The Woman Who Married a Cloud by Jonathan Carroll

For more than thirty years, Jonathan Carroll’s writing has defied genre conventions. Known for his novels—including The Land of Laughs, Bones of the Moon, Sleeping in Flame, and many other compelling and often surreal stories—Carroll has also created an eloquent body of short fiction. The Woman Who Married a Cloud brings his stories together for the first time. In the title story, a matchmaking effort goes awry and leads one woman to a harrowing moment of self-discovery. In “The Heidelberg Cylinder,” Hell becomes so overcrowded that Satan sends some of his lost souls back to Earth. And in “Alone Alarm,” a man is kidnapped by multiple versions of himself. By turns haunting, melancholic, and enchanting, Carroll’s richly layered stories illuminate universal experiences, passions, and griefs. Described by NPR’s Alan Cheuse as “so richly imaginative, so intellectually daring,” The Woman Who Married a Cloud is essential reading for Carroll fans and short-story lovers alike.