For some reason I wasn’t able to sink fully into the world of Jonathan Carroll like I usually can…but here were a few lovely quotes:

“Whatever, it took an hour of hard walking in the blue lead cold of a New York December for me to really hold in the palm of my mind the fact my best and oldest friend was dead.”

And speaking of being dead…

“There is a life review, of course, but it was so much more interesting than I had ever imagined. For one thing, they show you how and where your life really happened. Things you didn’t experience or weren’t ever aware of, but which dyed the fabric of your life its final color.”

And as always, his take on life speaks right to mine: “What more American tradition is there than the turnpike rest stop? I don’t mean those Mom and Pop pretty-good-food one-shot places somewhere off the interstate that sell homemade pralines. I’m talking about a quarter-mile lean on the steering wheel that curves you into the parking lot the size of a parade ground, fourteen gas tanks, toilets galore and Muzak. The food can be pretty good or pretty bad, but it’s the high torque ambiance of the places that make them so interesting, the fact that no one is really there – only appetites or bladders, while eyes stare longingly out the window at the traffic.”

Only appetites or bladders, indeed.

And I think I will end with this, because Carroll has a way, in nearly every book, at getting the reader to examine his or her own life as the characters do…looking back over the small pieces and huge events that shape who we are. The huge events are easy to remember, but sometimes it’s the small pieces that give life its flavor.

“No matter how old or jaded you are there will always be something exciting and cool about cruising around at three in the morning with a bunch of good friends. All the old duds are asleep but you’re still awake, the windows are down, the radio’s glowing green and playing great music. Life’s given you a few extra hours to horse around. If you don’t grab them, they aren’t usually offered again for a while.”

See? So I honestly don’t know why I couldn’t sink into his words, his world. He creates characters that life the truest of lives in the most fantastical of circumstances. I can’t point to anything in particular that caused my interest to wander.

I love Jonathan Carroll and his books…and I look forward to my next trip to his world. ( )

Not the strongest book from Carroll... The Answered Prayers sequence is the weirdest Carroll, and this is the weirdest of the sequence, I think — and I found the book a bit too opaque and the ending left too many questions open. If you don't like open-ended books with lots of surreal mystery, avoid this one!

But still, a weak Carroll is still almost a four-star book in my records. ( )

Good writing about people and life, not enough explanation. I think Pinsleepe was the devil and he tricked the good guy into making a movie that would make evil look good. A great idea but not great reading. ( )

http://jonathancarroll.com/iod.html ( )