Synopses & Reviews
Have you ever loved a magical book above all others? Have you ever wished the magic were real? Welcome to
The Land of Laughs. A novel about how terrifying that would be.
Schoolteacher Thomas Abbey, unsure son of a film star, doesn't know who he is or what he wants in life, in love, or in his relationship with the strange and intense Saxony Gardner. What he knows is that in his whole life nothing has touched him so deeply as the novels of Marshall France, a reclusive author of fabulous children's tales who died at forty-four.
Now Thomas and Saxony have come to France's hometown, the dreamy Midwestern town of Galen, Missouri, to write France's biography. Warned in advance that France's family may oppose them, they're surprised to find France's daughter warmly welcoming instead. But slowly they begin to see that something fantastic and horrible is happening. The magic of Marshall France has extended far beyond the printed page...leaving them with a terrifying task to undertake.
Review
"A unique mixture of humour and horror. Destined to become a modern classic." Fantasy Review
Review
"The most original first novel to appear in my generation of writers....Jonathan Carroll is a cult waiting to be born." Pat Conroy
Review
"This is an intricate, challenging, ultimately chilling tale, full of startling juxtapositions and surprises." Washington Post Book World
Review
"[T]he sort of book an inveterate fiction reader hopes to escape with on a rainy day." Pat Hilton, Los Angeles Times
Review
"The situation itself is fantasy but even as I was busy telling myself it couldn't really happen, my eyes were glued open to the dark at 3 a.m. After all, Carroll's characters, all of them lovingly and skillfully established as real people, react to it just as anyone would, making the horror more horrible for dwelling side by side with such realism." Ellen Kushner, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
"I envy anyone who has yet to enjoy the sexy, eerie, and addictive novels of Jonathan Carroll. They are delicious treats with devilish tricks inside them." The Washington Post
Review
"The Land of Laughs is a book for anyone who has ever believed that a favorite book could be a safe place to go when things are hard." Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods
Synopsis
Have you ever loved a magical book above all others? Have you ever wished the magic were real? Welcome to
The Land of Laughs. A novel about how terrifying that would be.
Schoolteacher Thomas Abbey, unsure son of a film star, doesn't know who he is or what he wants--in life, in love, or in his relationship with the strange and intense Saxony Gardner. What he knows is that in his whole life nothing has touched him so deeply as the novels of Marshall France, a reclusive author of fabulous children's tales who died at forty-four.
Now Thomas and Saxony have come to France's hometown, the dreamy Midwestern town of Galen, Missouri, to write France's biography. Warned in advance that France's family may oppose them, they're surprised to find France's daughter warmly welcoming instead. But slowly they begin to see that something fantastic and horrible is happening. The magic of Marshall France has extended far beyond the printed page...leaving them with a terrifying task to undertake.
About the Author
Jonathan Carroll is the author of The Marriage of Sticks, Sleeping in Flame, From the Teeth of Angels, and many other novels. His most recent book is The Wooden Sea.