What do you think?
Rate this book
The Whisper Jar
“I do not know what you have done, but put your mouth right here. Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.” ~ from The Whisper Jar
Some secrets are kept in jars — others, in books.
Some are left forgotten in musty rooms — others, created in old barns.
Some are brought about by destiny — others, born in blood.
Secrets — they are the hidden heart of this collection. In these pages, you will encounter a Blood Digger who bonds two children irrevocably together; a young woman who learns of her destiny through the random selection of a Bible verse; and a boy whose life begins to reflect the stories he reads…
Most importantly, though, if someone should ever happen to offer you a Jilly Jally Butter Mint, just say “No!”
Some secrets are kept in jars — others, in books.
Some are left forgotten in musty rooms — others, created in old barns.
Some are brought about by destiny — others, born in blood.
Secrets — they are the hidden heart of this collection. In these pages, you will encounter a Blood Digger who bonds two children irrevocably together; a young woman who learns of her destiny through the random selection of a Bible verse; and a boy whose life begins to reflect the stories he reads…
Most importantly, though, if someone should ever happen to offer you a Jilly Jally Butter Mint, just say “No!”
196 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 22, 2012
I picked up "The Whisper Jar" with anticipation and also with some apprehension. Having read, liked and accepted the closing story, "The Forgotten Orphan", for the "Midnight Lullabies" anthology that I co-edited for The Harrow Press, I feared that disappointment might lurk in perhaps lesser stories found between the covers of Carole Lanham's collection. I was wrong.
Carole's characters are mostly very young, disturbed in the best case – and more often than not, utterly contorted, mentally and physically. But they are believable, and that's what makes them creepy. You watch them as they perform their twisted acts with easy nonchalance and say to yourself that you're safe because they don't belong in your world; but when you scratch the surface of unreality the evil within, the stupidity and the mundane, all ring a bell: you have glimpsed them in people around you, perhaps only for a brief moment but clearly enough to see them reflected in the story.
There is little doubt that among all the excellent stories in this collection "The Good Part" is in a class of its own. The sister-brother relation is brought so vividly to life that you forget the surreal situation in which they live. It would be a sin to include a spoiler here, so I'll only say that reading this story, after the regrettable deluge of commercialized blood suckers to which we have been victims, is a refreshing experience.
From an unlikely fairy tale to a post-apocalyptic sad story, "The Whisper Jar" is a window into your own twisted mind – the bit of it that you hid away deep into your subconscious as a child, and which as a grown-up you deluded yourself into thinking that wasn't there. Beware that you can't close that window again before you get to the last page.
As the astute reader cannot fail to notice, Carole has a thing with orphanages and orphans. Perhaps the boys who live in orphaned conditions are more vulnerable than others, but that's not the reason why they succumb to the females of the species; the way in which the author tells her stories simply highlights what we, the readers of the male persuasion, already know: girls are smarter, stronger and more wicked than we can ever dream to be.
Carole's characters are mostly very young, disturbed in the best case – and more often than not, utterly contorted, mentally and physically. But they are believable, and that's what makes them creepy. You watch them as they perform their twisted acts with easy nonchalance and say to yourself that you're safe because they don't belong in your world; but when you scratch the surface of unreality the evil within, the stupidity and the mundane, all ring a bell: you have glimpsed them in people around you, perhaps only for a brief moment but clearly enough to see them reflected in the story.
There is little doubt that among all the excellent stories in this collection "The Good Part" is in a class of its own. The sister-brother relation is brought so vividly to life that you forget the surreal situation in which they live. It would be a sin to include a spoiler here, so I'll only say that reading this story, after the regrettable deluge of commercialized blood suckers to which we have been victims, is a refreshing experience.
From an unlikely fairy tale to a post-apocalyptic sad story, "The Whisper Jar" is a window into your own twisted mind – the bit of it that you hid away deep into your subconscious as a child, and which as a grown-up you deluded yourself into thinking that wasn't there. Beware that you can't close that window again before you get to the last page.
As the astute reader cannot fail to notice, Carole has a thing with orphanages and orphans. Perhaps the boys who live in orphaned conditions are more vulnerable than others, but that's not the reason why they succumb to the females of the species; the way in which the author tells her stories simply highlights what we, the readers of the male persuasion, already know: girls are smarter, stronger and more wicked than we can ever dream to be.
March 2, 2012
I am not a huge fan of poetry. It's just not my thing. So I have to admit I was a little put off by the book opening with a poem, but forced myself to read it. The little story depicted in the poem is very clever, so I dove into the first short story. After that point, I was completely hooked.
THE WHISPER JAR is masterfully crafted. There are two poems and seven short stories. Each piece is often amusing, magical, well-written, disturbing and often contain a subtle (or not so subtle) element of horror. Out of all the entries into this collection, my favorite was GARDEN, MISTER SAMUEL, AND THE JILLY JALLY BUTTER MINTS. It reminded me a little of a Mary Poppin adventure where everything is not quite as it seems and just a bit frightening. I loved the twist at the end.
There are quite a few themes in the works. The dangers of love and the seduction of insanity were two I really enjoyed. My favorite story (recommended above) definitely hit on these themes. Also, the inevitable fate of some of these characters based on their choices was something I enjoyed tremendously, especially because they could have possibly avoided the worst if they had just been a bit more clever.
I highly recommend THE WHISPER JAR. Carole Lanham's collection reminded me of the best of Steven Millhauser and Ray Bradbury. She's absolutely wickedly good at writing short stories that stay with you long after you've stopped reading.
THE WHISPER JAR is masterfully crafted. There are two poems and seven short stories. Each piece is often amusing, magical, well-written, disturbing and often contain a subtle (or not so subtle) element of horror. Out of all the entries into this collection, my favorite was GARDEN, MISTER SAMUEL, AND THE JILLY JALLY BUTTER MINTS. It reminded me a little of a Mary Poppin adventure where everything is not quite as it seems and just a bit frightening. I loved the twist at the end.
There are quite a few themes in the works. The dangers of love and the seduction of insanity were two I really enjoyed. My favorite story (recommended above) definitely hit on these themes. Also, the inevitable fate of some of these characters based on their choices was something I enjoyed tremendously, especially because they could have possibly avoided the worst if they had just been a bit more clever.
I highly recommend THE WHISPER JAR. Carole Lanham's collection reminded me of the best of Steven Millhauser and Ray Bradbury. She's absolutely wickedly good at writing short stories that stay with you long after you've stopped reading.
July 25, 2013
Anthologies are one of best ways for discovering new authors, but recently I find myself more and more attracted by the collections of stories signed by one writer. It is an even better method of feeling the power behind the writers’ talent, an extended source in identifying the author’s voice and finding new stories to enjoy. With this the driving thought and with an open mind I turned the first page of Carole Lanham’s debut collection, “The Whisper Jar”, and started reading.
“Whisper Jar” – The inhabitants of High Cross start to keep their secrets stored in jars, but when an accident occurs in the Jar House the safe keeping of the secrets is shattered to pieces. Carole Lanham’s collection debuts with this dark poem with lighter tones, but setting the perfect mood for the stories that follow. However, the subject and the characters of the subsequent stories will change. For an even better result.
“Next day she found her little boy, ashamed and blushing pink.
She gave him one good spank and poured her jam into the sink.
“I don’t know what you have done, but put your mouth right here.
Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.””
“The Good Part” – After a mysterious stranger have lived on the nearby field for a few days, Etta suffers changes that her brother, Gidion, cannot fully understand. But when the lives of the people Gidion loves are threatened by this change he has to make one very important choice. The main theme of “The Good Part” is only hinted, but Carole Lanham returns to the roots of this subject and gives back its dark side in an era dominated by misplaced romance.
“Keepity Keep” – Alban and Gage Turnbull find Petaloo, a fairy who becomes their best friend, in the garden of their house. But when the boys grow older the competition for Petaloo’s attention sharpens. The reader is left in mourning for the childhood that Alban and Gage Turnbull leave behind. Every little step of the boys’ metamorphosis into adults is evoked in the pages of this story with the power of personal experience.
“The Blue Word” – In the Salvation House orphans are raised and schooled until the age of 18 when in a graduation ceremony they are released from the institute. But the mystery surrounding the graduation process might not fit any of the students’ dreams. A post-apocalyptic setting in which the death of a dream can be the most terrifying side of the horror element.
“Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys” – After Hayden’s parents are involved in a tragic accident he moves in the house of his cousins where the Treat brothers are putting together a museum dedicated to torture. Melancholic, frustrated and cheerful all together, the story holds the reader on the toes, always keeping things around the corner in such fashion that not even the smallest of glimpses or glances can be seen.
“Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints” – The sisters Estrella and Esme and Samuel, the son of the household employed nurse, escape the everyday reality with the help of the colorful Jilly Jally Butter Mints. Imagination is literally brought to life here and the toys and games are enhanced by magic. The misunderstandings can bring the tragic into play though and only the narrow minds of adults can give them power over magic.
“The Reading Lessons” – Lucinda and Hadley are two friends, whose destinies are not meant to cross, with a love for forbidden books and readings. Lucinda, despite her caprices, is the gravitating point for Hadley and their usual play almost an addiction. And like any addiction no good can come out of it.
“The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff” – The second poem of the collection, this time untouched by the lighter tones of the first one, is a replay of the Little Red Riding Hood with the added touch of one particular mythological aspect and in the personal and excellent manner of Carole Lanham.
“The Forgotten Orphan” – Barnabas, one of the orphans of the Asylum of Fatherless Children, discovers what is hidden behind the security door of the attic. Carole Lanham places the story for the grand finale of this mighty collection again in an orphanage. But this time, Asylum of Fatherless Children (I can’t imagine a more haunting name for an orphanage), is not the place of safety and refuge that Salvation House (“The Blue Word”) is. It is not easy to forget the characters of “The Forgotten Orphan”, no matter how much time they spend on the stage of the story. It is even harder to grasp the dimension reached by the secret hidden behind attic doors, secret more terrible than the monsters Barnabas and his friends imagine living behind those doors.
Perhaps secrets might be kept in jars, primarily in whisper jars, but Carole Lanham knows to unscrew the lids of these holders of secrets and spill the contains on paper. Particularly those put on storage by children or adolescents, the main characters of all the stories from “The Whisper Jar”. Childhood always wakes the reader’s nostalgia and Carole Lanham masterfully brings this feeling to life. But every single time she challenges the common, pushes and twists the boundaries. Amusement shifts to tragedy, innocence turns into sexual innuendo, the magical, literally in places, time of play becomes a moment of cruelty, all with the spontaneity of which only the children are capable of. None of these transformations, however, are straightforward. Every little change is made with an admirable subtlety, not one of them offensive and all natural. Every time the unexpected is an important ingredient and a seasoning element of surprise.
The same goes for the terror component, Carole Lanham does nothing for the sake of horror or shock, she doesn’t use blood and violence in an attempt to terrify her readers by all means. She makes the readers uncomfortable in a refined and intelligent manner and putting an attractive language to work in favor of her stories. With such qualities reflected from “The Whisper Jar”, Carole Lanham already announces herself as a prominent figure of the genre from her debut collection. As a matter of fact, the horror genre needs more such writers to raise it to its deserved and true value.
“Whisper Jar” – The inhabitants of High Cross start to keep their secrets stored in jars, but when an accident occurs in the Jar House the safe keeping of the secrets is shattered to pieces. Carole Lanham’s collection debuts with this dark poem with lighter tones, but setting the perfect mood for the stories that follow. However, the subject and the characters of the subsequent stories will change. For an even better result.
“Next day she found her little boy, ashamed and blushing pink.
She gave him one good spank and poured her jam into the sink.
“I don’t know what you have done, but put your mouth right here.
Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.””
“The Good Part” – After a mysterious stranger have lived on the nearby field for a few days, Etta suffers changes that her brother, Gidion, cannot fully understand. But when the lives of the people Gidion loves are threatened by this change he has to make one very important choice. The main theme of “The Good Part” is only hinted, but Carole Lanham returns to the roots of this subject and gives back its dark side in an era dominated by misplaced romance.
“Keepity Keep” – Alban and Gage Turnbull find Petaloo, a fairy who becomes their best friend, in the garden of their house. But when the boys grow older the competition for Petaloo’s attention sharpens. The reader is left in mourning for the childhood that Alban and Gage Turnbull leave behind. Every little step of the boys’ metamorphosis into adults is evoked in the pages of this story with the power of personal experience.
“The Blue Word” – In the Salvation House orphans are raised and schooled until the age of 18 when in a graduation ceremony they are released from the institute. But the mystery surrounding the graduation process might not fit any of the students’ dreams. A post-apocalyptic setting in which the death of a dream can be the most terrifying side of the horror element.
“Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys” – After Hayden’s parents are involved in a tragic accident he moves in the house of his cousins where the Treat brothers are putting together a museum dedicated to torture. Melancholic, frustrated and cheerful all together, the story holds the reader on the toes, always keeping things around the corner in such fashion that not even the smallest of glimpses or glances can be seen.
“Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints” – The sisters Estrella and Esme and Samuel, the son of the household employed nurse, escape the everyday reality with the help of the colorful Jilly Jally Butter Mints. Imagination is literally brought to life here and the toys and games are enhanced by magic. The misunderstandings can bring the tragic into play though and only the narrow minds of adults can give them power over magic.
“The Reading Lessons” – Lucinda and Hadley are two friends, whose destinies are not meant to cross, with a love for forbidden books and readings. Lucinda, despite her caprices, is the gravitating point for Hadley and their usual play almost an addiction. And like any addiction no good can come out of it.
“The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff” – The second poem of the collection, this time untouched by the lighter tones of the first one, is a replay of the Little Red Riding Hood with the added touch of one particular mythological aspect and in the personal and excellent manner of Carole Lanham.
“The Forgotten Orphan” – Barnabas, one of the orphans of the Asylum of Fatherless Children, discovers what is hidden behind the security door of the attic. Carole Lanham places the story for the grand finale of this mighty collection again in an orphanage. But this time, Asylum of Fatherless Children (I can’t imagine a more haunting name for an orphanage), is not the place of safety and refuge that Salvation House (“The Blue Word”) is. It is not easy to forget the characters of “The Forgotten Orphan”, no matter how much time they spend on the stage of the story. It is even harder to grasp the dimension reached by the secret hidden behind attic doors, secret more terrible than the monsters Barnabas and his friends imagine living behind those doors.
Perhaps secrets might be kept in jars, primarily in whisper jars, but Carole Lanham knows to unscrew the lids of these holders of secrets and spill the contains on paper. Particularly those put on storage by children or adolescents, the main characters of all the stories from “The Whisper Jar”. Childhood always wakes the reader’s nostalgia and Carole Lanham masterfully brings this feeling to life. But every single time she challenges the common, pushes and twists the boundaries. Amusement shifts to tragedy, innocence turns into sexual innuendo, the magical, literally in places, time of play becomes a moment of cruelty, all with the spontaneity of which only the children are capable of. None of these transformations, however, are straightforward. Every little change is made with an admirable subtlety, not one of them offensive and all natural. Every time the unexpected is an important ingredient and a seasoning element of surprise.
The same goes for the terror component, Carole Lanham does nothing for the sake of horror or shock, she doesn’t use blood and violence in an attempt to terrify her readers by all means. She makes the readers uncomfortable in a refined and intelligent manner and putting an attractive language to work in favor of her stories. With such qualities reflected from “The Whisper Jar”, Carole Lanham already announces herself as a prominent figure of the genre from her debut collection. As a matter of fact, the horror genre needs more such writers to raise it to its deserved and true value.
February 13, 2019
There is the danger that a casual perusal of the contents page of Carole Lanham’s collection The Whisper Jar may give the potential reader the impression that this is a work of whimsy, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is certainly an element of whimsy sown into some of the stories, but it is a whimsy that can turn suddenly dark and in the most unexpected and subtle ways. Characters find themselves enticed along a path of discovery that is childish innocence itself, each new stage of discovery obliging a further commitment that slowly but surely entangles the protagonist in a web that ultimately proves impossible to escape.
Two poems, ‘The Whisper Jar’ and ‘The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff’ set the tone of dark whimsy; the short stories delve more deeply and subtly into this realm. In ‘The Good Part’ we see a young boy try to come to terms with a sudden and dreadful change in his sister, how he tries to normalise her behaviour and how, ultimately, he is willing to sacrifice everything in order to continue being with her. ‘Keepity Keep’ is a fairy story like you’ve never read before. The reader is drawn into a story that on the surface revels in a magical recounting of childhood enthusiasms, but at its heart is a story of jealousy and competition and the inevitability of growing up and leaving childish things behind. The focus of ‘The Blue Word’ is the imminent graduation of a group of children from a Catholic run orphanage in a post apocalyptic world. There’s a hint of Never Let Me Go to this story, but Lanham creates a world radically different to that of Ishiguro’s novel, with horrific discoveries along the way and an achingly sad denouement.
All the stories in The Whisper Jar are told from the viewpoint of children on the verge of puberty and Lanham demonstrates a remarkable facility in capturing perfectly the voice of innocence and insatiable curiosity that presages this difficult rite of passage. There is also a genuine unpredictability to the stories; the reader has no real idea what’s going to happen. Markers are placed along the way in each story and readers can indulge in second guessing the outcomes, but even when they are close, there will be intangible differences of emphasis and meaning to anything they care to posit.
‘Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys’ tells the story of a boy who loses his parents to an accident on a railroad track and is sent to live on a farm with his cousins. Maxwell Treat, the elder of the cousins, enrols the hapless orphan in assisting in the development of a museum of torture out in one of the barns on the farm and it things rapidly get out of control. In ‘Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints’, Esme Padora, along with her friend Sam Bell, is drawn into the dream-like, surreal world of her mentally deficient sister Estrella. The innocence of this world is slowly darkened by emotions and desires they have little or no control over and struggle to understand. Misunderstanding, when the children intersect with the adult world, eventually leads to disaster.
There is a timelessness to these stories; only two make any attempt at placing themselves in time: ‘The Blue Word’ is plainly set in a post apocalyptic timeframe and ‘The Forgotten Orphan’ seems to occur sometime before the First World War. There is a deceptively simple beauty to Lanham’s style and approach to the language of each piece, an intense sense of place if not time, unless we consider childhood as ‘time’. A hint of Bradbury can be detected in several of the stories, but there’s a distinctly darker edge, suffused with an erotic undercurrent and a gentle and understanding humour, that is all Lanham’s own.
I cannot recommend The Whisper Jar highly enough.
Two poems, ‘The Whisper Jar’ and ‘The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff’ set the tone of dark whimsy; the short stories delve more deeply and subtly into this realm. In ‘The Good Part’ we see a young boy try to come to terms with a sudden and dreadful change in his sister, how he tries to normalise her behaviour and how, ultimately, he is willing to sacrifice everything in order to continue being with her. ‘Keepity Keep’ is a fairy story like you’ve never read before. The reader is drawn into a story that on the surface revels in a magical recounting of childhood enthusiasms, but at its heart is a story of jealousy and competition and the inevitability of growing up and leaving childish things behind. The focus of ‘The Blue Word’ is the imminent graduation of a group of children from a Catholic run orphanage in a post apocalyptic world. There’s a hint of Never Let Me Go to this story, but Lanham creates a world radically different to that of Ishiguro’s novel, with horrific discoveries along the way and an achingly sad denouement.
All the stories in The Whisper Jar are told from the viewpoint of children on the verge of puberty and Lanham demonstrates a remarkable facility in capturing perfectly the voice of innocence and insatiable curiosity that presages this difficult rite of passage. There is also a genuine unpredictability to the stories; the reader has no real idea what’s going to happen. Markers are placed along the way in each story and readers can indulge in second guessing the outcomes, but even when they are close, there will be intangible differences of emphasis and meaning to anything they care to posit.
‘Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys’ tells the story of a boy who loses his parents to an accident on a railroad track and is sent to live on a farm with his cousins. Maxwell Treat, the elder of the cousins, enrols the hapless orphan in assisting in the development of a museum of torture out in one of the barns on the farm and it things rapidly get out of control. In ‘Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints’, Esme Padora, along with her friend Sam Bell, is drawn into the dream-like, surreal world of her mentally deficient sister Estrella. The innocence of this world is slowly darkened by emotions and desires they have little or no control over and struggle to understand. Misunderstanding, when the children intersect with the adult world, eventually leads to disaster.
There is a timelessness to these stories; only two make any attempt at placing themselves in time: ‘The Blue Word’ is plainly set in a post apocalyptic timeframe and ‘The Forgotten Orphan’ seems to occur sometime before the First World War. There is a deceptively simple beauty to Lanham’s style and approach to the language of each piece, an intense sense of place if not time, unless we consider childhood as ‘time’. A hint of Bradbury can be detected in several of the stories, but there’s a distinctly darker edge, suffused with an erotic undercurrent and a gentle and understanding humour, that is all Lanham’s own.
I cannot recommend The Whisper Jar highly enough.
December 18, 2011
Carole Lanham has compiled a series of intriguing poems and short stories that all revolve around the experiences of children in dark and strange places-sometimes these places in the mind, and in other instances, geographically and chronologically distance lands that seem like dreamscapes, even if they are in places as commonplace as a farm in rural Iowa. The stories here have a way of tantalizing without revealing too much, too soon. Many of the stories tease about the relationships among boys and girls-their dreams and fears, lusts and passions. And while what the characters are experiencing seem so real and within your grasp as a reader, there is a magic allure to them that makes them fleeting and illusive. They have an otherworldly quality about them. It is not just the tales with obvious magic, like 'Keepity-Keep' or 'Friar Garden...', or the tales beset with monsters, like 'The Good Part' or 'The Blue Word', but every tale and every poem within this compilation. Even though 'Maxwell Treat's...', 'The Reading Lessons', and 'The Forgotten Orphan' all seem as if they could take place in the real world-our world-the author manages to transport us to mysterious and alien realms in them that are fascinating and dark beyond the realities most of us will ever deal with.
I enjoyed this compilation. I had read 'The Blue Word' previously, and while I normally skip a tale when I come across it for the second time, I found myself compelled to read it again and was filled with the same level of sadness and regret that I felt the first time, even when I knew what was coming at the end of the story. It is one of my favorites in this book, along with Keepity-Keep. Some of the other tales didn't resonate with me quite as much, but they still had a flavor to them that is hard to pin down or describe-like a meal in a restaurant you've never been to before. They sort of leave a odd taste in your mouth, but not in a bad way...in more of a fantastical way that sticks with taste buds long after the food is gone. There wasn't a particular story or poem I didn't like-the author pulled me in with each, and even if there may have been a certain aspect or one or the other that didn't click for me (the ending of 'Friar Garden' seemed rather abrupt for my tastes), they all made sense in a strange, dream-filled way.
Carole Lanham has a tremendous talent for the written word. I don't just mean this because she can craft a story, which she most certainly can do, but because there is a particular quality to each story that transports you, like some authors are able to do-taking you elsewhere with just a few words in the first few sentences. Some authors make you feel at home with their writing, as if you are reading about people you feel like you know and could find yourself surrounded by even if they are in a environment that is pure fantasy or beyond belief. Carole Lanham does not do that here, in this book. Instead, she has the knack of introducing characters and places that take you out of that comfort zone and puts you on alert that there is something strange going on, both in the world at large and within the characters themselves that make them different from you or I. You may not be able to figure it out right away, and even if you think you do, you realize that there is probably more to it with every passage you read. And in the end, things don't all fall into place. You are left wondering what just happened.
The Whisper Jar is a compelling read, sweet and savory while often times leaving you squirming with discomfort as you journey through its pages.
I enjoyed this compilation. I had read 'The Blue Word' previously, and while I normally skip a tale when I come across it for the second time, I found myself compelled to read it again and was filled with the same level of sadness and regret that I felt the first time, even when I knew what was coming at the end of the story. It is one of my favorites in this book, along with Keepity-Keep. Some of the other tales didn't resonate with me quite as much, but they still had a flavor to them that is hard to pin down or describe-like a meal in a restaurant you've never been to before. They sort of leave a odd taste in your mouth, but not in a bad way...in more of a fantastical way that sticks with taste buds long after the food is gone. There wasn't a particular story or poem I didn't like-the author pulled me in with each, and even if there may have been a certain aspect or one or the other that didn't click for me (the ending of 'Friar Garden' seemed rather abrupt for my tastes), they all made sense in a strange, dream-filled way.
Carole Lanham has a tremendous talent for the written word. I don't just mean this because she can craft a story, which she most certainly can do, but because there is a particular quality to each story that transports you, like some authors are able to do-taking you elsewhere with just a few words in the first few sentences. Some authors make you feel at home with their writing, as if you are reading about people you feel like you know and could find yourself surrounded by even if they are in a environment that is pure fantasy or beyond belief. Carole Lanham does not do that here, in this book. Instead, she has the knack of introducing characters and places that take you out of that comfort zone and puts you on alert that there is something strange going on, both in the world at large and within the characters themselves that make them different from you or I. You may not be able to figure it out right away, and even if you think you do, you realize that there is probably more to it with every passage you read. And in the end, things don't all fall into place. You are left wondering what just happened.
The Whisper Jar is a compelling read, sweet and savory while often times leaving you squirming with discomfort as you journey through its pages.
December 13, 2011
Since this is my wife's book, I don't feel right reviewing it. I would like to share an online review the book received from Ashley Denis of Dark Moon Digest:
Is it rude to say that on top of being a very busy new mom, I dragged my feet to start this book because short stories excite me a heck of a lot less than a good, thick novel? Well, sadly, that is what happened. The joke is on me though, because when I finally opened the PDF to get crackin', I did not stop until I read every single word, of every single short story in this book. I kid you not, I could not stop. Now I bet you are wondering what on earth these stories contained to get me to sit for two hours straight and plow right though. Well it is my pleasure to share just that with all of you fellow readers.
The first striking piece of this book is before the short stories even start. There is a small description of all of them that is so cleverly done that I found my anticipation mounting right from the first words uttered. Once I eagerly started the stories, the words that kept coming into my mind as I read was `wow, this is almost poetic, how beautifully the words flow.' This thought stuck with me the whole way through. Carole Lanham has such a smooth, poetic way about her writing that I was able to speed right though the stories in no time flat while enjoying every delicious word that my eyes happened upon.
Next was the plot. Each and every story was utterly unique, enchanting, yet without a doubt disturbing. These sometimes macabre endings were breath stoppers. Allow me to give an example. In her short story The Forgotten Orphan, a young orphan boy helps the drug addicted doctor with his daily tasks of healing and caring for the sick children. There are rumors that something horrifying lives behind the locked door on top of the stairs. This orphan boy soon learns it is a feral female girl who has been locked away most of her life. One would assume the story will continue with the boy trying to help her and solve the puzzle as to why she has been locked away for so long. What Carole Lanham has in store for this boy is just cruel and unusual.
In the midst of her stories is an actual poem that she creates called Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff. I have never read such a poem that has given me goosebumps. This short, yet description-filled poem is very obscure and ghastly. Even if you aren't a lover of poems, this will sure give you a new, dark appreciation for them.
I would recommend these short stories first and foremost to any reader out there who gets a thrill from not-so-perfect endings. I invite you, readers, who enjoy an unfair and unhappy ending to characters we so badly wanted to root for. If that is your shtick, then this is the book for you. This wasn't just another book to read, I consider this to be an experience for me, and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you Carole Lanham for sharing your talents with all of us!
Is it rude to say that on top of being a very busy new mom, I dragged my feet to start this book because short stories excite me a heck of a lot less than a good, thick novel? Well, sadly, that is what happened. The joke is on me though, because when I finally opened the PDF to get crackin', I did not stop until I read every single word, of every single short story in this book. I kid you not, I could not stop. Now I bet you are wondering what on earth these stories contained to get me to sit for two hours straight and plow right though. Well it is my pleasure to share just that with all of you fellow readers.
The first striking piece of this book is before the short stories even start. There is a small description of all of them that is so cleverly done that I found my anticipation mounting right from the first words uttered. Once I eagerly started the stories, the words that kept coming into my mind as I read was `wow, this is almost poetic, how beautifully the words flow.' This thought stuck with me the whole way through. Carole Lanham has such a smooth, poetic way about her writing that I was able to speed right though the stories in no time flat while enjoying every delicious word that my eyes happened upon.
Next was the plot. Each and every story was utterly unique, enchanting, yet without a doubt disturbing. These sometimes macabre endings were breath stoppers. Allow me to give an example. In her short story The Forgotten Orphan, a young orphan boy helps the drug addicted doctor with his daily tasks of healing and caring for the sick children. There are rumors that something horrifying lives behind the locked door on top of the stairs. This orphan boy soon learns it is a feral female girl who has been locked away most of her life. One would assume the story will continue with the boy trying to help her and solve the puzzle as to why she has been locked away for so long. What Carole Lanham has in store for this boy is just cruel and unusual.
In the midst of her stories is an actual poem that she creates called Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff. I have never read such a poem that has given me goosebumps. This short, yet description-filled poem is very obscure and ghastly. Even if you aren't a lover of poems, this will sure give you a new, dark appreciation for them.
I would recommend these short stories first and foremost to any reader out there who gets a thrill from not-so-perfect endings. I invite you, readers, who enjoy an unfair and unhappy ending to characters we so badly wanted to root for. If that is your shtick, then this is the book for you. This wasn't just another book to read, I consider this to be an experience for me, and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you Carole Lanham for sharing your talents with all of us!
September 15, 2013
The stories in THE WHISPER JAR were perfect bit size pieces for a disturbingly delicious anthology. I was surprised how connected to each story, which is a difficult feat to accomplish in so little words. After reading a couple of the stories, I had to stop and nurse my book hangover, since I was not quite ready to let go of the characters. One of the stories, THE READING LESSONS, is due to become a full-length novel next year, though I’d think that almost all of these stories would make fantastic full-length books.
Besides the gothic elements, this anthology also dabbles in some controversial topics like incest, pedeophiliacs, underage sex, racial tension, and religious tyrony. Most of these topics are implied, though I must warn that anyone who is easily offended should not read this book.
Stories that were amazing:
Keepity Keep – a love triangle between two brothers and a fairy. The ending of this story crushed me!
The Blue Word – an orphan prepares for graduation. I wish that this was made into a full-length novel. I could not believe the ending.
The Forgotten Orphan – a boy who discovers the creature upstairs. Amazing story from start to end.
Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints – I’m not quite sure what this story was about. I’m thinking that the mints were some kind of hallucinogen, but it’s hard to say.
The Reading Lessons – reading lessons that can kill you. I think this story had a slow start, yet and amazing finish.
Stories that were okay:
The Whisper Jar – poem about a jar that holds the town’s secrets
The Good Part – a brother who will do anything for his sister
Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys – a boy collects torture devices. I didn’t care for this story much.
The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff – poem about…umm I don’t actually know. It’s too poetic for me.
Besides the gothic elements, this anthology also dabbles in some controversial topics like incest, pedeophiliacs, underage sex, racial tension, and religious tyrony. Most of these topics are implied, though I must warn that anyone who is easily offended should not read this book.
Stories that were amazing:
Keepity Keep – a love triangle between two brothers and a fairy. The ending of this story crushed me!
The Blue Word – an orphan prepares for graduation. I wish that this was made into a full-length novel. I could not believe the ending.
The Forgotten Orphan – a boy who discovers the creature upstairs. Amazing story from start to end.
Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints – I’m not quite sure what this story was about. I’m thinking that the mints were some kind of hallucinogen, but it’s hard to say.
The Reading Lessons – reading lessons that can kill you. I think this story had a slow start, yet and amazing finish.
Stories that were okay:
The Whisper Jar – poem about a jar that holds the town’s secrets
The Good Part – a brother who will do anything for his sister
Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys – a boy collects torture devices. I didn’t care for this story much.
The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff – poem about…umm I don’t actually know. It’s too poetic for me.
January 19, 2012
“I do not know what you have done, but put your mouth right here. Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.” - Carole Lanham from The Whisper Jar
author Carole Lanham's collection features nine delightful dark stories. two of these are poems with rhyming couplets and the rest are all in prose.
i read this mesmerizing book in one sitting. once i was done with the eponymous first tale, there was no turning back. all the stories just drew me in and i lost myself in a world that was real but not quite so. always, there is a hint of something fanciful, whimsical, fantastic, wonderful, sensual, dangerous and terrifying. appearances are deceiving. motives are hidden and unexpected. nothing is predictable.
Ms. Lanham's writing flows beautifully and i consider this a trademark of a master wordsmith. choosing a favorite was quite difficult. although certain themes recur in most of the stories, each one is unique. each beats with a life of its own.
all of these observations made my escape into and from the author's world such an enjoyable experience.
i wish you the same as well.
Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy of The Whisper Jar from the author herself. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
author Carole Lanham's collection features nine delightful dark stories. two of these are poems with rhyming couplets and the rest are all in prose.
i read this mesmerizing book in one sitting. once i was done with the eponymous first tale, there was no turning back. all the stories just drew me in and i lost myself in a world that was real but not quite so. always, there is a hint of something fanciful, whimsical, fantastic, wonderful, sensual, dangerous and terrifying. appearances are deceiving. motives are hidden and unexpected. nothing is predictable.
Ms. Lanham's writing flows beautifully and i consider this a trademark of a master wordsmith. choosing a favorite was quite difficult. although certain themes recur in most of the stories, each one is unique. each beats with a life of its own.
all of these observations made my escape into and from the author's world such an enjoyable experience.
i wish you the same as well.
Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy of The Whisper Jar from the author herself. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
December 11, 2011
First things first… The Whisper Jar is a collection of previously published works by the author that have been brought together in one delicious volume. It is often very hard to review a collection of short stories and poems, but I will do my best.
The stories and poems in The Whisper Jar include:
•The Whisper Jar
•The Good Part
•Keepity Keep
•The Blue Word
•Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys
•Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints
•The Reading Lessons
•The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff
•The Forgotten Orphan
The cover of this book was enough to piqued my interests, but when I read the titles of the shorts, I was taken completely with the original concept of this literary work. The Whisper Jar opens with a poem so wonderfully written and paced that you cannot ignore the depth and strength of Ms. Lanham’s writing ability. Dare I say one of the best pieces of dark poetry I have read in quite a long while? YES… I do say!!
With a running theme that centers on secrets, each story ties itself to the theme in a most unique way. The first tale, fittingly titled The Whisper Jar, tells of people capturing their secrets in glass jars and hiding them away from the ears of others. Things do not always work the way we plan however, as her characters soon discover.
I’m giving The Whisper Jar a 5 spider rating and recommending it to anyone who likes this genre.
CK Webb
March 26, 2012
I don't usually read short stories, but I loved this book. Sometimes short stories seem rushed, like the author just wanted to get it done and move on. Not these. Each one was full of great characters, effective imagery, and perfect plots that just happened to be short. They were little bite-sized chunks of other worlds. Speaking of biting, "The Good Part," about a brother getting bullied by his vampire older sister, was fabulous. I did feel a "no, not yet!" moment when I read the last page. I would love to see a full-length novel based on that story. My other favorite was "The Blue Word," a tale about an orphan who learns her fate after a global outbreak of disease. This story especially cries out to be a full-length book. I love post-apocolyptic stories, but this one haunted me.
Other stories are cute or funny or or thought-provoking or just interesting. A little bit of everything for whatever mood you're in. Not in the mood for something heavy? Try "Maxwell Treat's Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys" or "Keepity Keep" or "Butter Mints." I can't wait to read more from Ms. Lanham!
Other stories are cute or funny or or thought-provoking or just interesting. A little bit of everything for whatever mood you're in. Not in the mood for something heavy? Try "Maxwell Treat's Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys" or "Keepity Keep" or "Butter Mints." I can't wait to read more from Ms. Lanham!
June 23, 2012
The Whisper Jar is a cornucopia of subtle, literary horror stories, which bend the genre -- horror for the thinking reader. Creepy children, a secret room in a museum of torture, a feral orphan, strange nuns, and, oh, did I mention the creepy children? Lanham has a knack for historical detail, capturing the places and era in which her stories are set with such uncanny accuracy that it’s impossible not to wonder whether she was actually there. Dig in, and prepare to lose yourself in Victorian England, the early 20th century Midwest, and post-apocalyptic France You may never look at after-dinner mints quite the same, but it will be worth the ride. Her characters are richly drawn, and so complex that they manage to evoke sympathy while causing the reader to recoil from them at the same time. Echoes of Milhauser, and the horror stories of Edith Wharton are present, while the Whisper Jar poem conjures up images from Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio. Nevertheless, Carole Lanham remains a refreshingly original voice, one that should not be overlooked.
November 3, 2013
Yes, this book is certainly unique - no other writer I'm aware of has a voice quite like Carole Lanham's. But deliciously dreadful? Yeah, it's that, too. The dreadful part (and there's always a dreadful part) describes the truly awful things she does to her characters. And she does them with alarming frequency. Be forewarned, Lanham doesn't really do happy endings. That said, her endings are definitely thought provoking, and each fits the story it's married to with absolute perfection.
A collection of short stories plus a couple of poems, this is a well-crafted piece of work. It's entertaining and refreshingly different, combining fantasy, horror and suspense in a way only the Horror Homemaker could. Maybe she blends the ingredients in her kitchen, using some kind of malevolent mixer borrowed from the underworld. Whatever, she gave me the creeps...which is exactly what we want when we read books like these.
A collection of short stories plus a couple of poems, this is a well-crafted piece of work. It's entertaining and refreshingly different, combining fantasy, horror and suspense in a way only the Horror Homemaker could. Maybe she blends the ingredients in her kitchen, using some kind of malevolent mixer borrowed from the underworld. Whatever, she gave me the creeps...which is exactly what we want when we read books like these.
April 4, 2017
There are secrets hidden within The Whisper Jar.
These are not the sort of secrets you can whisper into jam jars, twist the lid and know (or hope) they'll stay hidden; these are secrets that spill out across the pages of Carole Lanham's debut collection, which weaves tales that prove just how un-innocent childhood can sometimes be.
There are vampires and maybe vampires, and werewolves and fairies, and macabre torture devices that may or may not kill depending on the flick of a switch. There are the rhyming tales - the title story The Whisper Jar and the tragic The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff - tales of woe, of childhood friendship, and how the magic dies with approaching adulthood. Each story is a delight, and the tales are told in Lanham's unique and compelling voice.
These are not the sort of secrets you can whisper into jam jars, twist the lid and know (or hope) they'll stay hidden; these are secrets that spill out across the pages of Carole Lanham's debut collection, which weaves tales that prove just how un-innocent childhood can sometimes be.
There are vampires and maybe vampires, and werewolves and fairies, and macabre torture devices that may or may not kill depending on the flick of a switch. There are the rhyming tales - the title story The Whisper Jar and the tragic The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff - tales of woe, of childhood friendship, and how the magic dies with approaching adulthood. Each story is a delight, and the tales are told in Lanham's unique and compelling voice.
March 25, 2012
Throw together a bit of Tim Burton, a pinch of Neil Gaiman, a little Flannery O'Connor, and top it all off with a helping of David Lynch, and you might have something resembling the uniquely disturbing - and charming - voice of Carole Lanham.
In Lanham's tales, the innocent magic of childhood has grown dark and tainted in the twilight realm of adolescence. The emergence of new appetites takes on a sinister flavor, in worlds which are both hometown folksy and simultaneously surreal. Whether showing us a new take on a very old monster in The Good Part or inventing the sort of treat even Willy Wonka never dreamed of in Friar Garden, Master Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints, Lanham's deft prose enchants as it unsettles.
Highly recommended!
In Lanham's tales, the innocent magic of childhood has grown dark and tainted in the twilight realm of adolescence. The emergence of new appetites takes on a sinister flavor, in worlds which are both hometown folksy and simultaneously surreal. Whether showing us a new take on a very old monster in The Good Part or inventing the sort of treat even Willy Wonka never dreamed of in Friar Garden, Master Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints, Lanham's deft prose enchants as it unsettles.
Highly recommended!
December 27, 2011
I'm not a fan of short story compilations as such, nor am I a fan of Forewords at the beginning of a book. I tend to skip them - as I did with this one. However, that said, the stories in this book are gripping and I was quite disappointed that they were only short stories. I would like to have seen them developed as full length novels -especially The Best Part. The strange relationship between Etta and Gideon is definitely worth taking further.
If you're a fan of quirky off-beat fantasy or paranormal that doesn't fit the mould and love to read beautifully written (yet easy to read) prose, you will love this collection!!
If you're a fan of quirky off-beat fantasy or paranormal that doesn't fit the mould and love to read beautifully written (yet easy to read) prose, you will love this collection!!
January 3, 2014
A darling book that kept me up at night and chained to the reading chair.
The stories are so varied, have amazing imagination, and different formats.
The language used is truely that of a praise worthy author. I loved that some of
the stories made me really think and use my wits to get a full understanding
of the ending. I love a challenge. Also had to look up a couple of words in the dictionary,
which these days doesn't happen that often. I liked that, as well.
I will read more by Carole Lanham. A very good book and I highly recommend it to lovers of
good books who don't mind a bit of fantasy.
The stories are so varied, have amazing imagination, and different formats.
The language used is truely that of a praise worthy author. I loved that some of
the stories made me really think and use my wits to get a full understanding
of the ending. I love a challenge. Also had to look up a couple of words in the dictionary,
which these days doesn't happen that often. I liked that, as well.
I will read more by Carole Lanham. A very good book and I highly recommend it to lovers of
good books who don't mind a bit of fantasy.
January 25, 2014
After reading the novel The Reading Lessons I had to move on to this book. Though The Whisper Jar is dark and full of sinister settings and wonderful, creepy moments, the writing was just so beautiful, it swept me along from story to story in a way that I couldn't turn off. It was descriptive without being wordy and everything went toward tone and emotion. I could smell these stories. Each had its own flavor, its own color. Frankly, I pretty much didn't set the thing down until I'd gobbled the entire book whole. Very much hoping to find more work by this author.
May 2, 2012
What a great surprise of short stories! I don't know what I was expecting, but I found myself unable to stop mid-story and that rarely happens. "Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints" was probably my favorite..if I had to choose. The theme of the stories here seem to be about growing up and imagination versus reality- dark fairy tales that keep you riveted. I want more from this author. SERIOUSLY.
October 2, 2012
I received this book from GoodReads First Reads give away. It's a collection of short stories. I liked all of them but my favorites were The Good Part and The Reading Lessons. I think the majority of the stories reminded me of a cross between Poe and O'Conner, with maybe a little Faulkner. I love short stories especially twisted ones :)
October 15, 2013
Loved this. The Whisper Jar is an exquisite collection of short stories from Carole Lanham that blends Brothers Grimm style faery-tale imagery with a King/Koontz inspired horror aestetic. This freshly baked batch of creepiness somehow manages to be refined and beautiful yet terrifying all at once. Get this book.
September 30, 2015
A great collection of short stories and poems that all revolve around the theme of secrets. Carole does a great job with realistic characters, actions and consequences. For those who like their darkness light on blood and violence. A quality read, well writ.
Full Review
-Z
Full Review
-Z
December 11, 2012
A strange and fantastical book. I enjoyed the stories although they were a bit odd...not quite what I was expecting when I started to read it. But overall I really enjoyed it and thought it was very well written.
May 2, 2012
The title caught me, the stores kept me. Of course not being a fan of short stories, this book left me wishing for longer versions of each. Enjoyed the book very much, found that I needed a mental pause between each story. Good Stuff
May 2, 2012
I wasn't sure what kind of book this would be when I downloaded it, but it was like a breath of fresh air. Completely unique and refreshing but haunting at the same time. I pretty much devoured it and I'm hoping to read more by Carole Lanham in the future.
Read
November 14, 2011It would be a bit ridiculous for me to rate this since I work for the pub, but I have, in fact, read this book a few times, and adore it. <3
November 17, 2011
Strangley wonderful. Looking for something spooky to stir your imagination? This is it!
June 2, 2012
I really enjoyed the reading! :) I will write more soon.
May 8, 2012
This book was different. Very good though. I really enjoyed the stories. A few I didn't totally understand but the book as a whole was terrific.
May 8, 2012
Strangely interesting:)
May 9, 2012
looks and sounds great...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews