Sign in with Facebook
Beverly Fox's Reviews > Outside the Dog Museum
Outside the Dog Museum (Answered Prayers, #4)
by
by
Holy shit. Wow. And many other exclamations. Seriously, I had no idea what I was in for when I got this book. I bought it a few years ago in a used book store primarily because Neil Gaiman is quoted on the back as saying that this author is magic and, in general, if the king of magic tells you that someone "has the magic", you listen. Well Neil, all I can say is: thank you!
Jonathan Carroll IS magic. His words, his ability to take you inside a character's mind, and most of all the world he puts you in, which is simultaneously new and foreign in its surrealism and extremely familiar in its reality. This version of real life in its many facets is SO familiar- the traffic, the people, the mannerisms, the noise, the news, the wars, the celebrity- this is very much the same earth that we are living on with all the places and things we know (or at least have heard of).
But it is also full of magic- actual, literal magic. Magic that doesn't establish firm rules and then follow them to the letter but rather shows up in strange and unexpected ways where even the people and animals who wield it don't know the rules. And that is, strangely, also very real. It feels like if magic did show up in your life it would be in strange, unexpected ways that you could never fully explain without sounding like a lunatic.
In this case, our lunatic is Harry Radcliffe- brilliant/famous architect, serial two-timer, self-involved asshole turned quietly good guy. He starts out not quite as an anti hero but rather an annoyingly endearing self-proclaimed asshole and turns into a human working hard to be- well, not an asshole. It's not a villain to hero transition because that would feel trite and the world in which his transformation takes place is far too rich and deep for anything trite. But being inside his head is a trip- one I was incredibly happy to take.
The plot, likewise, is unexpected and bizarre- but not off-puttingly weird. This craziness is both alien and accessible all at the same time. Like clearly this is not happening because it's not possible but if you stop questioning it and just accept it for what it is it makes perfect sense. That's one of the things that brings him out of his madness- don't assume you're mad and you won't be, even though what's happening couldn't possibly be happening. Sort-of akin to the distress tolerance I teach my clients- don't fight it and it won't be so painful.
As with so many authors I love, the pages of my copy are now spotted with highlighted sentences, passages, and paragraphs. Descriptions that capture so much so perfectly. Profound truths about us, our lives, our existence. Quiet moments that pack such a huge emotional punch in the memories of your own experience that they evoke... his writing is truly astounding.
I had absolutely no idea when I picked this up that it is apparently the 4th in a series of 6. I have literally no clue what the other books are about but I have a guess as to what they might have in common and now, because of this book, I am determined to read them. Having never heard of this author before this book I now say this to his adoring fans: I get it. I'm totally one of you now.
Jonathan Carroll IS magic. His words, his ability to take you inside a character's mind, and most of all the world he puts you in, which is simultaneously new and foreign in its surrealism and extremely familiar in its reality. This version of real life in its many facets is SO familiar- the traffic, the people, the mannerisms, the noise, the news, the wars, the celebrity- this is very much the same earth that we are living on with all the places and things we know (or at least have heard of).
But it is also full of magic- actual, literal magic. Magic that doesn't establish firm rules and then follow them to the letter but rather shows up in strange and unexpected ways where even the people and animals who wield it don't know the rules. And that is, strangely, also very real. It feels like if magic did show up in your life it would be in strange, unexpected ways that you could never fully explain without sounding like a lunatic.
In this case, our lunatic is Harry Radcliffe- brilliant/famous architect, serial two-timer, self-involved asshole turned quietly good guy. He starts out not quite as an anti hero but rather an annoyingly endearing self-proclaimed asshole and turns into a human working hard to be- well, not an asshole. It's not a villain to hero transition because that would feel trite and the world in which his transformation takes place is far too rich and deep for anything trite. But being inside his head is a trip- one I was incredibly happy to take.
The plot, likewise, is unexpected and bizarre- but not off-puttingly weird. This craziness is both alien and accessible all at the same time. Like clearly this is not happening because it's not possible but if you stop questioning it and just accept it for what it is it makes perfect sense. That's one of the things that brings him out of his madness- don't assume you're mad and you won't be, even though what's happening couldn't possibly be happening. Sort-of akin to the distress tolerance I teach my clients- don't fight it and it won't be so painful.
As with so many authors I love, the pages of my copy are now spotted with highlighted sentences, passages, and paragraphs. Descriptions that capture so much so perfectly. Profound truths about us, our lives, our existence. Quiet moments that pack such a huge emotional punch in the memories of your own experience that they evoke... his writing is truly astounding.
I had absolutely no idea when I picked this up that it is apparently the 4th in a series of 6. I have literally no clue what the other books are about but I have a guess as to what they might have in common and now, because of this book, I am determined to read them. Having never heard of this author before this book I now say this to his adoring fans: I get it. I'm totally one of you now.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Outside the Dog Museum.
Sign In »
