomes a butterfly working hard to get to the light, a dog caught up in a canine revolution, a male lion looking for a family of his own, and the president of a post-apocalyptic earth among other things. In all these circumstances, Justin leaves behind everything he knows and becomes whatever his dream self is. By taking on these various identities, the dreamer is forced to look closely at his nature and evolve in the past, present, and future.

I applaud Jordan G. Farrell for his ingenious descriptions that provoke the imagination. When all was said and done, I really felt that we humans have a lot to answer for, both in the past and in the present. People from the future will probably read this book and agree that man is a disease on the planet and possibly in the entire universe. Can man learn anything before it’s too late? Of All Things, Great And Small is aptly named as we read about small things that have a lesson and greater topics that have bearing for the people of our time. I don’t know what the future will bring, but some of the things in this book are probably going to happen. This book is entertaining and suitable for those who are concerned about humanity’s survival and the other creatures that make up our home.

Jamie Michele

Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell is the story of an author named Justin who, while in an influenza-fueled haze, starts a diary describing his dreams. As he transitions between reality and impressioned chimera, the lines between what is authentic and what is imagined becomes blurred. Justin's dreams make time both linear and expansive, moving him through past and present, in forms that are human, animal, insect, and even into the world of flora and fauna. As a malleable surrogate, Justin is forced to open up to an entirely different, infinite vision of the universe, calling into question everything he knows and understands to be sensible and finite against a catechism of internal and external truths.

Of All Things, Great and Small by Jordan G. Farrell is a work of literary fiction that is both entertaining and heartening on a philosophical level. It isn't light reading and the writing is in the spirit of classical literature, with its focus on reflection that readers will find worth its loquaciousness in the context of an excellent, cultivated story. I genuinely enjoyed how the narrative was layered through the "eyes" of a character that shifts in anatomical form. Of All Things, Great and Small is formatted like a well documented journal - as is intended - that allows the feeling of joining Justin on his journey into, throughout, and occasionally beyond the great unknown. I'd recommend this book to lovers of fiction, philosophy, environmental causes, and science fiction with an intelligent twist.