Cullen James is a young woman whose life dictates her dreams-and whose dreams control her life.
In her first dream, she found the perfect m... read full description
In her first dream, she found the perfect m... read full description
reviews
Jan 03, 2009
Nancy
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Cullen James is married to a wonderful man named Danny, has a baby daughter, and a good friend in her neighbor, Eliot. Cullen begins to have vivid dreams in a land called Rondua. As the dreams progress, they start to intersect with people and events in Cullen's life.
Bones of the Moon is a wonderful, touching and very unusual fantasy. I got all misty-eyed by the end. Everyone should have a friend like Eliot.
Bones of the Moon is a wonderful, touching and very unusual fantasy. I got all misty-eyed by the end. Everyone should have a friend like Eliot.
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Dec 19, 2008
Julia
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One of Carroll's most fantastical; here's what his website says:
"Cullen James' first dream was to find the perfect man--and it happened. Then she dreamed of being able to live with her man in Europe, while they were both still young and full of wonder: and that happened too. First in Greece, and then in Italy, she had hold of the kind of life of which we all dream. Better yet, she became pregnant and looked forward to the day when the child would come and she could love it: make More...
"Cullen James' first dream was to find the perfect man--and it happened. Then she dreamed of being able to live with her man in Europe, while they were both still young and full of wonder: and that happened too. First in Greece, and then in Italy, she had hold of the kind of life of which we all dream. Better yet, she became pregnant and looked forward to the day when the child would come and she could love it: make More...
Jan 25, 2012
Maura
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if i haven't already recommended Jonathan Carroll's books to you, i've been a bad friend. please forgive me. his books are fantasy, but so rooted in reality that most bookstore file them under fiction rather than SF/Fantasy. if you read the whole series, you'll find main characters from one book popping up in others as throwaway references, which i find very fun.
i just tried to write up a quick summary of this one, and it all just sounds so bland when i say it. gah, i'd make an awful c More...
i just tried to write up a quick summary of this one, and it all just sounds so bland when i say it. gah, i'd make an awful c More...
Jan 29, 2011
Tancredi
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"E' difficile convincersi che casa nostra è il luogo in cui abitiamo e non quello in cui abbiamo lasciato il cuore."
Primo episodio del "sestetto delle preghiere esaudite", nel quale viene presentato il personaggio di Weber Gregston (presente negli altri libri della serie).
Come libro di apertura si presenta ancora come poco maturo, con uno stile semplice, una narrazione fin troppo liscia, oserei dire pure ingenua. E' per questo motivo che non gli do il voto massimo; più che a
Jun 01, 2009
Laura
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The Bones of the Moon is an interesting little book about Cullen James. Cullen is happy with her life. She has a wonderful husband, a healthy baby daughter, and loving friends. Everything seems very wholesome and normal until Cullen begins to have very clear and sequenced dreams of a journey through a magical land with a boy named Pepsi. Her dreams in this land become a second life, of sorts, as she finds herself on a hero’s quest. Strangely, the dreamworld and the waking world begin to col
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May 25, 2009
Nicole
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I love Jonathan Carroll books; he's what I wish I could write if I were an author. It's the details that he chooses, the way he so fully develops a character, full of flaws and fears and wonder, and the unexpected ways the story moves. Reality and fantasy are fluid, the overall truth of the emotion is where the importance lies and our imagination is expanded to get there.
All vagueness I know, but I just don't want to get into plot review. Some random asides: the characters names are More...
All vagueness I know, but I just don't want to get into plot review. Some random asides: the characters names are More...
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Nov 08, 2011
Scott
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I've read Carroll's Land of Laughs and found his characterization very impressive in that particular book, although I felt his plot bottomed out toward the ending as it abandoned those previously established traits.
With Bones of the Moon, however, I never really connected with his protagonist, Cullen James, or her friends and family. While they had interesting backgrounds, they simply didn't feel real to me. Because of this, and what I consider awkward dialogue, I couldn't fully immers More...
With Bones of the Moon, however, I never really connected with his protagonist, Cullen James, or her friends and family. While they had interesting backgrounds, they simply didn't feel real to me. Because of this, and what I consider awkward dialogue, I couldn't fully immers More...
Feb 27, 2010
Amanda
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Normally I don't read fantasy-type books but since this was lent to me by a trusted soul, I gave it a try. Bones of the Moon exceeded my expectations and turned out to be a really quick read. Or maybe I just read it quick. This appealed to me mostly because the major portion of the book is set in reality. One of the things that always irked me about fantasy books is the seemingly haphazard way things are named and the way things work. I realize that is the imagination of the author but mostly it
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Mar 15, 2011
Rachel
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This book starts well, with the history of how a young couple fell in love... But you know it won't end there when they start the book discussing "Axe Boy", their neighbor who butchered his family. Anyway, Cullen, the protagonist, starts having dreams about Rondua that are like another life... and then those dreams start invading her real life. The Rondua element seemed like it was taken from a much longer book. Or maybe Carroll's editor kept making him shorten the story and he co
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Dec 11, 2008
Simon
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I can't quite figure out why I didn't enjoy this one as much as other stuff I've read by Carroll. It has the same warm, sympathetic characters, the same level of invention and imagination, but the story never really pulled me in. It felt a little aimless and meandering, and the protagonist never really seemed to do anything other than survive traumatic events because..what? She's a nice person and we want her to? It wasn't really clear to me how the "real" world and her dream world wer
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Jan 24, 2010
David
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2.5 Stars (wish we could do half stars)
I wanted to like this book more than I did, and the initial reviews and comments made me quite excited. I think I was not quite sure what I was getting into and at times I feel like the book does quite know what it is either.
Cullen James is a beautiful, smart woman who had an abortion when she was younger, has moved on to marry a great guy and eventually land in New York after a brief time in Europe. Her marriage is strong and real More...
I wanted to like this book more than I did, and the initial reviews and comments made me quite excited. I think I was not quite sure what I was getting into and at times I feel like the book does quite know what it is either.
Cullen James is a beautiful, smart woman who had an abortion when she was younger, has moved on to marry a great guy and eventually land in New York after a brief time in Europe. Her marriage is strong and real More...
Jan 30, 2011
Jayaprakash
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There are stories that have me on tenterhooks wondering what happens next, and then there are stories that feel as if they always existed, as if I knew them long before this particular author wrote them down, but I still have to read on, there's still a lot of suspense because there's still an element of chance and I don't know how the given author is going to cut the deck. And in this case because, like any Carroll novel, it's written so well and peopled with quirky, wonderful characters, good,
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Sep 05, 2011
Marta
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„Kości Księżyca” to trzecia powieść autorstwa Jonathana Carrolla, a zarazem moje siódme spotkanie z twórczością tego pisarza. Spotkanie niezwykle udane, dodajmy. „Kości Księżyca” prezentują wizję krainy tak niezwykłej i nadrealistycznej, iż porównywać można ją jedynie z absurdalną Krainą Dziwów, wykreowaną przez Charlesa Lutwidge’a Dodgsona, bardziej znanego jako Lewis Carroll. Ta zbieżność nazwisk zdecydowanie nie może być dziełem przypadku! Raczej cudownym ukłonem tego świata w kierunku miłośn
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May 02, 2010
Caitlin
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Quite a wonderful book with moments of beautiful writing. I read this because Neil Gaiman borrowed heavily from it in A Game of You - probably my favorite story arc from Sandman. Neil definitely owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Carroll for giving him the outlines of this story.
It is audacious for a man to write about abortion and its impact on a woman's life and later motherhood. It is too easy for such a man to come off as judgmental, but Carroll shows that imagination can ta More...
It is audacious for a man to write about abortion and its impact on a woman's life and later motherhood. It is too easy for such a man to come off as judgmental, but Carroll shows that imagination can ta More...
Apr 06, 2010
melydia
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Cullen James (who is a woman, believe it or not) is happily married to Danny, is being romantically pursued by a famous movie director named Weber Gregston, has a fabulously (and stereotypically) gay best friend named Eliot, corresponds with her teenage axe-murdering former neighbor, and has serial dreams about a land called Rondua, in which her son (named Pepsi) is attempting to collect the five Bones of the Moon with the aid of giant animals Martio the camel, Felina the wolf, and Mr Tracy the
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Jul 14, 2011
Mary
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 21, 2009
Adam
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Probably my least favourite Jonathan Carroll novel to date. I will admit that I almost always take issue with his deus ex machina ending. However, that was the least of my complaints for Bones of the Moon. The fantasy element was thinned out to be almost non-existent until the last few pages. Oddly enough, this ending was probably his most earned since no one steps in from out of nowhere to save the day that hasn't been built up. It is his least fulfilling ending, though. It feels rushed a
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Feb 15, 2008
Tripp
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Jonathan Carroll, one of the greatest American fantasists had a bit of a dud in Bones of the Moon. For most authors, it would be reasonably accomplished, but for him, it wasn't quite up to snuff. The book uses the overlapping of a classic good vs. evil fantasy quest with the real world to illustrate how people can cope with loss. The fantasy world was too unrealized and bizarre to have any appeal and the characters were on the thin side.
William Browning Spencer's Zod Wallop is the bo More...
William Browning Spencer's Zod Wallop is the bo More...
Feb 13, 2010
Lisa
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Carroll has a rad writing style that I love. He writes from the perspective of a woman in a very believable voice. The story alternates between reality and a dream world. I very much enjoyed the reality story-line. The dream world story-line was a little too abstract for my personnal taste. Also, a major theme in the book is abortion, which is just a topic I find very unpleasant and try to avoid (I probably would have skipped this one if I had known that going in, but the book was really goo
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Jan 04, 2010
Bill
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I was in quite a quandry about what category to include this book in. It's published by Tom Doherty who publish sf, and there is a lot of fantasy involved but it is also very definitely literary fiction as well, very well written at that. So in the end I put it in both categories. Anyway it's an absolutely brilliant book. My many thanks to Karen yet again, for introducing me to such a treasure. I will definitely be reading all the rest of his books.
Oct 10, 2011
K.
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I have to think about this one a bit. The descriptions of Rondua were really amazing and when it comes to this genre I lean towards this type of imagination more than witches, large bugs, etc.
Overall it was really sad, this abortion and oncoming onslaught of subconscious pain is a difficult one for me--especially since I suffer from nightmares (or maybe I should just write a book about my nightmares :) ).
I didn't like her attraction to losers--this director she stayed friends with was More...
Overall it was really sad, this abortion and oncoming onslaught of subconscious pain is a difficult one for me--especially since I suffer from nightmares (or maybe I should just write a book about my nightmares :) ).
I didn't like her attraction to losers--this director she stayed friends with was More...
Jul 24, 2008
Monk
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This book is just flat out weird. It's the only Carrol book I've read which makes me an oddity among Carrol fans. I just haven't found any other titles he's written that have piqued my interest, but this touched on my 'fascinating environment' interests.
The protagonist is a woman who has a lot of issues and rightfully so. She's widowed and has had to make some very tough choices in her life. How she copes though comes from what at first seems like a retreat within the self and into t More...
The protagonist is a woman who has a lot of issues and rightfully so. She's widowed and has had to make some very tough choices in her life. How she copes though comes from what at first seems like a retreat within the self and into t More...
May 19, 2010
Dennis
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An interesting story of a woman finding herself living two lives, one her normal married life, and another in her dreams where she is travelling with a son she never had in a world where animals talk on a quest. Eventually the dream life starts having more impact than her "real life".
Some have suggested magical realist leanings to Carrol's work, even if he himself does not fit the profile of most authors of that work. The first person narrative is easy to read and goes quic More...
Some have suggested magical realist leanings to Carrol's work, even if he himself does not fit the profile of most authors of that work. The first person narrative is easy to read and goes quic More...
Jun 03, 2011
Lyndon
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This was just great. So strange, and some of the fantasy segments seemed a little incidental, but Carroll writes so well that I just didn't care. Warm, tender, and with closing pages that grabbed at me and left me mindlessly thumbing at the back cover looking for more - I'm a fan.
Dec 31, 2011
Miles
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Wasn't too into this book at first, but Carroll sucked me in by the end. The dream sequences started out feeling detached from the central narrative, but by the end they gained enough relevance to hit with some real clout. Good thoughts on the nature of authority and the human tendency to keep doing what's been done.
Jul 08, 2011
Craig
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Carroll's an odd writer--extremely imaginative, weaving images in surprising patterns. He's psychologically intense, complex in his sense of how people live. Bones of the Moon grades out well on those levels, but the conclusion left me unsatisfied; it felt contrived, which isn't necessarily a hanging offense in Carroll's world, but still... If you haven't read him before, definitely start with The Ghost in Love.
Jul 19, 2009
Zep
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CON: The beginning is very interesting, but the story eventually tends to lose any connection with reality.
PRO: I have yet to find another author whose writing is as communicative and rich as his is.
PRO: I have yet to find another author whose writing is as communicative and rich as his is.
Jan 09, 2009
Cathy
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I have no idea how to rate this book because I can't decide whether I loved it or hated it. It has left me with very powerful images that I'm not sure I want in my head!
Jun 05, 2009
Elisa
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I was halfway through this book when it started to seem really, really familiar. I realized I had read it many years before and that I own it and it's in a box somewhere. Wonderful piece of surrealistic fiction. A story of a woman and her real world over which a strange (in a yellow submarine, Peter Max weirdness kind of way) fantastical quest dream world is superimposed and about the way in which these two worlds touch. Love this guys book and plan on finding and reading them all.
Jul 04, 2008
Amy
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In this early book by Carroll, a woman named Cullen begins exploring a new world named Rondua in her dreams, accompanied by a few companions. When I read "A Game of You" in the Sandman cycle years later, I was hit by a sense of deja vu that took me a while to pin down. Of course, "Game" owes a great deal to this book. Even the laid-on-too-thick layer of twee and cheesiness is the same (in Barbie's dreams and Cullen's dreams). As far as this book goes, I found it a little too
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