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A review by gengelcox
Voice of Our Shadow by Jonathan Carroll
5.0
Voice of Our Shadow is many things: to the reader, it’s the name of the book itself; to the characters, it’s the name of a play adapted from the narrator’s short story; but Carroll’s main definition is that the voice of our shadow is our “Jiminy Cricket,” the little angel on our shoulder, our conscience. And our conscience can be a strong voice, speaking to us in such terms as guilt, indecision, and fear. Carroll’s second novel is much darker in tone than [book: The Land of Laughs]. What seemed whimsical in his first novel becomes dangerous even from the beginning of this one.
Joe Lennox is plagued by the memory of his older brother, Ross, who died at age 15 on a railroad crossing. But Joe knows the complete story of that day and this knowledge haunts him, manifesting first as a short story called “Wooden Pajamas” which he writes in an attempt to exorcise his demons. The story is good enough to attract the attention of a Broadway director, who turns it into a hit play. This gives Joe enough money to travel comfortably (specifically to Italy), yet gives him only fleeting fame.
Drawn into a conversation between a couple in a movie theater, he is recognized and befriended by the two. Although Joe is attracted to both Paul and India Tate, he soon discovers his attraction to India is as much sexual as intellectual. After a period of bliss in the beginning of a friendship between the three, things start to turn nasty. Paul, after having been away for a weekend, returns and accuses Joe and India of sleeping together. Although they hadn’t, Joe and India discover that each wanted to when talking together about this incident later. The inevitable happens, and Paul, who was always a little strange, loses control.
Like [book: The Land of Laughs], Voice of Our Shadow gives a nod to [author: James M. Cain]’s [book: The Postman Always Rings Twice]. In these novels, the characters are strapped by their emotions to a carnival ride that can only end up in unhappiness. Joe is a tragic figure, and by involving himself in Paul and India’s marriage, he dooms it. Once again, the ending is ambiguous and confused, this time because it is filtered through the perceptions of Joe. The only thing obvious to the reader is that the voice of Joe’s shadow is screaming at him and he, like Paul, has lost all control.
Joe Lennox is plagued by the memory of his older brother, Ross, who died at age 15 on a railroad crossing. But Joe knows the complete story of that day and this knowledge haunts him, manifesting first as a short story called “Wooden Pajamas” which he writes in an attempt to exorcise his demons. The story is good enough to attract the attention of a Broadway director, who turns it into a hit play. This gives Joe enough money to travel comfortably (specifically to Italy), yet gives him only fleeting fame.
Drawn into a conversation between a couple in a movie theater, he is recognized and befriended by the two. Although Joe is attracted to both Paul and India Tate, he soon discovers his attraction to India is as much sexual as intellectual. After a period of bliss in the beginning of a friendship between the three, things start to turn nasty. Paul, after having been away for a weekend, returns and accuses Joe and India of sleeping together. Although they hadn’t, Joe and India discover that each wanted to when talking together about this incident later. The inevitable happens, and Paul, who was always a little strange, loses control.
Like [book: The Land of Laughs], Voice of Our Shadow gives a nod to [author: James M. Cain]’s [book: The Postman Always Rings Twice]. In these novels, the characters are strapped by their emotions to a carnival ride that can only end up in unhappiness. Joe is a tragic figure, and by involving himself in Paul and India’s marriage, he dooms it. Once again, the ending is ambiguous and confused, this time because it is filtered through the perceptions of Joe. The only thing obvious to the reader is that the voice of Joe’s shadow is screaming at him and he, like Paul, has lost all control.