The Ghost in Love

August 4, 2008
Death is not the end but rather the start of a series of madcap and sometimes moving adventures for characters in this spry novel about the un-afterlife. Events begin on a wintry day in Connecticut when Ben Gould slips and hits his head on a curb. He should have died, but owing to a “virus” in heaven’s computer system, Ben’s body lives on. Soon, Ben and others in his life—including his talking dog, Pilot, and his own ghost (named Ling)—find themselves endowed with extraordinary and unpredictable talents, including time traveling, the ability to hobnob with multiple incarnations of their younger selves, and a capacity to see otherwise invisible forces of fate manifested in bizarre physical forms. Carroll (Glass Soup
) tethers the series of loopy incidents that ensues and their shaggy-dog explanation to incisive and poignant observations about the wondrous possibilities of everyday life that are the hallmark of his flippant style of fantasy. Carroll fans will best appreciate this jeu d’esprit.

September 29, 2008
Bearing a striking resemblance to David Koepp's 2008 Ricky Gervais screen comedy Ghost Town, Carroll's novel features a man who finds himself with an otherworldly companion when he fails to die after hitting his head on a curb. The ghost falls in love with the man's wife, but not before the man realizes that he's only alive because he has stolen powers from the gods of the world. Ray Porter's awkward reading makes this unusual story even stranger. Porter's characters-be they dogs, humans or ghosts-have bizarre voices that sound like transvestite showgirls backstage before the big show. The result is laughable as well as uncomfortable. A Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 4).

April 1, 2009
Ben Gould was supposed to die, but he didn't, and now he can talk to his dog, Pilot, and Ling, the ghost that's been sent to take his soul to the afterlife. This perspective-changing novel, which follows Carroll's (www.jonathancarroll.com) "The Wooden Sea", explores what can happen when we choose to take control of our own fate. Actor/two-time Audie Award nominee Ray Porter does a good job of drawing in listeners. Recommended for most public libraries. [Audio clip available through www.blackstoneaudio.com; the Farrar hc received a starred review, "LJ" 9/1/08.Ed.]Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., FL

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