Customer Reviews

Sleeping in Flame

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This is one of the most original, unusual, eccentric, competent books I have ever read. It's so unusual and different that one almost can't believe that the book comes out as well put-together and nicely crafted as it does. The novel succeeds at being extremely odd while reading like mainstream fiction. How does Carroll do it?

It's really too bad that Carroll's stuff is so hard to find; I searched for this book for six years before finding it, believe it or not. Carroll has such an individual voice, is so original, that all of his stuff should be readily available.

The only problems I have with this book are the plot's leapfrogs from one style of novel to another; when I read the book, I felt like I was reading several stories at once. While it is usually good to have different themes running together at once, somehow this novel didn't come off as one book with many themes, or even many books with their own themes, but as all kinds of authors and ideas taking hold of the novel at different times. You've got a little Richard Bach there for a while, then some brothers Grimm, then some Tanith Lee, all with a Milan Kundera-type voice. Very strange. Plus, the ending is so abrupt, I found myself wondering if perhaps I'd lost a page or two.

However, the book is well-written enough and entertaining enough and literary enough to go beyond its bizarre literary flightiness, and what comes out is a masterful, wonderful, classic novel. I highly recommend it.

It's one of the great publishing mysteries why Jonathan Carroll isn't among the most popular novelists in the world. I've just scanned Amazon for the availability of his novels, only to find that most of them are out of print. Carroll is a most uncommon writer: his stories are deep, brooding, and grotesque, and yet are told with an easy-going charm that makes them almost impossible to put down. "Sleeping in Flame" adheres to the common Carroll formula: draw the reader in with an engaging opening conflict, bring on the cast of charismatic eccentrics, weave in a convincing and involving romance, and then, just as the readers are lulled by all of this, drop the floor out from under them and plunge them into a world of chilling, grotesque fantasy. I'm not giving anything away when I say that "Sleeping in Flame" is a rather unique spin on the story of Rumpelstilskin. How he introduces the elements of that story, and where he takes it, are so original and fascinating, you'll never think of Rumpelstilskin the same way again. I recommend this book, but I think you'd be better served by telling Amazon to hunt down copies of "Child Across the Sky" or "Land of Laughs," his two greatest novels. My copies are British editions -- I have no idea whether they even had US versions. Even though Carroll is from the US (his dad was the co-screenwriter for "The Hustler") he lives in Vienna and his audience is mostly European.

If your problem with American fiction is that it's too mundane and convential (which it is, oppressively so), or that the novelists with the greatest imaginations are ensnared by genre formulas (which they are), Jonathan Carroll is the answer to your prayers. His wild imagination, compelling characters, and his great narrative voice are unique, and he deserves a huge audience.

Not your usual run-of-the-mill novel, Sleeping in Flame will win your heart with its delightful blend of romance and humor. But then, people who at first glance seem strikingly glamorous turn...well, weird. This book and its author have the potential of developing a cult following. It begins with Walker, a screenwriter living in Vienna, meeting Maris, a model on the run from a potentially violent lover. The two fall in love, and then author Carroll begins leading us and them down bizarre and frightening paths - all the while making sure we're laughing at every twist in the path.
Don't think you've got the tone of this novel figured out; the author's about to pull the rug out from under you. But you'll willingly suspend belief and go along for the magic carpet ride, I betcha.

The story is similar in theme and style to another of the crazy wisdom writers out there today: Haruki Murakami. Carroll links some suburban fantasy with some interesting Eastern ideas about reincarnation and the good old Brothers Grimm in a manner somewhat related to Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut.

The story gradually unfolds to reveal the core issues we all cringe from: fate and love. The main character gradually comes to terms with his own rather interesting history while trying to keep his magical relationship with his newly-discovered love. Along the way he encounters a very interesting range of characters from Hollywood movie moguls to a Jewish shaman who lives in the suburbs.

Then there is the setting: that magical city of Vienna. Carroll has a lot of fun with his American-in-Europe character and there are some very humourous segments included in the tale. Overall Murakami has done a slightly better job from a stylistic viewpoint but I can't deny that Carrol's book was a lot of fun.

Enjoy.

The first time I was introduced to this book was by an English professor of mine in college. Ususual for most college level classes, the book list for the semester consisted of only three novels: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, and this book. Read these novels together, they make for such an alluring and profound literary trio.

If you are looking for a reading experience like none that you have had before Jonathan Carroll's "Sleeping In Flame" might just be the book for you. Other reviewers have likened Carroll's work to a "Twilight Zone" episode or a David Lynch film. This being my first Carroll novel, I found these to be accurate comparisons for the Carroll uninitiated. The novel starts innocently enough as we meet Walker Easterling, a recently divorced part-time actor from America living in Vienna. But soon readers are plunged into a bizarre, dreamlike world where it is simply impossible to predict where the author will take you next. In this respect, Jonathan Carroll may have something in common with namesake Lewis Carroll of "Alice in Wonderland" fame. Not unlike Alice, Walker in the second half of this is novel finds himself in quite a rabbit hole of his own.

To give away any of the details of "Sleeping In Flame" would spoil the fun of this novel. Whether one wishes to take Walker's wild and weird journey literally or figuratively, an open mind is a must. Many of the covers of Carroll's novels contain a blurb from Pat Conroy proclaiming the author "a cult waiting to be born." As with many "cult classic" candidates, "Sleeping In Flame" (and from what I gather Carroll, in general) may be too far a stretch for more conservative readers. However, for those willing to take a wacky ride, Jonathan Carroll is certainly a driver that will have you reaching for your seat belt.

I'm amazed Carroll hasn't taken off in the US. Most of his earlier works are out of print, which is a shame. He's one of of the most talented authors I've read. Some books have a couple of great lines that really stand out, with Carroll you get that every other page. The man is amazing in his ability to capture the moment between 2 people.

Most of his novels revolve a particular set of folkswhose orbits are somehow tied together. If you like this book I'd suggest Bones of the Moon and Outside the Dog Museum (if you can find them.) Just beware, his books are addicting!

Carroll is a true craftsman of his art.

"Walker Easterling, an actor, saves a woman's life only to place her in infinitely greater danger by falling in love with her. Maris York, an artist, is an androgynous beauty who arouses incinerating passions in the men around her. Sleeping In Flame is a novel populated by a shaman with a fondness for sandwiches, an autistic Adonis, and a tiny man as powerful and ravenously jealous as the God of the Old Testament." (cover blurb, paraphrased)

Just when the reader thinks he's in the middle of a slice-of-life romance, this novel takes a sharp left turn and veers into classic Carroll territory -- in other words, deep into the mythic and the folkloric. That jealous old man claims to be Walker's father, and Walker isn't who he thinks he is. Carroll treats us to clear rich prose, and somehow makes even the most fantastic situations seem plausible and perfectly ordinary.

Jonathan Carroll remains one of my favorite "unknown" authors.

To put it simply I will never trust a fairy tale again.

This is my favourite book of his and I have read them all--over and over again. The first half of the book will have you liking the characters, wishing you could meet them and go for coffee. They are nice but not too nice-nerdy; they love but not too stupidly. Then the second half begins and you are in Carroll-land. He is so good at what he does and he is also very nice (has a web-site) I realize that he's going into another 'genre' which is not as magical but his talent IS the magic. When I am ill in the hospital, I bring his books--they are so readable and ethereal. Love him and hope to get the next book coming out soon in 2001!