Jonah Sees Ghosts

by Mark J. Sullivan III

Jonah Sees Ghosts is a shocking, touching, and humorous debut novel that blends magical realism with a figurative study of the ways alcohol abuse shapes the personalities within a family. Resembling a stylish blend of S.E. Hinton, Stephen King, and Tom McGuane, Jonah Sees Ghosts tells the story of fifteen-year-old Jonah Hart, a boy with a problem he’s afraid to share: Not only does he see ghosts, but when he dreams at night, he leaves his body and travels in the ether—a compellingly addictive form of retreat.

As the ghosts that plague him become more and more aggressive, Jonah withdraws into his dream world; when things there turn dangerous as well, the boy is forced to make a stand from the full depths of abandonment and isolation in a last stab at redemption. At its heart, Jonah Sees Ghosts is a story of love within dysfunction and the adaptability of the human spirit.

196 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Iris Alvino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it was extremely attention grabbing but that ending 😩 terrible. It felt like the writer got tired of writing the story and just said “fuck it” and threw together the last 4 pages 😒 what a fucking let down.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tseE7...

“The singer to Kingface – that oddball DC band that were nothing like the rest of the Dischord bands – wrote a book?” (me, about a year ago when I was snooping around the Akashic Books website)

A cool strange fully-realized work – you can’t help but appreciate Sullivan’s pinpoint accuracy with his handling of kids, first crushes and making that slow ascent (descent?) into adulthood.

Magic realism, maybe a dash of ‘Denis Johnson Lite’ - it's really a wonderfully written and heartbreaking novel with a nice dose of humor and vulgarity coming at strange times.

"Jonah wondered at the dexterity adults seemed to possess that allowed them to pick up broken glass without cutting themselves."

"[H]e'd be revered as a hero, and both groups would give him the respect you'd give anyone who'd cut off his nose, not to spite his face, but because he prefers the look."

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book, and the details of ghosts of fingers squirming around saw blades and the dead ballerinas who hang around Jonah's kitchen were clever. Not scary. What was scary was the accurate depictions of high school cruelty, with awkward first dates and misunderstandings with friends. As much as I like supernaturally tinged books, I thought that this was strongest when it left the ghosts out of the picture, with its core story of an alienated teenager.

[Christa綺思 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but not uncommon concept for a story. It was an interesting take on a story regarding people seeing ghosts. Would have loved to see more to the story, though the ending was pretty surprising, I didn't expect it to end that way.

What I liked was the contrast between the eerie, detailed and kind of creepy parts of the story, to the somewhat sentimental (though scarcely few) events within the story.

[Kaleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned many things.