Mr. Breakfast is, apparently, Jonathan Carroll's sixteenth novel, though the publisher calls it his twentieth. The discrepancy is likely caused by counting some short novellas, published stand-alone, as though they were novels. Whatever the case, this book has a curious history, in that it was published in Polish four years ago, and in Italian three years ago, before finally appearing now in the language in which it was written. Carroll has long had difficulties with his English-language publishers, both because of his original and unclassifiable style, and for the fact that marketing departments don't know how to sell him. His style is smooth and assured, better than that of many modern realist's, but the bulk of his novels are filled with fantastical happenings, which literary readers can't seem to abide. Which is to their loss, as well as ours, when publisher's can't sell enough of Carroll's books to want to keep publishing his new ones.
Mr. Breakfast fits the usual mode of a Carroll novel. Graham Patterson is a failed comedian, at a turning point in his life. Through a magical tattoo he is able to venture to and return from other versions of his future life. Eventually he must choose the one he wants to live. Thereby Carroll touches on, but never deeply, ideas of reincarnation, fate, relationships, and how the past affects our choices and our lives. This novel seems to have been born of someone of age reflecting on their past, and the choices made, and the paths abandoned. It is less profound than it sounds, yet it still has a complete clarity, and Carroll's prose brings to the reader a page-turning response. With the exception of Carroll's magisterial first novel,
The Land of Laughs, he has a problem with endings. Most are merely okay, and not quite as satisfying as one would expect from the rest of a novel. It's like being served, after a great restaurant meal, store-bought jello instead of specialty chocolate mousse. The ending of
Mr. Breakfast evokes a similar response, but the reader's path to getting there is lovely and wonderful.
I think it's a poor reflection on modern publishing that Jonathan Carroll has trouble publishing in his native language. You description of "The Land of Laughs" as "magisterial" is spot on. I must look for this new book. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've got it on my to-be-read pile. Carroll remains one of my favorite authors, but something about the books in the 2000s failed to evoke the magic of his first ten or so novels for me. I hope this one is a return to form, even though, as you note, I won't expect much from the ending.
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