This morning in the shower I was thinking about Veronica’s “I am from” poem, specifically the part where she says she is from not reading at the table. I too am from not reading at the table. Not reading at the table was ingrained into me at a very early age, ingrained so deeply that even now when I get the opportunity to eat and read (by myself, of course) I feel like a giggly rebellious teenager.
As I was thinking about this in the shower this morning I remembered this one time when I did bring a book to the table. I was in college and a friend of mine had given me a copy of Jonathan Carroll’s The Land of Laughs, a book which fascinates me to this day. Feeling very daring and disobedient, I brought it with me to the dining hall. As I sat there, boldly reading while eating, this other girl at the table looked over and said casually, “Oh, Jonathan Carroll. He was my high school English teacher.” For the record:
- My college was in Pennsylvania.
- This girl, who I barely knew, was originally from India.
- Jonathan Carroll lives in Vienna, where he teaches at one of those American schools for the children of ex-pats and diplomats.
- Why was she so unimpressed by the coincidence?
And here’s another dimension. The reason I find The Land of Laughs so fascinating is because of what it reveals — or doesn’t reveal — about the author’s personality. I read many of Carroll’s subsequent novels hoping to understand him better. If I could choose one author in the world to meet it might very well be him. And just think, only one degree of separation between us! How very Paul Auster!
The thing that fascinates me about Jonathan Carroll is this. Most (all?) of his books have first-person narrators that feel like unconscious alter-egos. They are somewhat misogynistic, super-rich, super-successful, super-famous, super-sexy, you know? Really tacky and embarrassing. And yet. And yet. In the Land of Laughs the main character is writing a biography of the author of children’s books he’d loved as a child. The snippets and quotes from this fictional author’s work are brilliant: weirdly poetic, spooky, quirky, beautiful. And the man adores bull terriers! If you’ve never seen a bull terrier please follow the link. It takes a very special person indeed to appreciate these bizarre-looking creatures. So, after reading Land of Laughs I burned to know whether the misogynistic, super-rich, etc. narrator was an annoying unconscious alter-ego, or whether Carroll had quite deliberately written him that way. Is Carroll a man of delicate sensibility? Or a total jerk? I still haven’t decided.
I don’t even have my copy of The Land of Laughs any more. I mailed it to a total stranger as part of a chain letter-type thing where you send a book to the person at the top of the list and when you get to the top of the list five thousand people send you books. So I sent off The Land of Laughs and when my name came to the top of the list I received exactly 1 (one) book, which was Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman. I bet Paul Auster could make something out of that, too. But I’m all coincidenced out.
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I had Jonathan Carroll too as a teacher when I lived in Vienna. Unlike what you say (guessed) he is extremely funny, warm, unassuming, and probably the best teacher I ever had in any school, including university and graduate school. He stopped teaching years ago because his books are so successful now, but when I was there he was by far the most popular teacher in the school. Kids loved him because he was extremely interesting, never condescended, was always fair but very tough. When you received a good grade from him you deserved it, not because he liked you. It made you feel like you’d really accomplished something. I ran into him a few years ago on the street in Vienna and he was as kind and friendly as ever. He is very famous in Europe now but you would never know that talking to him. He’s a genuinely good guy and really, that is the best accolade you can pay someone who has made it.
PS what you say about the protagonists of his books is not true. The main character of the last two works in PR (not a very glamorous job), is flawed, not wealthy, a Lothario, etc. Frannie McCabe in THE WOODEN SEA is a small town police chief. Not exactly glamorous, etcetera. It seems like you haven’t read the last few Carroll books.
Wow, I only published that post an hour ago, and here you are! Coincidences upon coincidences!
I am delighted to hear that he is such a great teacher and nice person. I didn’t want him to be a jerk! And you are absolutely right that I haven’t read his most recent books. I stand corrected. Thanks.
Jonathan Carroll keeps one of the most interesting daily blogs on the internet. It is one of the first things I look at every day, like the newspaper. It is really THAT interesting.
http://www.jonathancarroll.com
I still get that little thrill of getting away with something when I read at the table. But I enforce the rule when except when I’m alone.
And I love your coincidence! I have nothing as good, and nothing author related.
My mom mostly just lurks here, so on her behalf I’ll post an excerpt from her email to me. She sez:
“And the fact that you posted a link to pics of the gross Bull Terrier is so very funny and adorable! I hope someone out there will rag on you for your words about them, such as a breeder who says ‘Yes but they are so loyal and loving, never eat children,’ etc.”
Ok, ha ha, she said gross, not me! And let me add that Jonathan Carroll writes about them with humor as well as obvious affection.
His blog, by the way, does look very interesting. Thanks, Janice.
I also grew up with no books at the table unless alone.
I’m reluctant to read a book while eating because I treat books with reverance, even those from the library, so I don’t want to risk a drip.
P.S. That’s a very interesting thread about J. Carroll! I learn so much here.