2007 In Review, Pt. 2 - Books And Television

[misterdark]

One of the best parts of no longer being in school is all of the time I have to myself. Outside of my day-job, writing articles and my weekly gaming night, I don't have any commitments - no papers to write, no rehearsals to run. I spend my weekends in Waltham, and my weeknights in Stoneham, and basically all I do is read, watch TV and go to the

Comments

Re: Jonathan Carroll

[anonymous]

White Apples doesn't take place in Vienna, although Glass Soup does because it's a continuation of the WA story. IE the female protagonist is Viennese, so the couple go back there in the second book because she's pregnant and he wants to get away from his past life in America (I get the feeling the first novel takes place in either Seattle or Portland, judging by the physical description). But I think that misses the point. As Gaiman so rightly put it, Carroll's stories often take place in Vienna because the author lives there (write about what you know). But they are universal and could happen anywhere because the physical setting no matter where it happens to be is ultimately unimportant. These two books (which are really one long story) are a reenactment of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, it just happens to be reversed (the woman goes into the Afterlife to bring the man back from the dead, rather than vice versa) and takes place on two continents in our time. The overall issue addressed in the two stories has to do with Carroll's extraordinary vision of what happens to us after we die: The Mosaic. What expatriates in Vienna do with their daily lives is just a backdrop.

Right Brain

Re: Jonathan Carroll

[misterdark]

I think you're sort of missing my point. The supernatural aspects of reality that Carroll introduces (the Mosaic, etc.) are fascinating, but I just have started to feel as if his characters and premises have gotten a little repetitive. His earlier work feels fresher to me, that's all. Also, thank you for taking the time to point out the blindingly obvious connection to the Orpheus myth, because as someone who's been studying literature since childhood, I hadn't picked up on it. If you're going to get pedantic, do it somewhere else, or at least identify yourself