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 sacks full of strange beans while liberating Vienna from the Turks in the 1600's. They initially wanted to burn them as they thought that they were camel food, but Polish king Jan III Sobieski gave them to one of his officers, who recognized what they were and soon started the first coffee house. Many Viennese cafés hang the picture of the officer - whose name was Jan Franciszek Kulczycki - in their windows.The Land of Laughs is Carroll's debut novel, published in 1980. It's both a fan favorite and a cult classic, having been reprinted by Orion Books in 2000 as the ninth volume of their Fantasy Masterworks series. The Orion edition brough it back to print, as it has fallen out of it for a number of years, and became a reason for despair for many Carroll fans who couldn't get their hands on their favorite author's debut, which grew in value and expectations. Of course now the age of digital publishing has largely eliminated such problems, as the Kindle immortalized hundreds of thousands of volumes which would otherwise share the same fate - which is both a blessing and a curse: the blessing being an eternal digital life of novels, with readers not fearing that their favorites will go out of print and that they will be unable to read them, as there is no print to speak of - but also a curse, resulting decreasing sales of paper books made of trees in favor of their Kindle counterparts made of ones and zeroes. I fear for independent mom-and-pop book stores going out of business, places where you could walk in and browse the books and talk with the owners about them. I would very much miss such places, as I would miss the paper book - with its smell and feel and history. Most of my books come from second hand, and I always wonder about the previous readers and owners. Where did they get it? How did they like it? What was the book's journey before it reached my part of the world? Sometimes readers would inscribe short notes on the book, a dedication to someone they gave it to - and I wonder, what made that person to give it away?I hope that you'll excuse this longish introduction, which I felt was appropriate for Carroll's novel, which also deals with books. It's narrated in the first person by Thomas Abbey, a man famous for being the son of his father - a famous actor. Thomas is a man stuck in a limbo - he teaches English in a prep school in Connecticut and feels that his life is as interesting as watching grass grow. Desperate for a change, Thomas decides to do something which is interesting to him - write a biography of his favorite writer, the late Marshall France. France wrote children's books which Thomas loved when growing up, and remained very much interested in. Although France was renowned for his imaginative and unique work, almost nothing is known about his personal life. Motivated by curiosity about France's life and staleness of his own, Thomas sets out on an ambitious project which will take him to the small midwestern town of Galen, Missouri, where France was born and lived. He will be accompanied by Saxony Gardner, a fellow France-fanatic whom he met by chance in a bookstore while shopping for a rare book by his idol. With their combined efforts they hope to convinve France's surviving daughter, Anna, into letting them her write father's biography. To their surprise, Anna welcomes them warmly and find her excited about their proposal - even eager to have the biography written as soon as possible. But it won't be long before Thomas and Saxony will discover that in Galen not everything is what it seems.Carrol doesn't hesitate to use all the tropes: a troubled male protagonist and a female sidekick, a mysterious woman and a town with its own secrets, and the last but not least - books full of wonder. Who could resist such a mix? Beginning The Land of Laughs feels like sitting down to relax in an old and comfortable armchair - a personal favorite, creaky and wobbly but still very relaxing. But in Carroll's case the armchair is filled with holes, and its arm rests dangle dangerously, threatening to fall apart at any moment.Published in 1980, the book is charmingly dated with having no contemporary technology which we grew so used to - forget about cell phones, personal computers, iPads and Facebook. To do his research Thomas has to go to a library, and actually browse through huge volumes. But the sheer fact that he was so obsessed with a writer's work and never in all these years developed any interest in learning anything about his life seems wildly implausible - even if he had no Google. (imagine if he had a Kindle - so many problems solved! But then you can't hit anybody on the head with a Kindle. Well, you can, but the thing is so light and thin that it'd break in two and would feel like a mosquito bite, so what would be the point?). I did not find any of the characters likable, and found Thomas to be unsympathetic, ungrateful and boring. None of the characters was paricularly interesting and all of them were very undeveloped - especially both women. Anna is presented as little more than a mysterious minx, and Saxony never rises above the label of the devoted nerd. There's a ton of sex scenes in this book which it really could have done without, which made it seem as if they were the only reason for inclusion of two female characters. This smelled strongly for sexism, even for an 80's fantasy novel. Perhaps the biggest flaw is that along with technical aspects the plot itself has dated - after so many versions of a similar story done in film, television and literature I did not find any of the developments particularly surprising, and the sudden and unsatisfying end left me feeling let down.The Land of Laughs was praised by Neil Gaiman, who also chose it as his selection for Audible. Pat Conroy has described Jonathan Carroll as a "cult waiting to happen", and it has happened indeed - but I would never have guessed it from this rather weak and predictable debut. I do not understand why Orion books chose it as a representation of a Fantasy Masterwork, and why it's considered a cult classic - it reads more like a clunky creative writing assignment commisioned to a young writer, fresh out of college. The plot is largely predictable, the characters and their relationships shallow, and the sudden resolution lets any tiny amount of suspense swoosh away quickly like air from a punctured balloon. Perhaps his later novels are better - I sure hope so - but only in the eighties could anyone begin a longlasting career with an effort like this.
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 didn't LOVE it, I found it really enjoyable and original, with some golden WTF moments that somehow, amazingly, work. All told, time well spent in Jonathan Carroll's head.As I said, I'm glad she didn't give me any details, and I'm doubly glad I didn't read any of the reviews on Goodreads (or anywhere else) before I settled in. In the ensuing review, I will endeavor not to spoil any of the surprises of Land of Laughs. And there are quite a few surprises. I was going to list a few hugely successful books that owe JC/LoL a debt, but even that would give you some clues and spoil some of the fun.One of the aspects that drew me in was Carroll's ability to create characters who are petty, obnoxious, and selfish, yet somehow magnetic. Narrator Thomas Abbey (great names all over this tale) is the son of a famous deceased actor Stephen Abbey. Thomas is an unfulfilled English teacher obsessed with children's book author Marshall France, who died unexpectedly at age 44, some years before. Thomas and fellow France devotee Saxony Gardner - damaged, shoot-from-the-hip, high maintenance and my favorite character - travel from NYC to France's hometown in the Midwest - Galen, Missouri - so Abbey can write France's biography and Saxony can edit it. France's editor has told them it's a fool's errand - France's daughter Anna is impossible - but of course they go anyway. Absolute madness eventually ensues. The book you finish is not the book you begin.For me, it was quite a "meta" experience, as the kids say. At times I was thinking, "I am reading a book about the unparalleled pleasures of reading a book, inhabiting a world in which deeply flawed people discuss inhabiting a world invented by deeply flawed people." That sounds unappetizing, maybe a little heady, but, when combined with the sharp, economic details of the landscape, the Galen townspeople, and the gradually unfolding craziness, I was engaged, especially for the last 1/4 of the book. I just wish the craziness could've unfolded a little sooner. But still, a nice payoff.Sometimes I loathed Thomas Abbey and actually wanted something bad to happen to him, but when bad things did happen to him, I felt for him, which is a trick only a great writer can pull off. I never wanted anything bad to happen to Saxony.The Dead Dad Dilemma is the soul of Land of Laughs, and frankly, I've never read a story that handles it in such an original way. The two Dead Dads - Marshall France and Thomas Abbey's father, Stephen - haunt the book and, it turns out, drive the narrative, though you only gradually come to realize it.Another aspect that kept me glued is Carroll's ability to fuse dream reality with "real" reality. In fact, when you put down Land of Laughs, you'll experience that feeling of half-wakefulness, when a receding dream still seems real, for a few delicious, or horrifying, moments.
What do You think about The Land Of Laughs (2001)?
I nearly gave this novel fives stars - it was so close! The omission of that fifth star was purely based on dialogue. The story was five star, the narrative was five star, but sometimes (not all of the time) the dialogue did not flow naturally, like real conversation. It's a cleverly written book, very enjoyable and holds your attention in that delectable way the best stories do. Land of Laughs was written in 1980 and published in 1982, which was really fun because reading the story reminded me what it was like to live before the technology explosion of the 1990's. It was like a time-travel back to those yesteryears that I sometimes miss. Miss a lot! But, I wouldn't part with my iPhone, no. I'm not one to outline plots in my reviews as so many others have done that before me. Instead, I like to say things about the book that made me particularly happy or annoy me in some way. In Land of Laughs, the mystery Carroll sets up and gradually reveals made me very happy. The crafting of the female characters annoyed me just a tad. We have come a long way baby, as things that were acceptable in 1980 make me cringe now! I do, however, stand by my stars, and suggest you read this novel. It pulls you in and keeps you there and lingers after you are done.
—Teri Nolan
Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work. - Flaubert......The plates hated the silver, who in turn hated the glasses. They sang cruel songs at each other. Ping. Clank. Tink. This kind of meanness three times a day. - Peach Shadows by Marshall France......"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. But if it's a lousy book, then it's like going through Secaucus, New Jersey--it smells and you wish you weren't there, but since you've started the trip, you roll up the windows and breathe through your mouth until you're done."-Thomas Abbey, The Land of Laughs, Jonathan CarrollThis is a book by a book lover for book lovers. It is a story wrapped in the love of story, winding its way through broken promises real and imagined between fathers and mothers and grown children and lovers and husbands and wives, finally between the creator and creation. The story itself is mostly a hanger for these many explorations, but I didn't mind that. I loved Thomas' constant reminiscing of his parents, his broken, beautiful relationship with his father. I loved, loved, loved Saxony Gardner. (Honestly it hurt some that Thomas did not commit to her as I did, but this is his weakness and cowardice and inability to see what is in front of his face; it is an integral part of his character - I was very much reminded of Updike's hated Rabbit in places, but Thomas is much smarter and more self aware in his loathsome moments.) I loved that Carroll does not spare his characters their own ugliness.Honestly, my only complaint is the abruptness of the ending. Why do you wait until the final pages to do the most interesting thing you will do in the entire book?!? Otherwise, I honestly loved the ending, and I would happily read a sequel that provides the rest of this book. (But then, that relationship in particular was the one I loved and always wanted more of, so your mileage may vary.)I enjoyed this and will be continuing on to the rest of Carroll's works; trying to decide now between Voice of Our Shadow and Bones of the Moon.
—Amy (Other Amy)
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, rushed. I often had to check the spine of the book to make sure I wasn't reading something that had been published by a vanity press. Many scenes are simply overwrought, almost all of them are overwritten. The main character talks often about rewriting but I don't get the impression that Carroll thinks much about it. I don't know how I read this book to its awful, awful end.
—Brent Legault
