{"id":4240,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:49","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4240"},"modified":"2023-03-22T00:46:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T07:46:27","slug":"review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-ed-voves-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-ed-voves-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Petting Zoo by Ed Voves – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\nHome<\/a> > Research<\/a> > Book Reviews<\/a> > Review of The Petting Zoo<\/i> by Ed Voves<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics’ Picks: Best Books of 2010<\/h2>\n

Review of The Petting Zoo<\/i><\/span>
\nBy Ed Voves
\nCalifornia Literary Review<\/i> 18 December 2010<\/span><\/p>\n

The Petting Zoo<\/i> is one of the most noteworthy novels of 2010. It achieves this status not by
\nliterary merit alone \u2013 or even primarily. The most significant feature of this story of artistic
\nangst and biblical allusion is that Jim Carroll died, aged 60, while working on the final draft in
\n2009. It is sadly the “alpha and omega” of Carroll’s work as a writer of fiction.\n<\/p>\n

Jim Carroll was no flashing meteor on the cultural scene, however. By the time of his death,
\nhe had two books of autobiographical writing on his resume. The Basketball Diaries<\/i> was first
\npublished in 1978 and later became a cult hit of the 1980?s. Forced Entries: The Downtown
\nDiaries, 1971-1973<\/i>, continued the story of Carroll’s immersion into the drug culture of
\nthe1970’s. Carroll also published several collections of highly regarded poetry and headed a
\npunk rock band that flirted with big time success in the early 1980’s.\n<\/p>\n

Carroll had, moreover, the trappings of legend about him. The “Catholic Boy” rebel
\npersonified the iconoclastic, self-destructive New York scene of the 1970’s. He was a living
\nlink to the world of Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe and sex without fear of AIDS.
\nAnd now Carroll is gone too. The Petting Zoo<\/i>, in its way, is an elegy to this ever-more remote
\nmilieu. Yet, its over-arching theme is far more serious than that. The novel charts the interior
\nstruggle of an artist, Billy Wolfram, who suddenly confronts the unpleasant fact that his
\nconsiderable status as a painter and sculptor has less to do with his talents than it does to his
\nrole as a Manhattan celebrity.\n<\/p>\n

Billy Wolfram, like Carroll, hails from Irish Catholic working class roots. His upward assent in
\nthe contemporary art scene was anything but assured. But then Billy comes face-to-face with
\npaintings by the 17th century master, Diego Vel\u00e1zquez, at the glittering opening to an art
\nexhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A panic attack sends him wandering about
\nManhattan in a state of severe distraction. He winds up in Central Park’s Petting Zoo, taking a
\nblow to the head from a tree limb and talking to a raven who may or may not be real.
\nSurreal scenes like Billy’s encounter with the raven alternate with meditations on his Irish
\nCatholic boyhood and early artistic career. Billy’s attempt to unravel life’s mysteries is by
\nturns spiritually bleak and darkly humorous. Carroll’s abundant writing skill, however, fails to
\nfuse the flash-backs of the early Billy with the travail of his latter day self. Too often,
\nmemories of a young Billy grappling with his sexuality just get in the way of an otherwise
\nabsorbing novel.\n<\/p>\n

The Petting Zoo<\/i> is the work of a genius, rather than a work of genius. For all that, it deserves
\na wide readership and serious literary consideration. If an author only gets one chance to
\nwrite a serious novel, then it had better deal with universal themes. Despite its flaws, Jim
\nCarroll’s The Petting Zoo<\/i> does exactly that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2010 California Literary Review – all rights reserved.<\/p>\n

The original article can be found here<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n <\/p>\n

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\n\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 status not by literary merit … Continue reading Review of The Petting Zoo by Ed Voves – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3988,"menu_order":9,"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":[41],"class_list":["post-4240","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-16o","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3980,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/the-petting-zoo-by-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4240,"position":0},"title":"The Petting Zoo: A Novel","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Petting Zoo: A NovelBy:\u00a0Jim CarrollPublished:\u00a02010Publisher:\u00a0VikingFormat:\u00a0HardcoverJacket Illustration:\u00a0Raymond PettibonBook design:\u00a0Alissa 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art: The Petting Zoo: A Novel - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/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":4240,"position":1},"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":[]},{"id":4242,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-the-petting-zoo-by-nancy-rommelmann-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4240,"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":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":4240,"position":3},"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":9049,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/petting-zoo-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":4240,"position":4},"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":4240,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4240","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6022,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4240\/revisions\/6022"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}