It’s by Jonathan Carroll, who I have no idea about and have never heard of.
However, I see it listed as a book that Joe Strycynzki(JMS) liked and I’m wondering if anyone has any thoughts about it. He recommended it some time ago on his JMS News message board thingy.
What is it like? Is it any good?
I have not, but I have read another book by him, Voice of our Shadow. He has a very interesting style and I have been meaning to read more books by him.
How would you describe his style?
Well, this may or may not be helpful, but it had supernatural elements in a realistic setting. I guess maybe like magical realism, but this was darker.
I read it because my favourite movie director (Krzystof Kieslowski) had said it was one of his favourite books (apparently Carroll is popular in Poland, or was at least), and that he had wanted to do an adaptation of it. There are similarities in style to his movie The Double Life of Veronique, if you are familiar with that.
I’m sorry I can’t be more help, it has been a while since I have read it.
Big fan of Jonathon Carroll here.
First, a big word of warning. Do not read a whole bunch of Carroll in a lump. His books are wonderful, but reading too much of them back-to-back will make you want to hurl the book across the room–his characters, while absolutely wonderful in smaller (book or two) sized doses become twee and cloying when you read like 8 of his books back to back (ahem…I speak from experience here 
) .
If you’ve ever read the Sandman story arc A Dream Of You, it borrowed much from Bones of the Moon. A woman has an abortion and years later is visits her unborn kid in a weird dreamworld and stuff starts spilling over into the real world–The dreamworld in Sandman’s Game of You really echoes the dreamworld in Bones–it’s not a ripoff or anything, but Gaiman strikes a lot of the same notes. Note that despite this horrible synopsis (it really doesn’t condense well) it’s neither a pro nor anti abortion/choice screed. The abortion is presented neutrally. He does NOT get didactic at all. It’s a very, VERY good book.
Bones is a solid “test” book–if you like it, you’ll like his other stuff.
Most of Carroll’s other stuff is in the same vein and loosely in the same world–ghis can be nice, but also a trifle claustrophobic. You’ll meet a character in this book who’s a director…from this book onward, any time the story needs a film director, Weber Gregston shows up. If the story needs a kid’s book author, Marshall France is mentioned. Like I said, Carroll teeters between cozy and claustrophobic. Also occasionally Carroll can be a bit twee. In limited doses, this isn’t bad.
The other books that are (loosely) connected to this one are
*Bones of the Moon *(1987)
*Sleeping in Flame *(1988)
*A Child Across the Sky *(1989)
*Outside the Dog Museum *(1991)
*After Silence *(1992)
*From the Teeth of Angels *(1993)
All of the books stand more-or-less alone, but they’re better read in that order. Some of the books spoil previous books.
The Land of Laughs is in the same world as well but doesn’t interact at all with the rest of the series.
My favorites are Land of Laughs, Bones of the Moon and Sleeping in Flame.
Fenris
I have most of his books in hardback, and agree pretty much with Fenris, although as an entry-level book, I’d probably suggest The Land of Laughs. Bones of the Moon has a better opening line, though!
Gaiman’s a bit of a fan, I believe, and his sometime collaborator, artist Dave McKean, also created a lot of Carroll’s dustjacket art, so there’s a link there as well…