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bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Carroll's books are always somewhat dark and disturbing, but also whimsical enough to take some of that edge off. This one is devoid of magical realism, and so seems even darker. He draws you effortlessly into his world, and even though he warns you that there is no happy ending, it still stings. The ending felt abrupt as the transformation of one of the characters was not really explored, just presented as the new normal. It was mostly a four star read for me, but that ending was a bit too rough.
snowmaiden's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the beginning of this book so much. Jonathan Carroll is able to create characters that seem completely real, so much so that you swear they must all be based on people he knows. When it's just telling the story of a lonely bachelor who meets a single mother and her adorable 10-year-old son, this book is great. But then things have to get all complicated, and then there's a confusing time jump, and then in the last few pages something supernatural happens with zero foreshadowing. The whole thing is like watching a train jump the tracks and plummet into the ocean. But I still had to give it four stars, because the first half of the book is just that good.
metaphorosis's review against another edition
3.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
3 stars
A successful cartoonist meets a charming, intriguing woman and her son. He finds a dark secret from her past, and faces hard choices in how to react.
The first half of the book is good.
Carroll makes a point that he wanted to start the book with a jolt, but was ultimately argued out of it. He also points out that this is one of only two realistic books he's written - not much in the way of talking dogs (though there is a bulldog); not even any fountain pens. Those two items combined may explain the result.
The book is made up of three parts, and the first two (the most realistic) are good. Well written, interesting, smooth - I was looking forward to writing a positive review. Yes, there were some weaknesses (e.g., like all of Carroll's narrators, this one is highly judgmental, and often wrongly so, by my lights). But largely, the story moved forward nicely.
In the third part, everything comes apart - for the protagonist, but also for the story. Actually, that happens at the very end of part two, when he makes a difficult decision, but Carroll somehow mixes in some very disturbing sex 'play'.
In the third section proper, the characterization goes off the rails. While to some extent, Carroll is depicting normal teenage alienation, the extent of it here was difficult to buy, and is more papered over than explained. More disturbing, though, is that a major plot point turns out to be something of a red herring, deliberately concealed until the point where we find out and feel cheated. It's a major flaw of construction, and for no really good reason except authorial convenience.
At the end of the book, there's a stab at introducing some magic a la Carroll, but then it's withdrawn. I wasn't sure what the point of it all was - it's not as if Carroll couldn't have gotten away with magic. In fact, it's what readers expect. Instead, we get a strange hybrid that doesn't work well in either category. I wonder here whether there was too much or too little editorial intervention. The editor was wrong about the opening line. Maybe they should have focused less on that, and more on the other end of the book.
It's not the book I hoped it would be. The first half (two thirds, really) is strong, and enjoyable. If you're a Carroll fan, read it for that. For the rest,... it seems serious Carroll fans love it. If you're not one, you may want to pass.
On another front - this is part of the Answered Prayers series, to the point that it includes Finky Linky. I first thought this book should have been earlier in the series, but it turns out to be more of an alternate universe. It's not that Finky Linky.
jatridle's review against another edition
2.0
I've been wanting to read Jonathan Carroll for awhile, and I hope I just picked the wrong book to start off with. There were a lot of things about After Silence that I didn't like. For one, I felt through the last third of the book that I was seeing the story from the least interesting perspective of the options available. To me, this didn't seem like Max Fischer's story to tell. I'm not really suggesting the book should have switched perspectives-- but Max's distant view of it all bothered me.
I also found that the more I read, the less sympathy I had for the choices the characters made-- and I'm not talking about either of the "big doozy of choices" that the book is all about, but a lot of the smaller ones. There was a lot of secrecy going on between the characters in the last portion of the book that seemed only to exist to keep the plot moving. I couldn't buy it as existing for any other reason.
I also just really didn't like these characters. The long, drawn out explanation from Lily for the thing that she'd done made me want to vomit. Being expected to get to tell it without interruption-- like anyone owed her that. It made me nuts. Also, there was the boring, irrelevant thought process I was expected to be interested in that was going on in Max's head as he was flying to try to prevent a horrendous catastrophe that could irrevocably change-- or end, several people's lives made me want to shake him 'til his teeth rattled. If I was on that plane with him, I'd be shouting "Shut up! Shut up!I don't find every damn thing that goes through your head that f@#king interesting!" I don't know, I just didn't like these people.
Also, Carroll cheated with his plot in a huge enough way at the end of the book that I wanted to write him and demand my money back. I still might.
Anyway, I know this is a pretty vague review. It's been a few weeks since I finished reading the book. I have one more of his books to try. Hopefully I will like that one better.
I also found that the more I read, the less sympathy I had for the choices the characters made-- and I'm not talking about either of the "big doozy of choices" that the book is all about, but a lot of the smaller ones. There was a lot of secrecy going on between the characters in the last portion of the book that seemed only to exist to keep the plot moving.
Spoiler
Like why Max didn't tell Lily that Lincoln knew the "big secret" as he left the restaurant. It didn't make sense to me. She could have been in huge danger, but, oh well.I also just really didn't like these characters. The long, drawn out explanation from Lily for the thing that she'd done made me want to vomit. Being expected to get to tell it without interruption-- like anyone owed her that. It made me nuts. Also, there was the boring, irrelevant thought process I was expected to be interested in that was going on in Max's head as he was flying to try to prevent a horrendous catastrophe that could irrevocably change-- or end, several people's lives made me want to shake him 'til his teeth rattled. If I was on that plane with him, I'd be shouting "Shut up! Shut up!I don't find every damn thing that goes through your head that f@#king interesting!" I don't know, I just didn't like these people.
Also, Carroll cheated with his plot in a huge enough way at the end of the book that I wanted to write him and demand my money back. I still might.
Anyway, I know this is a pretty vague review. It's been a few weeks since I finished reading the book. I have one more of his books to try. Hopefully I will like that one better.
gengelcox's review
5.0
While every Jonathan Carroll book is a pure delight for the senses– mystical and suspenseful, yet realistic and touching–there is one thing that I (and others) have asked for from past books are endings that put just that right piece de resistance on an otherwise splendid story. Not that I’ve ever been that disappointed by a Carroll ending; I just expect more after the wonders that went before. With After Silence, Carroll’s finally done it–this book has an ending that I can point at and say, “This is an ending,” and quite an ending it is.
Like most of his other novels, After Silence is a love story. This time it’s Max Fischer, semi-famous ‘Paper Clip’ author-cartoonist, who meets Lily Aaron and her son Lincoln at a museum showing. Max is the narrator, and proceeds to examine both his life, and the effect that Lily and her son have upon it. And everything seems idyllic…until. Like past novels, things aren’t as they seem in After Silence, and Max discovers that Lily’s protection of her son may have some other motivation beyond simple motherly love.
This is Carroll’s best novel since [b:Bones of the Moon|42146|Bones of the Moon (Answered Prayers, #1)|Jonathan Carroll|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391047473s/42146.jpg|968918]. What After Silence lacks is that touch of total lunacy of Cullen’s dreams; what makes up for this deficiency is Carroll’s most linear story to date. The details are still there–Lincoln’s disastrous birthday party, the weird and strange denizens of “Crowds and Power” (a Los Angeles restaurant at which Lily works), the nervousness of love and guilt, the Glock taped to the wall–but this time they seem more integrated with the story. Rather than those wondrous side-glimpses like “Mr. Fiddlehead” and “The Art of Falling Down” which were complete short stories wedged into the novels in which they appeared, everything in After Silence works towards the ending.
The ending is tricky, although I would hesitate to call it a trick ending. As the story winds down in the last pages, the pressure on the characters and the pace of the novel increases, so it is important to catch every nuance in the last 20 pages to fully appreciate what actually happens in the ending. And, although I say the ending is satisfying, I won’t promise that you will like it.
Like most of his other novels, After Silence is a love story. This time it’s Max Fischer, semi-famous ‘Paper Clip’ author-cartoonist, who meets Lily Aaron and her son Lincoln at a museum showing. Max is the narrator, and proceeds to examine both his life, and the effect that Lily and her son have upon it. And everything seems idyllic…until. Like past novels, things aren’t as they seem in After Silence, and Max discovers that Lily’s protection of her son may have some other motivation beyond simple motherly love.
This is Carroll’s best novel since [b:Bones of the Moon|42146|Bones of the Moon (Answered Prayers, #1)|Jonathan Carroll|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391047473s/42146.jpg|968918]. What After Silence lacks is that touch of total lunacy of Cullen’s dreams; what makes up for this deficiency is Carroll’s most linear story to date. The details are still there–Lincoln’s disastrous birthday party, the weird and strange denizens of “Crowds and Power” (a Los Angeles restaurant at which Lily works), the nervousness of love and guilt, the Glock taped to the wall–but this time they seem more integrated with the story. Rather than those wondrous side-glimpses like “Mr. Fiddlehead” and “The Art of Falling Down” which were complete short stories wedged into the novels in which they appeared, everything in After Silence works towards the ending.
The ending is tricky, although I would hesitate to call it a trick ending. As the story winds down in the last pages, the pressure on the characters and the pace of the novel increases, so it is important to catch every nuance in the last 20 pages to fully appreciate what actually happens in the ending. And, although I say the ending is satisfying, I won’t promise that you will like it.
tundragirl's review
4.0
Not a book for anyone who's a parent worried about what their kid will turn out to be.
This book is bleaker than the other Jonathan Carroll novels I've read so far, and less magical, which I found to be a nice change of pace.
This book is bleaker than the other Jonathan Carroll novels I've read so far, and less magical, which I found to be a nice change of pace.
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