Finished another of Jonathan Carroll’s earlier novels last night. I started reading him just recently, though I’d heard about him from around the way. So I borrowed a few of his books and began consuming them in a haphazard fashion. I set out with his most recent (at that time) novel, “The Wooden Sea”. Then jumped to his first, “The Land of Laughs”. And back up to his second most recent, “The Marriage of Sticks”. And down on to his second “Voice of Our Shadow”. I picked up “Sleeping in Flame” over the weekend, but I’m not entirely sure where it lies in the spectrum. I do know that this odd order seems fitting, considering Carroll’s writing style. I love his unpredictability. It can seem like he’s all over the place, but then he’ll tie all threads together neatly. But not too neatly. His work is realistic but surreal. It’s funny, it’s frightening, it’s fantasy. Each book has been a helluva good read. Not sure which one I’ll pick up next. But his newest novel, “White Apples“, is out, and receiving rave reviews.