{"id":285,"date":"2008-11-21T01:37:32","date_gmt":"2008-11-21T01:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/?p=285"},"modified":"2008-11-21T01:37:32","modified_gmt":"2008-11-21T01:37:32","slug":"review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cover<\/a>I’m a sucker for a good love story and this sounded like that’s what it would be, with the added benefit of the ghost being in love and, since usually ghost are ephemeral, the love would probably be unrequited. What I got was a rip roaring adventure in love, metaphysics, and morality.<\/p>\n

Ben Gould and German Landis met and fell in love. It seems life couldn’t get any better. They complimented each other — one strong where the other was weak. They even decided to get a dog. On the way home from the shelter with the dog, Ben slipped and hit is head on the curb. Ben should have died. An angel was dispatched to take care of any business Ben had left to deal with. But Ben didn’t die. That’s the point when their lives began to unravel.<\/p>\n

Ben was having weird side effects of the blow to his head. He thought he was going insane and he withdrew from German. She felt like he was shutting her out of his life and she issued an ultimatum and then moved out. When the story starts they are sharing custody of the dog. German comes to pick the dog up. Ben is depressed and German worries.<\/p>\n

Ben decides he is going to tell German what’s been happening to him. Will she believe? Will she listen? Would anyone if they heard his story? At his point when Ben talks to German and tries to tell her why he withdrew and that he wants her back, well, it sound like he’s insane. Then he offers to prove it.<\/p>\n

It’s by such twisty little points in the story that Carroll plays with the reader. Normally, once you’re into a story by a few chapters you may not know where it’s going or how it will all turn out but you have good idea of the shape of the narrative and the road it will travel on. With Ghosts in Love<\/em>, every time you think you know where you are and what will come next, Carroll twists the tropes a bit and sets off in another direction. The beauty is that at every point it’s perfectly logical that we veer off in these new directions.<\/p>\n

Keeping the reader unsettled, but entertained enough to keep reading, means that the reader can’t relax and go along for the ride. All the while, the reader has to take care to read the story that is there without presupposing that it is going in any particular direction. What you end up with is a story that raises many issues about life, death, love, friendship, responsibility, and morality.<\/p>\n

When I finished the book, I had many questions to ask myself about my own life — its direction and the people I travel with. Any book that makes you think, not just about the story, but about those deeper issues that drove it beyond the closing of the covers is a book that is one that stays in the memory as a experience beyond just the reading. Ghost in Love<\/em> is such a book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m a sucker for a good love story and this sounded like that’s what it would be, with the added benefit of the ghost being in love and, since usually ghost are ephemeral, the love would probably be unrequited. What I got was a rip roaring adventure in love, metaphysics, and morality. Ben Gould and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll - A Curious Statistical Anomaly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"davinci\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"davinci\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-21T01:37:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":534,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/images.amazon.com\\\/images\\\/P\\\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Review\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll - A Curious Statistical Anomaly\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/images.amazon.com\\\/images\\\/P\\\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-21T01:37:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/images.amazon.com\\\/images\\\/P\\\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/images.amazon.com\\\/images\\\/P\\\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Curious Statistical Anomaly\",\"description\":\"Or interesting bits of fluff that caught my attention\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e\",\"name\":\"davinci\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"davinci\"},\"description\":\"I'm basically a Jill-of-all-trades with an interest in whatever captures my attention. I'm currently an editor on SFRevu.com and GumshoeReview.com. I write book reviews for those to online publication and at Amazon.com. I do some freelance copy editing and proofreading, work on my own writing, collect rejection slips, design knitwear, spin my own yarn, and enjoy life.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/davinci\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll - A Curious Statistical Anomaly","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"davinci","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/"},"author":{"name":"davinci","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e"},"headline":"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll","datePublished":"2008-11-21T01:37:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/"},"wordCount":534,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg","articleSection":["Review"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/","url":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/","name":"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll - A Curious Statistical Anomaly","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg","datePublished":"2008-11-21T01:37:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/0374161860.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/review-ghost-in-love-by-jonathan-carroll\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review: Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/","name":"A Curious Statistical Anomaly","description":"Or interesting bits of fluff that caught my attention","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e","name":"davinci","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9cc9949a335aa62aab081cd6a101495a2beec129d998c2021089b8023868faa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"davinci"},"description":"I'm basically a Jill-of-all-trades with an interest in whatever captures my attention. I'm currently an editor on SFRevu.com and GumshoeReview.com. I write book reviews for those to online publication and at Amazon.com. I do some freelance copy editing and proofreading, work on my own writing, collect rejection slips, design knitwear, spin my own yarn, and enjoy life.","url":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/author\/davinci\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}