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karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
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.
“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.
metaphorosis's review against another edition
2.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
2.5 stars
When I read Voice of Our Shadow, I was disappointed to find it not as good as I remembered. Still, I reminded myself, it was only his second book. I looked forward to the other Carroll books I bought in a batch. A Child Across the Sky was one of the many new ones.
It was with a sinking feeling, then, that I soon realized the book wasn't particularly good. It's true that it's part of a series, and I read it out of sequence, but it's marketed as a stand-alone book. The plot concerns a celebrated director called to wrap up a friend and fellow director's final project, a horror film. The story has the usual elements of fantasy and magical realism. Unfortunately, it doesn't have that much to hold our interest.
The book is broken up by messages from the dead, letters, stories-within-a-story, and other devices, but none of them gripped me. In fact, because the narrative presents some things from two perspectives, I initially found them repetitious, not realizing it was intentional. Once I did, though, I didn't find the stories any more interesting. They provided color, but a lot of it didn't add up to much.
In many ways, I found this very similar to Voice of Our Shadow - there are substantial overlaps in approach and plot. That book, however, I found better put together than this, and the ending stronger. Here, while the resolution is uncertain, I found it more vague than intriguing. The writing in general was decent, but the characterizations seemed haphazard, and at times shallow.
All in all, disappointing. Here's hoping I like the next Carroll book better - I've got quite a number left to read.
* As seems to be Open Road Media's trademark, there were a number of typos and instances of sloppy editing. For a company that seems to focus on serious, 'literary' authors, I'd have thought they'd try harder. It doesn't bode well for the dozen other books I bought from them.
gengelcox's review
5.0
This novel focuses on Weber Gregston, who we first met in [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] (he was the other person to experience the Rondua dreams with Cullen). Another great opener: “An hour before he shot himself, my best friend Philip Strayhorn called to talk about thumbs.” That opening lets you in on the set-up; instead of a male-female relationship, Carroll looks at the relationship of two male college roommates with similar interests, who have gone slightly separate ways since school. Gregston became a widely respected director of art house films; Strayhorn became “Bloodstone,” the “hero” and writer of the Midnight series of horror films. Though addicted, both have become disenchanted with movies. Gregston has turned to theater while Strayhorn is putting the finishing touches on the fourth (and last) Midnight movie.
Strayhorn commits suicide, sending Gregston a videotape of his last requests. Strangely, the videotape will only play so much before showing white noise–revealing new portions each succeeding time it is played. Strayhorn requests that Gregston finish the last Midnight movie and close Strayhorn’s business in L.A. Interspersed in this narrative are comments from Strayhorn himself, who has entered the larger world (the “afterlife”?) and become a postmodern fiction character–someone who both participates in and comments on the action of the novel. While finishing “Midnight Never Leaves,” Gregston is visited by Pinsleepe, who is either Strayhorn’s unborn daughter or an angel. Pinsleepe explains to him the importance of finishing the movie, something to do with the evil that Strayhorn had released into the world. But there are may types of angels, and what the dead want isn’t always the best for the living….
A Child Across the Sky contains a lot of punch, yet most of the blows are only glancing. For readers familiar with Strayhorn and Gregston from the previous novels, this is an interesting addition and complication to their stories. Readers unfamiliar with them or Carroll’s work in general will find themselves lost and unsure in this new realm of unasked questions and unaddressed possibilities.
Strayhorn commits suicide, sending Gregston a videotape of his last requests. Strangely, the videotape will only play so much before showing white noise–revealing new portions each succeeding time it is played. Strayhorn requests that Gregston finish the last Midnight movie and close Strayhorn’s business in L.A. Interspersed in this narrative are comments from Strayhorn himself, who has entered the larger world (the “afterlife”?) and become a postmodern fiction character–someone who both participates in and comments on the action of the novel. While finishing “Midnight Never Leaves,” Gregston is visited by Pinsleepe, who is either Strayhorn’s unborn daughter or an angel. Pinsleepe explains to him the importance of finishing the movie, something to do with the evil that Strayhorn had released into the world. But there are may types of angels, and what the dead want isn’t always the best for the living….
A Child Across the Sky contains a lot of punch, yet most of the blows are only glancing. For readers familiar with Strayhorn and Gregston from the previous novels, this is an interesting addition and complication to their stories. Readers unfamiliar with them or Carroll’s work in general will find themselves lost and unsure in this new realm of unasked questions and unaddressed possibilities.
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