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. ( )