Dziecko na niebie

Answered Prayers #3

by Jonathan Carroll, Zuzanna Naczyńska (Translator)

Weber Gregston, wybitny reżyser, próbuje wyjaśnić motywy samobójczej śmierci przyjaciela Philipa Strayhorna. Wgłębiając się w sprawę, odkrywa coraz to bardziej zdumiewające fakty z życia przyjaciela. Jego działaniom towarzyszą nadprzyrodzone zjawiska. Jak zwykle u Jonathana Carrolla książka ma zaskakujące i nieoczekiwane zakończenie.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural, Ebooks

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jonathan Carroll (b. 1949) is an award-winning American author of modern fantasy and slipstream novels. His debut book, The Land of Laughs (1980), tells the story of a children’s author whose imagination has left the printed page and begun to influence reality. The book introduced several hallmarks of Carroll’s writing, including talking animals and worlds that straddle the thin line between reality and the surreal, a technique that has seen him compared to South American magical realists.

Outside the Dog Museum (1991) was named the best novel of the year by the British Fantasy Society, and has proven to be one of Carroll’s most popular works. Since then he has written the Crane’s View trilogy, Glass Soup (2005) and, most recently, The Ghost in Love (2008). His short stories have been collected in The Panic Hand (1995) and The Woman Who Married a Cloud (2012). He continues to live and write in Vienna.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

go ahead and judge jonathan carroll's books by their covers; lord knows i have:















and so does spectrum:



the above edition has selected three of his covers in their "best of the year", during a particularly fruitful period of reissues:












the covers are what first made me want to read him, and what still makes me collect him in every language i can get. but it's not just surface; with my jonathan carroll, his books deliver on the spooky-fun promise of the covers. he does tend to tackle the same themes over and again, but always in a way that is refreshingly different from most other people's coverage of the same ideas. if kjaerstad is focused upon what is the meaning of a life and what are the parts which comprise that life, carroll's preoccupation is all with the other end of the timeline: what does death have in store? and he is certainly not the first author to come up with an idea of the soul or ghosts or afterlife, but he is the one having the most fun doing it.

child across the sky is my favorite of his novels, and the most successful, overall. (sometimes i have some issues with the way he chooses to wrap his stories up, but this one is pretty strong)

if you like these things, you should like jonathan carroll: dogs, death, film, childhood actions and their repercussions, cause/effect/ justice, and more dogs. that is jonathan carroll, in a nutshell. it's reductive, but i don't want to spoil anyone's pleasure in discovering him for themselves. he has this effect upon people, when someone reads one of his books, even one of his weaker ones - they always want more. i have rotated my collection several times over to so many different people with completely different tastes... he has this mass appeal because he is really fun without being frivolous.

dunno - go read him and you tell me what you think.

and if you are traveling somewhere where foreign languages are spoken, get me some new ones, preferably italian, farsi, or polish...
thanks!

come to my blog!

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle Muntz in his review considers this one of Carroll's most ambiguous and strange novels. It's more open-ended than the other Carroll novels I've read, though my overall experience is familiar. There are some really terrific ideas and uncanny set pieces. But Carroll's approach is a bit cluttered and longwinded for my taste, and I don't think he does himself any favors when he eagerly tosses in concepts like angels. IMO the book would be a lot more unsettling and effective, if Pinsleepe wasn't identified as such; it would certainly be easy enough to rephrase some sentences so we're not anchored to that concept. But Carroll has a huge fan base, so what do I know?

[Μπάμπης M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ωραίο γράψιμο, πλούσιο σε ιδέες και πρωτοτυπία αλλά δεν μου αρέσε το φινάλε. Επίσης το γεγονός ότι αναφέρεται σχεδόν σε κάθε σελίδα με σε μια φανταστική τριλογία ταινιών "Μεσάνυχτα" κάπου με κούρασε.

[Renee Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are 2 possibilities:

1. I don't get it.

2. All those 5 star reviews are from the subjects inhabiting the land of The Emperor With New Clothes.

[tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing Child Across the Sky felt like awakening from a strange dream in the middle of the day when I hadn't realized I'd even fallen asleep.

[Rainb0warri0r · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Un'ora prima che si sparasse, Philip Strayhorn, il mio migliore amico, telefonò per parlarmi dei suoi pollici."

Terzo episodio del surreale "Sestetto delle preghiere esaudite", è il primo romanzo di Carroll che leggo.
Lo vedo in libreria e mi attrae subito. In copertina, un artwork di Dave McKean, un commento di Stephen King ed uno di Neil Gaiman. Non può non piacermi. E infatti...
E' un romanzo straordinario. Non è fantasy e non è horror: è surreale e da ora in poi lo utilizzo come genere per definire soltanto i romanzi di Carroll.
Geniale, assolutamente geniale. Cinico, anzi, di più. Sadico. C'è qualcosa di sadico nel fare a pezzi la realtà, disegnando dei veri e propri strappi dal quale emerge un mondo oscuro e surreale. Grande, grandissima la sua capacità nel tradurre in realtà le più terrificante paure ed angosce umane.
Il finale è straordinario. Uno dei finali più belli che abbia mai letto.

[Maria Thomarey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ενα βιβλίο που με κέρδισε απο το έξι φύλο .... Και άξιζε τον κόπο

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel focuses on Weber Gregston, who we first met in Bones of the Moon (he was the other person to experience the Rondua dreams with Cullen). Another great opener: “An hour before he shot himself, my best friend Philip Strayhorn called to talk about thumbs.” That opening lets you in on the set-up; instead of a male-female relationship, Carroll looks at the relationship of two male college roommates with similar interests, who have gone slightly separate ways since school. Gregston became a widely respected director of art house films; Strayhorn became “Bloodstone,” the “hero” and writer of the Midnight series of horror films. Though addicted, both have become disenchanted with movies. Gregston has turned to theater while Strayhorn is putting the finishing touches on the fourth (and last) Midnight movie.

Strayhorn commits suicide, sending Gregston a videotape of his last requests. Strangely, the videotape will only play so much before showing white noise–revealing new portions each succeeding time it is played. Strayhorn requests that Gregston finish the last Midnight movie and close Strayhorn’s business in L.A. Interspersed in this narrative are comments from Strayhorn himself, who has entered the larger world (the “afterlife”?) and become a postmodern fiction character–someone who both participates in and comments on the action of the novel. While finishing “Midnight Never Leaves,” Gregston is visited by Pinsleepe, who is either Strayhorn’s unborn daughter or an angel. Pinsleepe explains to him the importance of finishing the movie, something to do with the evil that Strayhorn had released into the world. But there are may types of angels, and what the dead want isn’t always the best for the living….

A Child Across the Sky contains a lot of punch, yet most of the blows are only glancing. For readers familiar with Strayhorn and Gregston from the previous novels, this is an interesting addition and complication to their stories. Readers unfamiliar with them or Carroll’s work in general will find themselves lost and unsure in this new realm of unasked questions and unaddressed possibilities.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filmmaker Weber Greston discovers his best friend has killed himself. Also a filmmaker, Philip Strayhorn, best known for his Midnight films, leaves Weber a videotape in lieu of an explanation for his suicide. In the process of watching the tap Weber discovers how little he knew his best friend, the events surrounding his death and his movies. And then in classic Carroll fashion Weber is taken down a road of twists and turns and strangeness, featuring the world of Rondua of Carroll's previous Bones of the Moon and a cameo by Cullen James of the same.

I will continue to read Jonathan Carroll no matter what he puts out, that's a given. But I find myself sad each time that nothing has measured up to the feelings I had deep inside my tum-tum while reading White Apples. As a result I find myself unable to rate Carroll's books as high as I probably should; I still love his mind but my expectations are incredibly high.

[Ania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niejednoznaczna i zmuszająca do rozmyślań na temat moralności. Jedną z najlepszych książek roku 2021

[Zorro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece bros. Yes, a masterpiece.

[Jakub Kierznowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Metaphorosis · Rating 2 out of 5]

reviews.metaphorosis.com

2.5 stars

When I read Voice of Our Shadow, I was disappointed to find it not as good as I remembered. Still, I reminded myself, it was only his second book. I looked forward to the other Carroll books I bought in a batch. A Child Across the Sky was one of the many new ones.

It was with a sinking feeling, then, that I soon realized the book wasn't particularly good. It's true that it's part of a series, and I read it out of sequence, but it's marketed as a stand-alone book. The plot concerns a celebrated director called to wrap up a friend and fellow director's final project, a horror film. The story has the usual elements of fantasy and magical realism. Unfortunately, it doesn't have that much to hold our interest.

The book is broken up by messages from the dead, letters, stories-within-a-story, and other devices, but none of them gripped me. In fact, because the narrative presents some things from two perspectives, I initially found them repetitious, not realizing it was intentional. Once I did, though, I didn't find the stories any more interesting. They provided color, but a lot of it didn't add up to much.

In many ways, I found this very similar to Voice of Our Shadow - there are substantial overlaps in approach and plot. That book, however, I found better put together than this, and the ending stronger. Here, while the resolution is uncertain, I found it more vague than intriguing. The writing in general was decent, but the characterizations seemed haphazard, and at times shallow.

All in all, disappointing. Here's hoping I like the next Carroll book better - I've got quite a number left to read.

* As seems to be Open Road Media's trademark, there were a number of typos and instances of sloppy editing. For a company that seems to focus on serious, 'literary' authors, I'd have thought they'd try harder. It doesn't bode well for the dozen other books I bought from them.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This must be the first I've read of Jonathan Carroll—I'd remember this writing style. Where have I been?

He has a great sense of what his characters would do and how they would act. Yet he plunges them into incomprehensible moments and gives those moments plausibility. One film maker, Weber Gregston, learns his friend has committed suicide. This friend, Philip Strayhorn, has left him videotapes which lead him on a journey of discovery and speak to Weber from beyond the grave.

It is a beautifully written story in which Gregston has to shoot the last scenes in Strayhorn's last movie. The movie is the last of the Midnight series of horror films. The task, if done well, will lead to the dead friend's atonement.

The story is, by turns, a thriller, a horror, a tale of friendship and sometimes even crosses over into realms of alternate metaphysics. Take for instance, the crow tattoo which takes flight in the bathroom of an airplane. Just when it seems apparent where the story is going, some bizarre thing pops up to challenge the reader's mind.

One reviewer on Goodreads said, "Finishing Child Across the Sky felt like awakening from a strange dream in the middle of the day when I hadn't realized I'd even fallen asleep." http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I don't often quote other reviewers, but I agree with that sentiment. He's exactly right.

[Stephanie Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When confronted with wonder we usually lie or shut up. We must. Impossible things demand silence for some time at least."

I wish this had been a realist show biz novel, because Carroll (son of Broadway icon June Carroll and The Hustler screenwriter Sidney Carroll!!) has show biz's number and all the unlisted ones as well.

Instead, it is, sigh, magical realist, with a pregnant pre-pubescent who might be the devil, tattoos that come to life and fly out of your back... lots of pretentious pointless poetic shit elements like that. Wow, this keyboard really has a mind of its own. Pinsleepe (the devil child) must have temporary control of it.

Anyhow, personal issues with the magical realism "genre" aside, Carroll is so funny (peculiar) and so smart (also wise) that I will read more of his books, and *do* recommend this one, in case it wasn't clear.

[pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid but for the ending, which felt rushed and too neat and briefly wrapped up (I had a "well, of course" moment reading the last few pages). I also wished that the book was in some ways bigger. I wish it had gone further, been more aggressive with its ideas and wackiness, for more given about the minor characters, who were twice as interesting as Weber and Phil. But all that speaks for Carroll's unique aptitude for spinning out delightful, spooky tales that call his readers back again and again.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book by Jonathan Carroll. Part fantasy, part thriller, part horror and all great story and great writing. The kind of book Stephen King wishes he could write.Many thanks to Karen for not only introducing me to this great author but for sending me this book to read.

[Spinwallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the man is a serious fruitcake, ive read 2 of his books and they are both spookier than a spooky thing happening on a really spooky night

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Weird, fantastical, thoughtful, spiritual-- Kevin Spacey, where are you????

[Karie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I wasn’t able to sink fully into the world of Jonathan Carroll like I usually can…but here were a few lovely quotes:

“Whatever, it took an hour of hard walking in the blue lead cold of a New York December for me to really hold in the palm of my mind the fact my best and oldest friend was dead.”

And speaking of being dead…

“There is a life review, of course, but it was so much more interesting than I had ever imagined. For one thing, they show you how and where your life really happened. Things you didn’t experience or weren’t ever aware of, but which dyed the fabric of your life its final color.”

And as always, his take on life speaks right to mine: “What more American tradition is there than the turnpike rest stop? I don’t mean those Mom and Pop pretty-good-food one-shot places somewhere off the interstate that sell homemade pralines. I’m talking about a quarter-mile lean on the steering wheel that curves you into the parking lot the size of a parade ground, fourteen gas tanks, toilets galore and Muzak. The food can be pretty good or pretty bad, but it’s the high torque ambiance of the places that make them so interesting, the fact that no one is really there – only appetites or bladders, while eyes stare longingly out the window at the traffic.”

Only appetites or bladders, indeed.

And I think I will end with this, because Carroll has a way, in nearly every book, at getting the reader to examine his or her own life as the characters do…looking back over the small pieces and huge events that shape who we are. The huge events are easy to remember, but sometimes it’s the small pieces that give life its flavor.

“No matter how old or jaded you are there will always be something exciting and cool about cruising around at three in the morning with a bunch of good friends. All the old duds are asleep but you’re still awake, the windows are down, the radio’s glowing green and playing great music. Life’s given you a few extra hours to horse around. If you don’t grab them, they aren’t usually offered again for a while.”

See? So I honestly don’t know why I couldn’t sink into his words, his world. He creates characters that life the truest of lives in the most fantastical of circumstances. I can’t point to anything in particular that caused my interest to wander.

I love Jonathan Carroll and his books…and I look forward to my next trip to his world.

[Mikko Saari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Strayhorn tavoitteli nuorena menestystä Hollywoodissa. Menestys antoi odottaa itseään, kunnes Strayhorn löi läpi kauhuelokuvillaan. Sen jälkeen Strayhornilla on kaikki: rakkautta, rahaa ja mainetta. Eräänä päivänä menestyksekäs mies kuitenkin ampuu koiransa ja itsensä. Miksi?

Strayhornin ystävä, niin ikään menestynyt elokuvaohjaaja Weber Gregston toivoo vastauksen löytyvän Strayhornin jättämiltä videonauhoilta. Vastausta ei tule, sen sijaan nauhoilla on varsin yllättävää kuvamateriaalia ja viesti haudan takaa.

Hämmentävä kirja on samaa Answered Prayers -jatkumoa kuin Bones of the Moon. Kirjoissa esiintyy samoja henkilöitä ja tämä viittailee edeltäjäänsä sen verran ahkerasti, että suosittelisin melkeinpä Bones of the Moonin lukemista ensin, vaikka välttämätöntä se ei ole.

Olen lukenut valtaosan Carrollin kirjoista ja pitänyt kaikista, myös tästä. Sittenkin A Child Across the Sky on Carrolleista ehkä vähiten suosikkini. Juoni on outo, ehkä vähän liiankin outo, eikä loppuratkaisu vastannut riittävän moneen kysymykseen. Kenties luin kirjan vähän liian kiireiseen aikaan, enemmän aikaa tai toinen lukukerta auttaneisi asiaan. Sekavuudestaan huolimatta kirjassa oli kuitenkin paljon hyvää. (22.3.2009)

[Peter Freitag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Carroll has a technique with which I have become familiar. He starts with something mundane (a phone call about thumbs) and then something surprising happens (someone dies), and from then on we're "off to the races." By that I mean, his imagination runs wild, bringing forth magical or miraculous events that carry the reader through to the end. It seems to me important that he starts off in "the real world." That's what sucks the reader into the story and, when the weird stuff begins, you're already so invested that you will follow him anywhere he decides to take you.

A Child Across the Sky is, to my mind, one of his best. Each character is well drawn, someone about whom we want to know more. The story takes twists and turns but never loses track of its single thread. One comes to care about the people in it, even the weirdos and evil ones. And perhaps that is Carroll's true genius: to make each character so interesting that we want to know what they will do and what will happen next.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a bizarre novel to summarize. The best way I can describe it is an airy, surreal dream in which character seem to understand the unreality they occupy but feel compelled to continue on the path that brought them there. I give the author so much credit for delivering some of the most beautiful ideas and themes in prose that is simultaneously poetic yet understandable. In other words the book just “reads” and I could let myself follow the vague plot threading while enjoying the excursions the characters take once in a while to wax poetic or talk about their lives. It’s an incredible work compacted into barely 200 pages and I can’t wait to explore more of this authors work.

Side note: This is apparently the 3rd book in a six or seven book series but I read this as a stand-alone and had no issues doing so.

[Hex75 · Rating 2 out of 5]

in una sola parola: delusione.
qua e la nel romanzo ci sono non pochi di quei momenti che mi hanno fatto venerare i libri di carroll (anche stavolta ci si imbatte in frasi e momenti semplicemente splendidi), ma qui c'è un problema non da poco: la trama. troppi ingredienti, troppi personaggi che spuntano, ti illudono possano dare una svolta al libro e poi spariscono (ad esempio b.d.), ed un finale che non finisce nulla, come se arrivato alle ultime cinque pagine avesse deciso di finirlo senza preoccuparsi di dare un senso a quello che aveva scritto finora. non un libro scadente, perchè la classe dell'autore c'è, ma di certo evitabile.

[Sally Buckingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A totally unigue book. Difficult to describe but gripping. It has an atmoshere much like the movies Demons (1985), Suspiria (1977) and a touch of Videodrome (1983) et al. You find yourself trapped in a strange world that doesnt make sense, but you sort of understand, wanting desperately to see the outcome, but you really don't. It feels almost suffocating in places which I believe for this type of book means job well done.

[Jack Haringa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mainly a placeholder, as I read the book decades ago. I recall being a little disappointed in the way it unfolded compared with the Carroll novels I had read prior. I didn't dislike the book, obviously, but thought it didn't have a strong thoughline, though perhaps I was put off by the non-linear storytelling.

[Patriciafoltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this guy’s work. You’re never entirely sure where it’s going but you can’t stop reading and things are never completely resolved in the end. His style is fluid and compelling. The other worlds that are inevitably present are hauntingly believable.

[Jasmin Chua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll have to re-read this more carefully in a few years; I zipped through the whole thing because I found it an incoherent slog, despite loving Bones of the Moon, which this is a pseudo-sequel to. And the ending was even more abrupt than Jonathan Carroll is usually wont.

[Midas68 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty solid effort for the most part from a Western Magical Realist Master. But where the book was headed for a 4+ star rating. The Ending was just plum fast and...well awful.

He's famous for bad endings. I'm guessing this is probably the worst of the bunch.

3.5 stars.

[Judyta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zakończenie mnie nieco rozczarowało. Spodziewałam się czegoś mocniejszego. A szkoda - 3/4 lektury zajmująca.