Keenly perceptive of how people react to one another, the author displays a good command of general psychology. I love the sense of intrigue, of not knowing what surprise the next page will bring, since Carroll’s writing often involves surreal situations. The author’s sardonic sense of humor makes reading this tale so much fun. This book is intelligent, subtle, and yet easy to read. Carroll’s style of writing never ceases to amaze me. The information about Frank that Thomas gets from publisher David Louis is much different in a bizarre sort of way from the information gleaned from Saxony’s previous research and from what both learn from visiting the author’s surviving daughter Anna.

Thomas Abbey (son of the famous actor Stephen Abbey) and his “colleague” Saxony visit the town of Galen, Missouri, to get information for a biography of their late but beloved children’s book author, Marshall Frank. The magic of Marshall France has extended far beyond the printed page.leaving them with a terrifying task to undertake.Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. But slowly they begin to see that something fantastic and horrible is happening. Warned in advance that France's family may oppose them, they're surprised to find France's daughter warmly welcoming instead. Now Thomas and Saxony have come to France's hometown, the dreamy Midwestern town of Galen, Missouri, to write France's biography. What he knows is that in his whole life nothing has touched him so deeply as the novels of Marshall France, a reclusive author of fabulous children's tales who died at forty-four. Schoolteacher Thomas Abbey, unsure son of a film star, doesn't know who he is or what he wants-in life, in love, or in his relationship with the strange and intense Saxony Gardner. A novel about how terrifying that would be.

Have you ever loved a magical book above all others? Have you ever wished the magic were real? Welcome to The Land of Laughs.

The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll