{"id":3980,"date":"2022-01-10T22:18:32","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=3980"},"modified":"2025-03-09T04:04:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T11:04:29","slug":"the-petting-zoo-by-jim-carroll","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/the-petting-zoo-by-jim-carroll\/","title":{"rendered":"The Petting Zoo: A Novel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Petting Zoo: A Novel<\/span>
<\/em>By: <\/strong>Jim Carroll
Published: <\/strong>2010
Publisher:<\/strong> Viking
Format: <\/strong>Hardcover
Jacket Illustration: <\/strong>Raymond Pettibon
Book design: <\/strong>Alissa Amell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When poet, musician, and diarist Jim Carroll passed away in September 2009, he was putting the finishing touches on a potent work of fiction. The Petting Zoo<\/em> tells the story of Billy Wolfram, a 38-year-old artist who has become a hot star in the late 1980s New York art scene. As the novel opens, Billy, after viewing a show of Vel\u00e1squez paintings, is so humbled and awed by their spiritual power that he suffers an emotional breakdown and withdraws to his Chelsea loft. In reclusion, Billy searches for the divine spark in his own work and life. Carroll\u2019s novel moves back and forth in time to present emblematic moments from Billy\u2019s life (his Irish Catholic upbringing, his teenage escapades, his evolution as an artist and meteoric rise to fame) and sharply etched portraits of the characters who mattered most to him, including his childhood friend, Denny MacAbee, now a famous rock musician, his mentor, the unforgettable art dealer Max Bernbaum, and one extraordinary black bird. Marked by Carroll\u2019s sharp wit, hallucinatory imagery, and street-smart style, The Petting Zoo <\/em>is a frank, haunting examination of one artist\u2019s personal and professional struggles.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book Release Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

11\/13\/10 Jim Carroll Tribute (Los Angeles, CA, USA) Echo<\/strong>
11\/15\/10 “Ghost” Launch of The Petting Zoo<\/em> (Toronto, Canada) The Drake Hotel Underground<\/strong>
11\/18\/10 Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye (New York City, USA) Barnes and Noble, Union Square<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get this book on Amazon.com<\/a>: available in paperback, Kindle, and audio book (narrated by Scott Brick). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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See also:<\/strong> Petting Zoo Guide<\/a> – [to recover from Amazon<\/a> if possible]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Petting Zoo: A NovelBy: Jim CarrollPublished: 2010Publisher: VikingFormat: HardcoverJacket Illustration: Raymond PettibonBook design: Alissa Amell When poet, musician, and diarist Jim Carroll passed away in September 2009, he was putting the finishing touches on a potent work of fiction. The Petting Zoo tells the story of Billy Wolfram, a 38-year-old artist who has become a hot star in the late … Continue reading The Petting Zoo: A Novel<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":4003,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[82],"class_list":["post-3980","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-12c","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4240,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-ed-voves-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":0},"title":"Review of The Petting Zoo by Ed Voves – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Book Reviews > Review of The Petting Zoo by Ed Voves Critics' Picks: Best Books of 2010 Review of The Petting Zoo By Ed Voves California Literary Review 18 December 2010 The Petting Zoo is one of the most noteworthy novels of 2010. It achieves this\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4241,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-susanna-sonnenberg-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":1},"title":"Review of The Petting Zoo by Susanna Sonnenberg – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Book Reviews > Review of The Petting Zoo by Susanna Sonnenberg The Petting Zoo Review by Susanna Sonnenberg SFGate.com 26 December 2010 Billy Wolfram is a famous artist, a mega-star of the important art world in New York City, and he has been since he was\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4242,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-nancy-rommelmann-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":2},"title":"Review of The Petting Zoo by Nancy Rommelmann","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Petting ZooReview by Nancy RommelmannThe Oregonian 18 December 2010 THE PETTING ZOOJim CarrollViking$25.95, 327 pages In 1978, Jim Carroll published \"The Basketball Diaries,\" his memoir of being a New York City teen in the mid-'60s, shooting hoops, shooting dope, turning tricks in public men's rooms, a beautiful Titian-haired Catholic\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9049,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/petting-zoo-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":3},"title":"Behind The Petting Zoo","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Childrens Zoo Post Card Originally this page provided links to a lot of books that might help a person trying to understand The Petting Zoo. Sadly the technology I used for this died and there was no way to save the content. I will try to reconstruct this . .\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/childrenzoopostcard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/childrenzoopostcard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/childrenzoopostcard.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4003,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":4},"title":"Diaries and Fiction by Jim Carroll","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Petting Zoo: A NovelPublished:\u00a0November 8, 2010By:\u00a0Jim CarrollPublisher:\u00a0VikingCarroll was putting the finishing touches on his first novel,\u00a0The Petting Zoo, when he passed away in 2009. Protagonist Billy Wolfram, a hot young artist in late 1980s NYC, suffers a psychological and spiritual breakdown while viewing the Met's Velasquez retrospective and desperately\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/PettingZooLarge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3988,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":3980,"position":5},"title":"Book Reviews","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here you will find a few of the many reviews of Jim Carroll's books. Eventually I will add more, but for now you can check out the Bibliographies page for many others I have not yet added to the website. Reviews of The Petting Zoo (2010) View reader comments on\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3980"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9217,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3980\/revisions\/9217"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=3980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}