This is copy 40 of 300 copies signed by:Jonathan CarrollRyder CarrollMichelle LopesDavid Mattingly

(Review originally posted on my author website, Write Right Now)Jonathan Carroll has developed an almost cult status as a slipstream author, and it was with his contemporary fantasy reputation in mind that I picked up a copy of The Land of Laughs, part of the Fantasy Masterworks collection. It had incredibly high praise from a number of reputable critics and authors, including Neil Gaiman, and comes with claims that if you’re new to Jonathan Carroll then his debut is a great place to start. Such...

I've read this book twice. Both times I was satisfied and amazed. And I am going to do it again.

Morbid and unsettling, even though extremely ingenious. Obsessions, talking dogs, infidelity, diaries of doom, freedom vs fate, writers of destiny, ... what the fig? Q:Why couldn’t a woman be marvelous for once? Not winky, not liberated, not vacuous … (c)Q:Don’t they scare you?”“No more than you do, my dear.”That was that. Five minutes later she was gone and I was putting some of the linseed oil on another mask. (c)Q:“The Land of Laughs was lit by eyes that saw the lights that no one’s seen.” (c...

This book was my introduction to the incredible writing of Jonathan Carroll. He writes these modern fantasies that are sometimes dark and usually humorous. I can't think of another author that I know of that writes like Carroll. The problem is, he usually runs hot or cold for me; I either love the book or I can't even finish it. Again, this is an enigma that I share with no other author. At any rate, THE LAND OF LAUGHS definitely hit a home run for me. Wonderful, funny characters and imaginative...

This cult classic--a bigger hit in Poland than in the author's native USA--is a strange novel, and a very interesting one. At the beginning, it seems to be a piece of realistic fiction, narrating the efforts of a high school English instructor in his 30's and his researcher girlfriend to write the biography of a deceased children's book author they idolize. But when they get to the author's hometown, things get weirder and weirder--and the book itself gets stranger and stranger. Unlike many book...

”The Land of Laughs was lit by eyes that saw the lights that no one’s seen.” Jonathan CarrollThomas Abbey is a prep school English teacher who is weighed down with loneliness, boredom, and a lackluster attitude about the direction of his own life. He has three passions: one, he likes to collect unusual masks from around the world; two, he loves the books of Marshall France; three, he hates (loves) his famous father. He has been defined his whole life as the son of….Things begin to change for

The Land of Laughs: Weird things are afoot in small-town MissouriOriginally posted at Fantasy LiteratureThe Land of Laughs was written back in 1980 and I wonder how many readers know about it now. It’s written by Jonathan Carroll, who has written a number of offbeat modern fantasies, and I only know about it because it was selected by David Pringle for his Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels. Even that is probably not enough to put it on most radars, but Neil Gaiman also chose it for his “Neil G...

This book most definitely would have deserved 5 shining stars had it not been for the weakest love line ever (and the author should have revealed a bit more about the female bookish-nerdish sidekick, I got a feeling as if she's got a lot to hide).(and I wish the main character hadn't been such a self-important jerk sometimes!)Apart from it, it's almost perfect. What I liked the most was the ending, which was beautiful and scary and cool. I liked the whole 80's gadgetless atmosphere, when people

I had no clue what to expect of this novel, and cannot even remember where I encountered it already many months ago. FROM THE BLURB 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 i...

jonathan carroll's books are like gourmet jellybeans. even his shittiest flavors are better than most regular jellybeans, and who doesn't like jellybeans? (alfonso claims that only white people eat jellybeans, which is untrue, but it's such an odd racial stereotype i feel compelled to add it here).you know how there is some music that no matter what mood you are in, it just happens to be the right music?? jonathan carroll is like that for me. he's just...wonderful, like a new crush you can't sto...

The Land of Laughs is a tricky book.I thought it was pretty close to perfect, until the last ten pages or so; I walked away from the ending dissatisfied -- distressed, even -- and am still trying to work out whether it was a failure on the level of expectation or of writing. Was I thrown because I assumed the narrative would follow traditional, comforting fantasy logic? Or did Jonathan Carroll just write a careless, pulpy, trainwrecky ending?The novel starts out full of nostalgia and metafiction...

I'll end up with a slew of Carroll novels--this one came out in America in 1980, so is one of the early ones. Check out Carroll's website www.jonathancarroll.com . Neil Gaiman, who admires Carroll greatly, wrote an introduction for the website which says: "Jonathan Carroll's a changer. He's one of the special ones, one of the few. He paints the world he sees. He opens a window you did not know was there and invites you to look through it. He gives you his eyes to see with, and he gives you the w...

sexist feedle-faddle wannabe literature

Jonathan Carroll is a writer whose name I have been hearing over the years, but whose fiction I've never tried. An American living in Vienna for many years, he has developed a quiet but steadfast cult following - much like the city itself, with its with its unlimited supply of quiet coffee houses - the famous Viennese cafés, described by UNESCO as places "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill". Legend has it that soldiers from the Polish-Habsburg army found

Thomas Abbey has always loved the books by Marshall France, you may even say he's obsessed with them. He has a copy of just about every book written by the famed (and fictional) author and has an inheritance from his famous father that allows him to pay big bucks for even the rarest publications.Abbey, who is also a school English teacher, decides he wants to write a biography of his favorite author even though he's never written anything in his life. He manages to run into a fellow France-obses...

A dear friend who knows me well pressed this book on me and said, "Read it, you'll love it." She told me nothing about the Land of Laughs, and I'm glad. She loaned me her old paperback copy, which, unlike later editions, has no Neil Gaiman intro. I'm also glad about this, as I'm sure NG, who I love, divulges some plot points because he can't help himself.The passing of this book from hand to hand was one of those times when a friend's enthusiasm was all it took for me to give it a shot. While I

I was recommended this book by a good friend and I will forever be grateful to her for that because I couldn’t have loved this book more. In fact, I’m ready to dive head first into the world of Carroll’s writing! This book is just pure perfection, it has everything you could want as a reader; stunning writing, amazing characters and a truly fascinating storyline. And it’s the most beautiful mix of fantasy, horror and magical realism I’ve ever had the luck to read! Trust me, you need to read this...

Here's what I think: it has a lot of "Boy, howdy!" dialogue. Sometimes the narration reads like an eager family newsletter and is infested with as many tired phrases. The plot and its "twists" are no more interesting or serpentine than an episode of The Twilight Zone or a Stephen King short story. Someone (An editor, perhaps. Did this book have an editor?) should have suggested that Carroll look up "elegant variation" in Fowler's. Much or most of his sentences are just careless, thoughtless, rus...