Tag: jonathan carroll

Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll


Does it ever really happen that we are given a real second chance?

Another turn to bat, a few magical feet more to skid before we hit the wall

and ruin everything?

No, in real life that didn’t happen.

Summary: Cullen James is a young woman who lives in New York with her family. In her dreams, though, she lives in the magical land of Rondua, where she journeys with a boy called Pepsi and a bunch of talking animals, on a quest to find the Bones of the Moon. The dreamland, seemingly amazing, soon appears to be taking over Cullen’s life, as reality and fantasy begin to dangerously interweave.
My thoughts: Between reading Anna Karenina and a book of essays by Oscar Wilde, I started missing good ol’ fantasy fiction; which is why I decided to read this book and I am so glad I did. The only other book that I’ve read by Jonathan Carroll is The Land of Laughs, and while it was really great, this one is just something else.
The book is wonderful, and just the right amount of touching. It’s unusual, dreamy (literally) and just fantastic. The plot is set at a fast, exciting pace. The characters seem real and somehow, so does the wacky world they live in. The vivid descriptions make the fiction come to life.
I loved the book and I’d definitely recommend it! (If that isn’t enough motivation to read the book, note the fact that both Stephen King and Neil Gaiman recommend it.)
The review is a part of the What’s in a Name Challenge hosted at Beth Fish Reads (something you’d see in the sky)

The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Grab your current read, open to a random page and share two teaser sentences from that page!

  • “Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else’s world. If it’s a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what’s going to happen to you there, what’ll be around the next corner.”
The Land of Laughs is a fantasy novel by Jonathan Carroll. It is about an aspiring writer who wants to write the biography of one of the most famous children’s writers ever. It’s about books and writing and fantastical worlds.

  • Rating: 3/5


    • Summary: Marshall France was a legend in the world of books – children’s fantasy stories to be exact, till one day he just stopped writing and disappeared. Thomas Abbey, an English teacher, is an aspiring writer and a Marshall France enthusiast. When Abbey happens to meet Saxony Gartener, a fellow Marshall France lover; they together decide to do something that Thomas has been dreaming of for ever – write France’s biography. After much effort, the two end up in Galen, Marshall France’s hometown – hoping to persuade his daughter, Anna, to let them write the book. Soon, they realize that the town has some dark secret. Meeting a talking dog is the final straw, before Abbey realizes that France’s fantasy world isn’t entirely fantastical.

    My thoughts: I liked three fourths of the book. It is a book-lover’s dream: the way they obsess over France’s books, his characters, his magical worlds. The characters are wonderfully written; Thomas Abbey, the English teacher who is the son of the most famous film-maker and has always lived under his shadow. Marshall France’s books have had a great influence on him as a child, and even now. Then there is Saxony Gardner, the woman who shares an equal passion for France’s books, so much that she encourages Abbey to go through with his plans of writing the biography, and decides to assist him herself. Along with Anna France, the town of Galen is like every small town you have ever read about, quiet and private but lovable. They are also the proud owners of Marshall France’s memories. Together, the stage is set beautifully for a magical story to unfold. Only, it doesn’t.

    Ever since Thomas discovers the town’s dark secret, things become entirely chaotic. The story takes a sudden turn and starts running in that direction. Before you have time to digest what you’ve read, more information is thrown upon you, and just when you place it together, the book reaches an abrupt end. The story is great, but it is too rushed. And the writing is great, but it doesn’t seem like one book. There is no continuity; it’s as if it is written by too different writers; at one point, the author takes time to describe a stranger’s nails, and at another point; he ends a life in five words.


    Like I said, I fell in love with three fourths of the book. The end ruined it for me. It is an eerily beautiful and unique story – but it could have been so much more.