The fourth of Carroll's novels and the fourth I've read, but not the best. As with all of them it suffers from a rushed off-the-wall ending, probably more than most, but that's not my main problem with it. I found the story very uneven with lots of 'kitchen sink' things thrown in that didn't really gell with the story.

The protagonist, as in most of those I've read, is a man telling the story in first person. Walker is a small time film actor who has moved into screen writing with the help of his director friend, Nicholas. Nicholas introduces him to Maris, with whom Walker instantly falls in love, and she falls for him.

Certain things are set up in the book, for example, an expectation that Maris' abusive and violent boyfriend will cause big problems, but in fact he is dealt with and disappears early on. Similarly, certain key characters are set up to appear important but fizzle out by being killed off before their plotlines deliver. There are talking animals as in other Carroll novels, but they don't contribute much to the story.

The main story concerns Walker's real father, as he is adopted, and deals with the nature of reincarnation, but there are elements that don't make sense, for example if his father is only giving him one more chance to be the perfect son, why does he give him away as a baby instead of bringing him up, and why doesn't he stop him growing up to prevent him developing the interest in women that is the father's big objection?As in The Land of Laughs, characters can be brought to life by people who write - or in this case, tell oral stories - but with no real explanation of why this works for those particular people.

One feature of this novel not encountered before is that a minor character from the previous novel appears, and the protagonist of the same novel (Bones of the Moon) is referenced a couple of times, but there is no other obvious connection between the two, so it seems a bit pointless.

I was struck particularly in this novel, perhaps because the action in the real world moves between countries so much, that there is no real evocation/atmosphere of any of the places involved - somehow, none of the reality of life in Vienna or New York or California is brought to life. Thinking about it, this was a problem in the previous novel, Bones of the Moon, which featured Greece, Italy and New York as settings. They seem fairly nondescript backdrops despite the frequent mentions of street names and all the occasions when people sit in restaurants and coffee shops. I found it quite a struggle to finish this book, and I'm afraid to say was getting bored before things started happening in the last third or so. I have four other novels by Carroll and I'm not sure on this showing whether I won't just pass them on to the charity shop. I wouldn't normally give a book only 2 stars but there were just too many issues with this one for me. ( )

This one hits the right spot for me! I want to read more of Carroll's work. ( )

As I said in my review of [b:The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry|13227454|The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry|Rachel Joyce|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335816092s/13227454.jpg|18156927] now and again we read the perfect book at the perfect time in our lives. [b:Sleeping in Flame|42145|Sleeping in Flame|Jonathan Carroll|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312065192s/42145.jpg|2789348] was a similar serendipitous choice, given to me by my boyfriend as an early present.

[a:Jonathan Carroll|23704|Jonathan Carroll|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1222900262p2/23704.jpg] more than any other author lures me into the worlds he creates. The mixture of wonder and cynicism in his work draws me deeper and deeper into the magical realism of Vienna and Prague, Rondua and half-recalled dreams. The more I visit the mind of the author the more I get inspired to continue my own writing.

[b:Sleeping in Flame|42145|Sleeping in Flame|Jonathan Carroll|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312065192s/42145.jpg|2789348] touched me in a rather vital way, and reminded me of all the things I adore about [a:Jonathan Carroll|23704|Jonathan Carroll|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1222900262p2/23704.jpg] in the first place. His unusual use of language and his strange reality mixed and lodged within my brain until there was just one thing I wanted to say.

I know exactly who it is that I want to steal horses with. ( )

starts off slow, but the characters are engrossing. plus, it has that rare thing - a supremely satisfying ending. ( )

One of my all time favorite books, the first of Jonathan Carroll's books I ever read which started my love affair with him and fantastic realism. ( )

When I was first striking out on my own to figure out what I liked to read, I stumbled over a Jonathan Carroll rec on ChickLit. I read From the Teeth of Angels and became enchanted. Over the years I kept an eye out for Carroll novels in used bookstores and on book swap sites, and eventually managed to snag Sleeping in Flame.

I guess I was expecting the same kind of book-fog to roll over me as I read this one, but it never happened. It's still got the good bits I remember from Carroll's writing, and the story is interesting and has that fairy-tale quality I love -- actually, it IS part fairy tale, flat-out.

There's something about the characters that I don't like, though. The way Carroll describes Maris, the hero's love interest, reminds me of the way another author describes women. Hemingway, maybe? I'm not sure. I didn't fall for the characters. Didn't actively dislike them, just couldn't connect.

And the ending, wow, I hate the openness of it. It feels like it's trying to be mysterious or thought-provoking but what it actually comes off as is half-assed. Maybe because everything else is explained relatively well? I get the intention, but it doesn't work for some reason. At least not for me.

I feel like I can stop chasing Jonathan Carroll around now. ( )

As I was closing in on the end of this, I lamented that I have such trouble remembering the details of any of Jonathan Carroll's books. I love his writing, and I love the books, and I get caught up in what's happening while I'm reading it, but the details just don't stick in my mind. Husband suggested it's because Carroll's work is so dream-like; it's ephemeral the minute it's read.

I think that's a pretty good description. This isn't my favorite of Carroll's books (that goes to The Marriage of Sticks, but he does some interesting things. The conclusion is a little meta--the whole story, really, is a little meta--but it seems more like Carroll was exploring an experimental style than just noodling around a self-referential idea. ( )

Walker Easterling, divorced American screenwriter living in Vienna, meets the woman of his dreams, Maris York. Their attraction is immediate and goes far beyond physicality; they are connected on a deep level from the first minute of meeting. At the same time, some strange things start happening. Not just strange- things that should be impossible. But in this world of Carroll’s, magic is not only possible, but not even very remarkable. What alarms Walker and Maris is that bad things start happening, too. A friend knows a shaman, though, who can probably help Walker. A southern Californian, TV and sandwich obsessed shaman with a bulldog and a pot-bellied pig for companions.

It soon becomes obvious that Walker has lived previous lives, and that his father may be at the heart of his troubles. An adopted child, Walker doesn’t know who is biological father is. Finding out turns out to be key to saving his life and the lives of those he loves. And not only does Walker discover that not just magic and reincarnation are real, but some fairy tales are, too.

The book is modern magic, old fairy tales brought into the late 20th century. Walker is the knight on a quest, and Maris is the enchanted princess he must save. It’s a lovely, fun story to read, right up to the end. The end is good- it’s fairly unique- but it comes off as rushed, as though Carroll ran out of time to finish. All the pieces are there at the ending, really, but they’re just thrown together. Still, that isn’t enough to make me call it a bad book. Just not a perfect one. ( )

Odd. Carroll's women tend to be annoying, and so are his portrayals of love. But there is something interesting there. I think this book belongs in its own era, back when Jeanette Winterson and A.S. Byatt etc were first playing with the power of stories and myths. Maybe the reason it doesn't grab me so much is that this sort of novel has become more commonplace. ( )

A story of fairy tales and reincarnation, of the power of names and the power of love.

Nothing fantastical happens in the first third of the book, which concerns the budding romance between two expatriate Americans living in Vienna. But then Walker Easterling has a strange encounter in a cemetery, a flash of pre-cognition at an airport and is present when a mythological beast surfaces off the Californian coast, the story picks up pace.

I kept looking at Jonathan Carroll's books in the bookshop, but regretfully putting them back due to my self-imposed ban on buying any more books until Mount To Be Read is down to a sensible size. So I was very glad to see this book at a meet-up and quickly snatched it before anyone else had a chance. Now that I've read it, I'll be adding this author's other books to my Christmas list. ( )

Walker lives in Vienna and falls in love with a beautiful girl. But, slowly, mysterious things are happening to him and he is remembering incidents from past lives. How does this related to the mysterious Papa and what will happen to Walker's girlfriend as someone seeks to destroy Walker and his life?

Walker begins to develop some new magical powers - clairvonce and phoetic dreams and the like and he doesn't know what to do. As he dreams of old lives, he starts to wonder at who he really is and he starts on a trek with a shaman to find out more. But tragedy strikes whenever Walker looks for answers, but when he finally figures out what is going on, then the story takes on an interesting fairy tale aspect.

Written in 1988, this was one of my favorite books though it's been 14 years since I last read it. It is a bit dated as some of the references to computers and technology are laughable now. But that is a sign of the era in which it was written. I still love this book. It is so beautiful. The questions Walker and his girlfriend, Maris, ask each other and the philosophy intoned in each page. Lovely. It's written as a narrative so it's like Walker is speaking right to you. Sleeping in Flames is a Rumpelstiltskin re-telling and it is definitely an adult book. I see more in it now than I did when I was younger. Of the things that the Rumpelstiltskin character addresses and the solution that Walker comes up with. The how and the why and the who are so much more beautiful and sad.

The Little Bookworm ( )

Bizarre tale - yet presented with convincing realism - that weaves in and out of reality and an otherworld / alternate reality. Still don't know what to make of the ending, but the implication seems to be quite dark. ( )

Not as immediately pleasing as Bones of the Moon (and if you're going to read anything in this series, definitely start from the beginning: Sleeping in Flame gives a succint one-paragraph review of everything that happens in Bones of the Moon), but a really engrossing and really, really strange story full of murder, shamans, talking cats and folk tales. The ending is so perplexing that I'm still trying to make sense of it. ( )

Warm, wise and wonderful book from Jonathan Carroll, who would be classed as magic realist if he were from Latin America, but as an American living in Vienna, he is instead the love or bane (depending on your point of view, and the vehemence of your argument) of booksellers everywhere, who simply don't know where to put him. In the Waterstones i used to work in I solved this by dedicating a shelf in Staff Recomends entirely to him, importing the books from the states, since he is appallingly underpublished in the UK.

This book has the most infuriating 'What the fuck!?' ending, that somehow makes me love it all the more... it is also perfectly designed to make the reader shout out loud then force the book upon their friends to see if they react the same. ( )

Sleeping in Flame uses the classic Jonathan Carroll elements: there's Vienna, love, reincarnation, magic, a writer and so on. That should sound familiar to anybody who has read Carroll. However, despite the familiarity, I found Sleeping in Flame simply fantastic. I've read, what, nine of Carroll's books so far and of what I've read, it is probably my favourite.

Walker Easterling is screenwriter living in Vienna. She meets a fabulous woman, falls in love and then, magic starts to happen. It's not warm and fuzzy magic, but strange and apparently dangerous. Walker investigates and bumps into curious cast of people, some familiar from the other books in the same continuum Wikipedia calls the Answered Prayers sextet.

It's a lovely story and I enjoyed the way it recycled old fairy tales. The only downside about reading this book is that there's one less Carroll book left for me to read... He's one of the most constantly great authors, every book I've read from him has been good. Highly recommended, this one's a good starting place for those new to his works.

(Original review at my review blog) ( )

Possibly my favorite Jonathan Carroll book, and he's one of my favorite writers. Dark and funny and provocative--a great turn on an old fairy tale. ( )

A good book that does have its flaws, but even flawed Carroll is still worth reading. As always Carrolls characters makes appearances in his other novels. ( )

http://jonathancarroll.com/iod.html ( )

3.5 ( )