{"id":3988,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T06:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=3988"},"modified":"2025-03-16T20:54:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T03:54:56","slug":"book-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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<\/a> page for many others I have not yet added to the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of The Petting Zoo<\/em> (2010)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments on Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Hell, Hallucinatory Effects. New York Times<\/em> 10 December 2010. <\/strong> Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nancy Rommelmann, Review of The Petting Zoo<\/em>. OregonLive.com<\/em> 18 Dec. 2010.<\/a>
<\/strong>In a thoughtful review, Rommelmann says she “imagined [Carroll] in a train yard, at night, for 20 years,
coupling and uncoupling the cars, laying and tearing up the track, in order to build a path of transcendence for us.” Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susanna Sonnenberg, Review of The Petting Zoo<\/em>. SFGate.com<\/em> 26 Dec. 2010.<\/a>
<\/strong>While Sonnenberg feels the “novel has its discrete pleasures,” she is disappointed that the plot repeatedly “stalls out.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Voves, “Critics’ Picks: Best Books of 2010.” Review of The Petting Zoo<\/em>. California Literary Review<\/em> 18 Dec. 2010.<\/a>
Volves describes The Petting Zoo<\/em> as “one of the most noteworthy novels of 2010” by virtue of its being the “‘alpha and omega’ of Carroll’s work as a writer of fiction.” Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of Void of Course<\/em> (1998)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments on Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul McDonald, Review of Void of Course<\/em>. Louisville Eccentric Observer, 1998.<\/a>
“Jim Carroll reaffirms his prowess as mentor and scribe of the human condition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Perrin, “Jim Carroll: The Poet Speaks.” Beat Scene<\/em> 32 (1999): 59.<\/a>
“The problem with Carroll is that he has always had two voices and most commentators have chosen to privilege the street talking wise ass adolescent narrator of the diaries over the more measured tones which tend to dominate his poetry. In a some ways this vocal schizophrenia can be seen as a dramatisation of the conflict between America and Europe.” Perrin reviews both Pools of Mercury<\/em> and Void of Course<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Perry, Review of Void of Course. The Trumpet<\/em>, 1999.<\/a>
“Jim Carroll’s work in Void Of Course is truthful and strong which is inspiring to the teenagers of today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Segedin, Review of Void of Course<\/em>. Booklist<\/em> 95.4 (15 Oct. 1998): 389.<\/a>
“Carroll exhumes his life and loves, and his candor at times startles.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review of Void of Course<\/em>. Publishers Weekly<\/em> 28 Sept. 1998: 96.<\/a>
“An alternately self-exposing and swaggering Bukowskian diarist, Carroll reinforces his rock-star-like pop culture niche with his latest volume of poetry, which somewhat resembles a compilation of power ballads.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of Fear of Dreaming<\/em> (1993)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments on Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie Carter, “Integrity of Vision.” Exclusive to The Jim Carroll Website<\/em>.<\/a>
Exclusive to The Jim Carroll Website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merry Fortune, Review of Fear of Dreaming<\/em>. Poetry Project Newsletter,<\/em> 1994.<\/a>
Merry Fortune’s free-flowing, poetic review of Fear of Dreaming<\/em> was published in the newsletter of the St. Mark’s Poetry Project, the very place where Carroll got his start as a poet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Segedin, Review of Fear of Dreaming<\/em>. Booklist<\/em> 90.4 (15 Oct. 1993): 412.<\/a>
“Touching, disturbing, and deeply personal, Carroll mines Catholic symbolism and mean-street and drug imagery with poignant intensity.” PDF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Sutherland,”BOOKS: Fear of Dreaming<\/em>.” Eye Weekly<\/em> 17 Feb. 1994.
Download PDF<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of Forced Entries<\/em> (1987)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments on Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Diaries of the Damned: The editors pick at the writings of Jim Carroll.”<\/a>
Columbia Journal of American Studies<\/em> 1:1 (1995).
This article includes two separate reviews: one of The Basketball Diaries<\/em> and one of Forced Entries<\/em>. As an added bonus, it features a unique Jim Carroll autograph that says, “Dev Duckster lives!” as well as the full text of Carroll’s poem “Midnight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Hochswender, “The Way They Were in Greenwich Village.” Los Angeles Times Book Review<\/em> 18 Oct. 1987: 10.
“[T]he real attraction of Carroll is the energy of his language, whether applied to fantastically baroque nods or to mundane urban realities.” And “When, ultimately, Carroll finds his redemption in California . . . we sense that enormity of the underground experience, as lived, in ways a documentary history can only grope for.” Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, “Books of the Times.” New York Times<\/em>, 9 July 1987: C23.<\/a>
Review of The Basketball Diaries<\/em> and Forced Entries.<\/em> Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Stevens,”The Cockroach Chronicles.” New York Times,<\/em> 1987.<\/a>
Stevens says Forced Entries<\/em> “provides plenty of diverting tinsel,” enumerating Carroll’s activity at the Factory and Max’s Kansas City, but says “Mr. Carroll aspires to something weightier, however–a story of struggle and redemption.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of The Basketball Diaries (1978)<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments at Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Diaries of the Damned: The editors pick at the writings of Jim Carroll.”<\/a>
Columbia Journal of American Studies<\/em> 1:1 (1995).
This article includes two separate reviews: one of The Basketball Diaries<\/em> and one of Forced Entries<\/em>. As an added bonus, it features a unique Jim Carroll autograph that says, “Dev Duckster lives!” as well as the full text of Carroll’s poem “Midnight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tricia Ireland, “Author’s Honesty Makes Book Entertaining.” Orion Online<\/em> [Chico State University, CA]. 3 May 1995. Download PDF<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamie James. “The Basketball Diaries<\/em>.” American Book Review<\/em> 2.3 (1980):9.
This is the all-time best review of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>. Much quoted. Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, “Books of the Times.” New York Times<\/em>, 9 July 1987: C23.<\/a>
Review of The Basketball Diaries<\/em> and Forced Entries.<\/em> Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

X<\/strong>Cindy Rogowitz, Review of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>.
LOST? <\/em> <\/strong>http:\/\/pptnt.cpcnet.com\/lancaster\/pub\/13\/10.95\/bball10.95.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary-Anne St.Onge, Review of Basketball Diaries.<\/em><\/a> Special to the Jim Carroll Website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews of Living at the Movies (1973)<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

View reader comments at Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerard Malanga,”Traveling and Living.” Poetry,<\/em> 1974.<\/a>
A glowing review of Living at the Movies.<\/em> Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Stephens, Review of Living at the Movies<\/em>. Guardian<\/em>, circa 1973.<\/a>
Another glowing review. I don’t have publication details for this article; Jim Carroll gave it to me. Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review of Organic Trains (1967)<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ted Berrigan, “Jim Carroll.” Culture Hero<\/em>, 1969.<\/a>
Poet Ted Berrigan describes first meeting Carroll and praises his first book, Organic Trains<\/em>. Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 Amazon.com Richard Hell, Hallucinatory Effects. … Continue reading Book Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":4,"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":[17],"class_list":["post-3988","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-12k","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":3988,"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":3988,"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":15,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/","url_meta":{"origin":3988,"position":2},"title":"Research Library","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This page links you to a variety of sources related to Jim Carroll and his works, including bibliographies (lists of sources), full-text articles and interviews, and Websites beyond CatholicBoy.com. Follow the links below to explore the areas you're interested in. Cassie's Research This is a new area of the website\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9047,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/the-basketball-diaries-film-in-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":3988,"position":3},"title":"The Basketball Diaries Film in Context","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert's\u00a0The Basketball Diaries, a film based upon Jim Carroll's autobiographical\u00a0book\u00a0of the same title. What you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor, as are all of the actors in the film, and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4146,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":3988,"position":4},"title":"The Basketball Diaries Film Guide","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert's The Basketball Diaries (1995), a film based upon Jim Carroll's autobiographical book of the same title. Because the film is at best tangential to Jim Carroll's work and biography, what you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10144,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/performance-reviews\/the-bottom-line-nyc-1999-preview-in-time-out-new-york\/","url_meta":{"origin":3988,"position":5},"title":"The Bottom Line , NYC (1999) – Preview in Time Out New York","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"June 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim Carroll\u00a0 at The Bottom LineNew York, NY, 13 November 1999Preview in\u00a0Time Out New York\u00a0(Nov. 11-16, 1999) Jim Carroll & Lianne SmithSaturday, 11\/13; Bottom Line, 7:30, 10:30 p.m.; $15.\u00a0 It's incredible how NYC junkie-poet-rocker icon Jim Carroll can still work it better than so many wanna-be youngsters out there. Forget\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\/3988","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=3988"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9448,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3988\/revisions\/9448"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=3988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}