The Ghost in Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: pink fog, Ben Gould, Danielle Voyles, German Landis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Death is not the end but rather the start of a series of madcap and sometimes moving adventures for characters in this spry novel about the un-afterlife. Events begin on a wintry day in Connecticut when Ben Gould slips and hits his head on a curb. He should have died, but owing to a virus in heaven's computer system, Ben's body lives on. Soon, Ben and others in his life—including his talking dog, Pilot, and his own ghost (named Ling)—find themselves endowed with extraordinary and unpredictable talents, including time traveling, the ability to hobnob with multiple incarnations of their younger selves, and a capacity to see otherwise invisible forces of fate manifested in bizarre physical forms. Carroll (Glass Soup) tethers the series of loopy incidents that ensues and their shaggy-dog explanation to incisive and poignant observations about the wondrous possibilities of everyday life that are the hallmark of his flippant style of fantasy. Carroll fans will best appreciate this jeu d'esprit. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Ben Gould was supposed to die, but he didn't, and now he can talk to his dog, Pilot, and Ling, the ghost that's been sent to take his soul to the afterlife. This perspective-changing novel, which follows Carroll's (www.jonathancarroll.com) The Wooden Sea, explores what can happen when we choose to take control of our own fate. Actor/two-time Audie Award nominee Ray Porter does a good job of drawing in listeners. Recommended for most public libraries. [Audio clip available through www.blackstoneaudio.com; the Farrar hc received a starred review, LJ 9/1/08.—Ed.]—Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374161860
• ISBN-13: 978-0374161866
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #145,794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you are different then you were 10 minutes ago..., October 8, 2008

By	A. Boston (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

...and when you read this work of art, my title will make sense to you. ;)

To begin, this book is amazing. It's completely out of this world while taking place in modern day reality, if that's possible! Wildly inventive with enough regular life mixed in to make it perfect.

Its reminiscent of a couple of other things that I love and not in a copy cat kind of way. Johnathan Carroll has a similar writing style to Neil Gaiman, with a very whimsical prose and they're both beyond creative. At times it reminded me of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger with the time travel and love aspects. Also of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the "what is going on?!" kind of feel, like you're totally just chasing yourself in circles. If any of these interest you, I think you'd love this book.

There was so much story in 308 pages, that it's impossible to categorize. I won't go over what it's about because it can be read in the Amazon description or in another review. I will say, it was much different then I expected from the short synopsis that I read. But don't mistake 'different' for bad. This book was enlightening, amazing, funny, and thought provoking. A lot of the time I found myself exclaiming outloud -- tons of "what?!?!" or "you've got to be kidding" coming out of my mouth without my realizing it until my boyfriend would ask from another room what was wrong. It had feelings of The Time Traveler's Wife in that a couple times I was just so entirely confused I had to put down the book and work it out in my head. Sometimes It was so close to over my head, but then I would be able to grasp it. Most of the time I can speed read thru books, but this one I wanted to savor, and I took my time with it, not reading more then 50 pages at a time. It's main themes are love, learning to live with all parts of yourself both good and bad, and taking control of your own destiny.

UPDATE 12/08: I let my best friend and my mom borrow this book and neither of them liked it. My best friend isn't so keen on fantastical stuff mixed into reality so that's definitely why it didn't work for her. She particularly hated one of the creatures in the book, which I think is what really ruined it for her. My mom usually reads kids fantasy books(Harry Potter, Twilight series, Erragon), so it was too far out for her as well. I like stories that make me think, analyze and that I have to really have a super imagination for.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How could I have missed this guy!, January 5, 2009

By	G. Clifton "bookmobile man" (Ferrum, Va USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a delight to find a new author. What's even better is finding out he's been writing for years and there are all of these undiscovered countries to explore. I dislike too much information in reviews and on book jackets. (And besides, you can find out as much as, or more than you want, from other reviews.) So let me just say that if you enjoy traveling with the likes of Kurt Vonnegut(Breakfast of Champions Tom Robbins(on his mellow days, something like Jitterbug Perfume) or even Richard Bach (Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah) you may LOVE Jonathan Carroll. I think at the very least you will enjoy traveling with him in the world of THE GHOST IN LOVE.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable novel that is much more than just a ghost story, October 5, 2008

By	Monica J. Kern (Lexington, KY United States) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

"The Ghost in Love" is an impossible book to pigeonhole. It is delightfully creative and entertaining while also being thought-provoking in how it tackles some fairly heavy topics: What is destiny, and can humans escape their destinies? What creates happiness? And, ultimately, what determines a person's identity? When I read a book I own and see a passage I think is particularly thought-provoking, I'll place a tiny dog-ear on the page. I knew this book was special when I finished it and saw dozens of tiny dog-ears sprinkled across the pages.

Take, for example, this conversation between two characters. When one character assures another that she likes being alive, the second (one of the bad guys in the book) responds, "Why? Life's chaotic, full of pain and suffering. It's unreliable and as disorderly as you can get. Nothing in life lasts, nothing's permanent, and there's not one thing that you can trust 100%. Admit it: if a person had all those lousy qualities, you'd never want to be around them."

What makes this novel so remarkable is that all of these insights are embedded in prose that is well-written, easy to read, and entertaining, with a wry sense of humor and right-on-target reflections on humanity.

Your only job as a reader is to suspend disbelief, fasten your seat belt, and go along for a rollicking romp through the nature of death, reality, and the meaning of life. But if you can wrap your head around concepts like the Angel of Death appearing in the form of a plate of bacon and eggs; dogs that talk; people that can understand talking dogs; fictional animals that look like earless dogs that possess enormous powers; oh, and of course, ghosts; you'll be glad you did so... because this is a novel that will have you thinking long after the final page has been turned.