Staff Pick
"It took me less than half a lifetime to realize that regret is one of the few guaranteed certainties. Sooner or later everything is touched by it, despite our naive and senseless hope that this time we will be spared its cold hand on our heart."
Not bad for an opening paragraph, eh? A friend of mine once said of Carroll's work, "He writes from his soul," which sums it up rather nicely. Sleeping in Flame is the story of Walker Easterling and his rather unusual ancestors. The story of Rumplestiltskin figures largely in the plot, but Carroll does unexpected things with it. Walker falls in love with a woman, and the first third of the book is about how they meet. The rest of the book centers around Walker's unusual ancestors and how he comes to terms with his inheritance. Carroll's work is mostly out of print, but well worth the extra effort it takes to seek it out. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Walker Easterling is a retired actor turned successful screenwriter living in the Vienna of strong coffee, fascinating friends, and mysterious cafes. When he falls in love with Maris York, a beautiful artist who creates cities, his life becomes alive in fantastic and unsettling ways. As Walker's love for Maris grows, his life gets more and more bizarre he discovers he can see things happening just before they happen, and at the same time feels an incredibly strong tug from his past so a friend steers him to Venasque, an odd little man reputed to be a powerful shaman. Venasque helps Walker discover and unravel his many interconnected past lives, and it is soon clear that an unresolved conflict from these past lives has resurfaced, and now threatens to undo Walker and Maris's love.
At once lyrical, frightening, funny, and sexy, Sleeping in Flame is a spellbinding tale where reality and fantasy merge in astonishing convolutions of magic and suspense. It confirms that Jonathan Carroll is one of the very few novelists who by constantly surprising us give us an entirely new perspective on our world. It is no wonder that he is generally considered to be the most original and provocative novelist of his generation.
Review
"In what begins as a highly literate parapsychological puzzler, Carroll shifts gears into fantasy and fairy tale, with results that may not be wholly satisfactory to fans of any one genre." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Back in print, a classic of literary fantasy from the author of The Wooden Sea and The Land of Laughs.
Synopsis
An American ex-patriot in Vienna saves a woman's life only to place it in greater danger by falling in love with her.
Synopsis
Back in print, a classic of literary fantasy from the author of
The Wooden Sea and
The Land of Laughs.
Synopsis
Walker Easterling is a retired actor turned successful screenwriter living in the Vienna of strong coffee, fascinating friends, and mysterious cafes. When he falls in love with Maris York, a beautiful artist who creates cities, his life becomes alive in fantastic and unsettling ways. As Walker's love for Maris grows, his life gets more and more bizarre-he discovers he can see things happening just before they happen, and at the same time feels an incredibly strong tug from his past-so a friend steers him to Venasque, an odd little man reputed to be a powerful shaman. Venasque helps Walker discover and unravel his many interconnected past lives, and it is soon clear that an unresolved conflict from these past lives has resurfaced, and now threatens to undo Walker and Maris's love.
At once lyrical, frightening, funny, and sexy, Sleeping in Flame is a spellbinding tale where reality and fantasy merge in astonishing convolutions of magic and suspense. It confirms that Jonathan Carroll is one of the very few novelists who-by constantly surprising us-give us an entirely new perspective on our world. It is no wonder that he is generally considered to be the most original and provocative novelist of his generation.
About the Author
Jonathan Carroll is the globally-praised author of The Land of Laughs and The Wooden Sea. He lives in Vienna.