D. read and liked Kimley's review of Single Man:

"Masks - we all wear them. We've got our work masks and our family masks and our friend masks. Then, try adding to that being a gay man living in the netherworld of not pretending to be straight but also not able to be fully out (the early 1960s). Tha...more Masks - we all wear them. We've got our work masks and our family masks and our friend masks. Then, try adding to that being a gay man living in the netherworld of not pretending to be straight but also not able to be fully out (the early 1960s). That's a lot of freakin' masks! And it's exhausting. And our hero, George, is tired, tired of the bullshit and hypocrisy. Thankfully, he still has a biting sense of humor and beware if you're on the receiving end of his satirical skewer. But George is also incredibly humane and well aware that we all do things worthy of some serious satirical skewering. There's a sweetness to his bite and I instantly fell in love with George.

The story is surprisingly revelatory considering it takes place in only a single 24 hour period in George's life. It's a remarkably rich portrait of a man who has recently lost his lover in an accident and who isn't truly able to grieve because not everyone knows that he is gay and that that hunky man living with him was not , in fact, a "roommate". Through it all George maintains his dignity even while reading Ruskin on the crapper, cursing the neighborhood brats or daydreaming about cute boys on the tennis court while a colleague is trying to have a discussion with him. And even with the masks, George is always essentially true to himself, on guard perhaps but always true. A single man, yes, but also an admirable man.(less) "

D. read and liked Michelle's review of Zazie in the Metro (Penguin Classics):

"Zazie, you are an adorable shit! I can't decide who I liked best...Zazie, Gabriel, Trouscaillon, or maybe the (gesture)parrot.

I want to say more about this slap-sticky novel, but after spending over seven hours on an airplane with a (ges...more Zazie, you are an adorable shit! I can't decide who I liked best...Zazie, Gabriel, Trouscaillon, or maybe the (gesture)parrot.

I want to say more about this slap-sticky novel, but after spending over seven hours on an airplane with a (gesture) seat that didn't recline, I think I need to step away from the computer for a little while.(less) "

D. read and liked karen's review of The Land of Laughs:

"jonathan carroll's books are like gourmet jellybeans. even his shittiest flavors are better than most regular jellybeans, and who doesn't like jellybeans? (alfonso claims that only white people eat jellybeans, which is untrue, but it's such an odd ra...more jonathan carroll's books are like gourmet jellybeans. even his shittiest flavors are better than most regular jellybeans, and who doesn't like jellybeans? (alfonso claims that only white people eat jellybeans, which is untrue, but it's such an odd racial stereotype i feel compelled to add it here).

you know how there is some music that no matter what mood you are in, it just happens to be the right music?? jonathan carroll is like that for me. he's just...wonderful, like a new crush you can't stop gushing over. he's definitely a high fabulist, but in the best sense of the term. let's compare: better than graham joyce, more charming than millhauser, slightly less ambitious than robertson davies,but always always entertaining. i would name-drop alasdair gray, but so few people have read him, it's not even worth it. stop reading this review and go read lanark, already...

jonathan carroll can be summed up in two words: death and dogs.
not your gritty noir alsatians snarling over an abandoned corpse, but generally affable dogs involved in some way in a character's meditations or experiences with death and what comes next: bull terriers who are either sentient or symbolic, but are carroll's literary stamp as recognizable as any of lynch's recurring visual details/tics.

carroll has a few major themes; mostly ideas of life and death and karma and the afterlife and man's responsibilities to man and woman and ghosts and film. they are philosophical/moral/spiritual journey stories but in a playful, not didactic way. "spiritual journey" should in no way conjure up images of coelho, redfield, or martel. take those thoughts to go, please.

land of laughs is a really good introduction to jonathan carroll. the ending? shrug, not the best, in my opinion. but it honestly does not matter, because it's such an incredible story throughout. his endings are pretty consistently weak, but it almost becomes an adorable quirk, like when kids can't say "spaghetti" or something that people think it is cute when kids do.

at the end of the day, he is just a good storyteller, and like the opening credits for "amazing stories", isn't that the foundation our "littry appreciation" should be built upon?(less) "