Rating: 
Summary: another brilliant Carroll novel
Review: For over 10 years I have read and enjoyed Carroll's novels. Every one gives you the same sensation: things start out seemingly normal until little by little odd things start to happen. In this sense, he reminds me of Rachel Ingalls, another one of my favorite but obscure writers. Because the odd things creep up slowly, everything seems plausible until you end up in a mind-blowing fantasy world and wonder how the heck you got there! Elevators open up into other epochs, animals talk and people look strangely familiar even though you have never met them before. I have never read a Carroll novel in more than 1 sitting: once you start, you are completely hooked until the end. I can't understand why he's not one of the most famous writers in the USA -- he's very popular in Europe (lives in Vienna), but here you can barely find his books -- all his classics except a few recent ones are out of print. Do yourself a favor and read his latest one, The Marriage of Sticks, as an introduction -- it's excellent, although others are better. I love Bones of the Moon and Voices of our Shadow the most. He inspires all sorts of subversive thoughts -- in my case, Carroll makes me wish I'd stolen the public library copies I found of all his old books. Seek out all his books and let's bring Carroll back to mainstream America. He'll change how you think.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: Four years ago, when Carroll visited Poland, there wasn't a single person who'd want to get his authograph. Last year, in May, i had to wait for over four hours to get to him. I think this explains everything - this is simply a terrific writer. "Marriage os sticks" was slightly different from the rest of his books, but for those who'd been his fans for years, like myself, it'll be a real feast. Yes, it was very confusing, which certainly makes it a good Carroll book, and adds to its charm. I never tried to figure out what the author wanted to say, simply enjoying the beauty of "Marriage...". It's filled with magic, suspense, absurd...poignant. Worth buying!
Rating: 
Summary: Mind bending in all the best ways
Review: Having just finished the wrenching and one of a kind THE MARRIAGE OF STICKS, I read the review from the reader in Fayetville and laughed out loud at their obtuseness. They must have held this book upside down while reading or turned off the light while they read. Whatever, to say Carroll writes ANYTHING because his readers expect it is to miss the point completely. Nothing this writer has ever done is predictable. Absolutely nothing. That is his greatness and his burden. He is one of the few writers around who really do give us insight into how to live. I liked his earlier books too but rejoice that this one is structurally and philosphically so different. It is more profound, surreal, and in its own peculiar way very touching. Read the book again Fayetville. You missed all the points.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, bewildering experience
Review: I just finished The Marriage of Sticks by Jonathan Carroll this morning, and it was a wonderful, bewildering experience. Reading Carroll is like talking to that exciting friend of yours; you know the one, the person that makes you go places you wouldn't normally go, see things you wouldn't normally see, talk to people you would normally stare at quietly from across the room. If you EVER see a book by Jonathan Carroll on the bookshelves (he's typically listed in the Literature section, alongside Don De Lillo and Chinua Achebe and J.G. Ballard and Kurt Vonnegut and those fortunate enough to have escaped genre classification), grab it and don't let go. His books are very hard to find nowadays, and it's a rare treat to see one in a store. Tor, lovely book publisher that they are, have taken to reprinting some of his earlier books in a trade paperback, and The Marriage of Sticks is one of them, though it only came out a few years ago. This is Carroll's second-to-latest novel, it is the most similar to The Wooden Sea, in respect to style and technique and storytellingness. And characterization. Carroll's characters simply leap off the page and whisper their story in your ear. He has the phenomenal ability of drawing you into the story, like a big brother at a campfire. Carroll's books are to be treasured, and to be snagged wherever you can manage to find a copy.
Rating:
Summary: good but far from perfect
Review: I loved the first part of the book, introducing the characters and their plaes in the world. And the descriptions of falling in and out of love seemed a bit unrealistic but still beautifully written and I couldn't put the book down. And I loved the ending and where the whole book went. The middle section of the book, as the weird X-filesesque events start to happen and you don't really understand why, seemed clunky to me, and was not as enjoyable. In some ways I wish he could have figured out a smoother way to bridge the two wonderful parts.
Rating:
Summary: good but far from perfect
Review: I loved the first part of the book, introducing the characters and their plaes in the world. And the descriptions of falling in and out of love seemed a bit unrealistic but still beautifully written and I couldn't put the book down. And I loved the ending and where the whole book went. The middle section of the book, as the weird X-filesesque events start to happen and you don't really understand why, seemed clunky to me, and was not as enjoyable. In some ways I wish he could have figured out a smoother way to bridge the two wonderful parts.
Rating: 
Summary: Half and Half
Review: I read this book because it had an interesting review in Locus. I like Carroll's approach, using the conventions of mainstream fiction to create atmophere and expectation. It gives an unusual, hybrid voice. I found the strange events that began in the middle of the book genuinely intriguing.However, the resolution to the mystery dissatisfied me. It seems bizarrely harsh to characterize the main character as a "vampire" based on her behavior up until that point. It is not foreshadowed; if it is intended to be a surprise, well, it is, but it never fully meshes with the rest of the text. The presentation of the idea that she has somehow drawn her husband away from his "real life" is unconvincing. And the suggestion that she liberate herself from vampire-hood by passing the trait on to her daughter is peculiar. Why wish such a state on her own daughter? It doesn't seem in character. For that matter, why give up immortality so quickly? I would have tried it out for a few hundred years at least. Carroll has interesting ideas, but I'd like to see him reflect more on their implications. The latter part of the book becomes repetitive and unfocussed. I like a more carefully-constructed work, but the first half is enjoyable reading. If the author can carry this over into a complete text, I would enjoy such a book very much.
Rating:
Summary: This book deserves more than 5 stars******
Review: I read this book in a couple of nights. . .right before bedtime. Needless to say, I had some of the weirdest dreams during those couple of nights. Thats why I love Carroll's work. J. Carroll will fill your head with stories, people and situations that can be scary, funny, sad, weird, and TOO believeable, all at the same time. Read any of his novels and you'll know what i'm talking about. I gave a copy to someone and i'm sure she will treasure it and thank me for the rest of her life.
Rating:
Summary: One of the few male writers around who can write as a woman
Review: I think three times Carroll has written books in the voice of a woman and to my ongoing amazement, he has pulled it off every time. THE MARRIAGE OF STICKS is the latest trip into the female psyche and it's terrific. Warm, touching and then very very frightening, it has one of the most exciting and erotic depictions of a new love affair I have read in years.
Rating:
Summary: Marriage of Sticks won me over
Review: I work in a bookstore, and I happened to pick up Marriage of Sticks one day during lunch. The cover had caught my attention originally; the jacket synopsis held my attention a bit longer. Still, I probably would not have bought the book, being unfamiliar with the author. But I needed something to read for the moment... and I was amazed to find myself sucked in as early as the second page. I can't even explain why exactly I loved this book so much, or why I'm loving every word of Sleeping in Flames. All I know is that after welling tears and goosebumps and occasionally laughing aloud, I put down this book and knew that I had a new favorite author
|
