Customer Reviews

From the Teeth of Angels

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Occasionally a novel speaks to fundamental issues that transcend insight and enjoyment. This one did it for me. I don't like Sci-Fi or fantasy, but Carroll's work tears the fabric of reality and goes to one's unexpressible fear and longing to address primal concerns, not unlike the effect fairy tales have on children. Yet he does it in a world where the natural laws as I understand them apply.

Death is a character here and becomes frighteningly real but, miraculously, we're offered a way to triumph over him, if only for a time. And the way is as simple as child's play... literally.

I'm on a quest to find all of Carroll's books -- he's the most amazing writer I know. I had never read this one and was lucky enough to find a copy. Like he does in all his books, he does a great job creating funky characters, wild plots and exotic settings (or at least Vienna and Venice). I like the premise of the book: that death can take the form of anyone you know and if he likes you, you die well, but if he doesn't, you suffer. As usual, Carroll makes you really think about your own life and consider deeper issues. There are some bone chilling scenes when one of the characters realizes that the love of her life is just death playing a role to lure her in. It creeped me out for hours. As I'd say with any Carroll book, find it and read it. This book was a bit rougher than some of his novels -- he tries to hold together 3 strands of plot that sometimes seem like they will fall apart, but ultimately, he does manage to tie them all together. A minor complaint though. It's not his very best, but it's still damn good.

Does Death have more power over us than we have have over Death? This is the question Carroll tries to answer in this great book.

When we near the ends of our lives, sometimes Death allows us to ask questions of him, but beware what you ask because if you don't understand the answer it will cost you... And possibly the people around you. This is the story of Ian McGann, a travel agent from London; Wyatt, aka Finky Linky the TV clown of children's hearts; Sophie, the widow and best friend of Wyatt who drags him to Europe as he is dying of leukemia; Arlen Ford, the retired actress who left her career at it's peak to live in Vienna; Rose, her best friend; Sophie's brother and sister-in-law. Death enters their lives in different ways and it comes around full circle as their stories intertwine when a photojournalist takes a break from Yugoslavia and visits Vienna and leads to the understanding of who we really are.

Carroll's prose brings these peoples' lives into your life and as is usually the case with his books, we leave with a new insight to ourselves.

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A Guide to my Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

Rarely does a book leave me speachless. Most authors will follow the tried and true formula of telling a story, slowly building to a climax. When they are done they bringing you back down to Earth where you feel comfortable, firmly planted on terra firma when it all comes to a conclusion. Jonathan Carrol bucks that trend completely. The story moves along leaving you curious at every twist and turn. I found myself reading the book wondering what the connections were between its characters, trying in my mind to figure it all out. When the book finally came to the climax, I literally couldn't stop reading. Its much like watching a skyrocket. You're taken up, and up, and up, until finally it explodes in all its brilliance and you're left standing there eyes wide open, mouth agape at it's beauty. That's exactly how I feel now that I finished it. This book is a thing of beauty. It is so far out fo the norm for me, but so compelling that it left me in awe. Well done Mr. Carroll, well done.

If you haven't experienced a Jonathan Carroll novel yet, this is the one to start with. It is not only my favorite book by him, but it is my all time favorite. This is one of those that I wish I could give an extra star to as 5 stars doesn't even capture how truelly wonderful this book is.

It's hard to say what this book is about without giving away the story line. But basically, Death visits people in dreams and has conversations with them that affect their living lives. Not only is the plot an attention getter, but the ending is an amazing, thought provoking idea that still sticks with me 15 years later.

J. Carroll's books are not what I would call literary poetry, but rather visionary poetry. His books should be exprienced by all, especially this one.

Long time readers of my commentaries know of my fondness for Jonathan Carroll. He's one of the authors who I try to collect in first edition hardbacks, and I've even written an article in which I attempted to critically assay his entire ouvre. So when I say I enjoyed Carroll's latest, no one is surprised.

Trying to describe why I like Carroll's writing, however, I find myself somewhat tongue-tied. I tried to pinpoint in my article, "The Importance of Details," as a level of description that he perfectly captures, just the right amount of intimate knowledge of his characters that draws a reader in. Sometimes these details are extraordinary, sometimes mundane, but they are never uninteresting.

Thinking about it, I realize that I did leave something out of the article that explains a large part of the draw of his novels for myself. I guess I thought it obvious in context, yet I should explicitly state it--Carroll's novels are fantasies that have a basis in reality. Unlike some fantasy novels whose entire purpose is action/adventure, Carroll's stories are serious studies into the nature of being human through the analogy of the fantastic. The difference is like comparing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to something like "Bladerunner." While both are well-made films starring Harrison Ford jumping about, one is simply a fun-filled rollercoaster, while the other asks "what is it to be human?" Only one truly lingers in the mind's eye.

From the Teeth of Angels is the last (supposedly) of the interconnected novels that began with Bones of the Moon, and it shows its thematic basis a little more so than others, as if Carroll was dashing this one off without veiling his purpose as much as he did in other books. It just doesn't take very long for you to figure out that From the Teeth of Angels is about Death. Carroll has side-swiped the issue in other books (specifically, Philip Strayhorn's suicide in A Child Across the Sky), but herein he tackles it headon. The premise is simple and silly out of context--what if you could ask questions of Death, yet suffer consequences if you don't understand the answers? A bizarre concept, yet Carroll makes it work because you believe in his characters, and once you believe in them, you believe in what is happening to them.

This got me to thinking about themes. What are the different ideas associated with the "Rondua" books? From the Teeth of Angels can only be about Death--it permeates the book. Bones of the Moon is about Guilt, I believe, specifically the guilt of a terminated relationship (in the extreme case there of an abortion). After Silence is about Trust, although it could be about Time as well. I think Trust because of the opening with the cartoonist wondering about his new girlfriend, and trying to gain the trust of her young son. The ending throws that theme off just slightly. Outside the Dog Museum, probably my pick for the worst of the lot, is about Glory. Carroll tries hard to portray the search for wonder, but when he separates it from conflict, it doesn't work quite as well. I'm not sure about Sleeping in Flame, Black Cocktail or A Child Across the Sky. I'll have to think on them. Perhaps it's time to write another article?

This book addicted me to searching for Jonathan Carroll's books forever. After Silence and Sleeping in Flames cemented the addiction :)

I had a hard time stopping reading, wanting to get to the end and understand the mystery. Definitely a gripping book. Hard to talk about it without giving too much away. Read the cover blurb. Read the book and enjoy the adventure for yourself.

Having read several other of Jonathan Carroll's books ("The Land of Laughs", "Bones of the Moon", "Sleeping in Flame"), I had some idea of what to expect: a deceptively breezy style masking some genuine chills, ordinary people in a realistic, intriguing plot whose supernatural elements are gradually revealed, references to characters from his other novels for those in the know.

"From the Teeth of Angels" does include all these. Unfortunately, it does not live up to Carroll's previous work. The chills are isolated and do not build up to a suspenseful climax. The plot starts out quite intriguingly, but fritters away into tired romance and metaphysics, leaving several points unresolved at the end. The two main characters (a beautiful movie star and a gay kiddie TV host) are largely undeveloped and incredibly goody-goody, as well as independently wealthy. Several minor characters are introduced only to vanish almost completely from the story. And enough of Vienna already!

Nevertheless, "From the Teeth of Angels" is worth reading. It has some memorable scenes, and it raises some thought-provoking ideas (even if it failed to follow through on them to the extent I would have liked). But if you're not already a Jonathan Carroll fan, I'd recommend starting with either "The Land of Laughs" or "Bones of the Moon" rather than this

This was one of those books that were engrossing while I was reading it -- and became faintly ridiculous once it was over. It reminded me of Emily Dickinson poem, "Because I could not stop for death."

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

The book concerns a group of characters, loosely connected, all of whom encounter death in different guises. Some see death in dreams or visions, others experience him as a character in their own lives. The main characters are a terminally-ill former TV children's show, a retired film star and a photographer who is HIV positive. There are also some others, all trying in some way to come to terms with death.

Death himself, once we meet him, is revealed as a petty, vindictive, bully who decides on a whim how each individual should die. If he likes a character, that person may die peacefully in bed. If he takes a dislike to a person, he or she is liable die a long, awful, painful death.

Ultimately, this book is supposed to be life-affirming. Death, we are told, is always obsessed by human beings and Death claims each and every one of us in the end. But despite knowing we must all die, humans win temporary victories over Death by going about their lives and ignoring Him.

Is this a deep message to take away from what is quite a morbid book?
You decide.

While not as pleasant a read as Carroll's BONES OF THE MOON, FROM THE TEETH OF ANGELS is one of Carroll's best-written novels. A friend couldn't finish it because the protagonist is stricken with AIDS and has friends facing death as well. One of the more interesting devices is Death as a character, and the portrayal isn't the usual, somewhat flattering picture. Carroll shows death as petty, a liar and cheat. While not an easy book to read, it is immensely rewarding.