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A review by selenajournal
The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll
5.0
A librarian recommended this book to me when there were no Murakami books on the shelf. She assured me that this would fill that same gap in my heart. It sat around in my room, almost forgotten, for about a month, and when it was time to give it back or incur over-due fines, I decided to read it anyway. I began at eleven and finished at four in the morning.
Jonathan Carroll’s Ghost in Love begins as a relatively normal story about a breakup between Ben and his girlfriend, German. Then we find out that Ben is being followed by his ghost, whom he cannot see, because he was meant to die and didn’t. As you can glean from the name, the ghost is in love – with Ben’s girlfriend. And from there, it spirals into this weird place that is believable but very surreal. In that way, it is very much like Murakami.
Let me very clearly say that Carroll is an unbelievable writer. His descriptions of events are entrancing but it is the emotions that he strings together beautifully that touch my heart. In his explanation of the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend, I fell in love with the book. In his odd introduction to a strange world, which I will miss, I was mesmerized.
What I enjoy about writers like Carroll is that they take an already established concept like ghosts and change the rules. Rather than allowing the reader to bring their prior knowledge and bias about a concept like ghosts, he changes it to such an extent that you have to be open minded about it. It also gives him great leeway as the story goes on to further alter things or make them up entirely.
From The Ghost in Love’s title it sounds as though this story focuses on the relationship between Ben’s ghost and his girlfriend German. But it doesn’t. The ghost’s love for German helps to further the story along in important places, but it isn’t the backbone for it, really. When I decided to check out the book it was partly becuase I was hoping for a romantic story about an impossible love and partly because of the intriguing cover art, but it mostly doesn’t fit. A definite case of what happens when you judge a book by its cover and come away pleasantly surprised.
The ending of The Ghost in Love felt appropriate to me, leaving loose ends open and letting my imagination take the reigns. It gives Carroll a chance to explore this universe again, though I am not sure he will. Most importantly, I was left thinking about important things that I often neglect when I got to the last page – fate, free will, the importance of love and the treasured memories of my past.
I went to the library today and picked up another Jonathan Carroll book, the only one they had on the shelf, letting The Ghost in Love enter circulation again. This is a book that I think I’m going to have to own.
Jonathan Carroll’s Ghost in Love begins as a relatively normal story about a breakup between Ben and his girlfriend, German. Then we find out that Ben is being followed by his ghost, whom he cannot see, because he was meant to die and didn’t. As you can glean from the name, the ghost is in love – with Ben’s girlfriend. And from there, it spirals into this weird place that is believable but very surreal. In that way, it is very much like Murakami.
Let me very clearly say that Carroll is an unbelievable writer. His descriptions of events are entrancing but it is the emotions that he strings together beautifully that touch my heart. In his explanation of the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend, I fell in love with the book. In his odd introduction to a strange world, which I will miss, I was mesmerized.
What I enjoy about writers like Carroll is that they take an already established concept like ghosts and change the rules. Rather than allowing the reader to bring their prior knowledge and bias about a concept like ghosts, he changes it to such an extent that you have to be open minded about it. It also gives him great leeway as the story goes on to further alter things or make them up entirely.
From The Ghost in Love’s title it sounds as though this story focuses on the relationship between Ben’s ghost and his girlfriend German. But it doesn’t. The ghost’s love for German helps to further the story along in important places, but it isn’t the backbone for it, really. When I decided to check out the book it was partly becuase I was hoping for a romantic story about an impossible love and partly because of the intriguing cover art, but it mostly doesn’t fit. A definite case of what happens when you judge a book by its cover and come away pleasantly surprised.
The ending of The Ghost in Love felt appropriate to me, leaving loose ends open and letting my imagination take the reigns. It gives Carroll a chance to explore this universe again, though I am not sure he will. Most importantly, I was left thinking about important things that I often neglect when I got to the last page – fate, free will, the importance of love and the treasured memories of my past.
I went to the library today and picked up another Jonathan Carroll book, the only one they had on the shelf, letting The Ghost in Love enter circulation again. This is a book that I think I’m going to have to own.