good english

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.