A magic tattoo enables a failed comic who will become a famous street photographer to choose from three different lives. As inconsistent as Graham Patterson is at comedy, he earns the devotion of Ruth Murphy, an ardent fan who becomes his romantic partner. But she wants to have children, he is pretty sure he doesn't, and ne'er their twain will meet. While driving across the country searching for answers following their sad breakup, he stops at a tattoo parlor in North Carolina. The female proprietor's designs so knock him out, he impulsively gets an odd chain-of-life tat. By touching it while uttering a code word, he can move back and forth among alternative lives--the one he is living, one that takes him back to the past, and one in which he is Ruth's husband and the father of their children--before deciding which one he wants to remain in. His greatest hope is that these special powers will allow him for the first time "to create from the middle of [his] soul." After the tattoo artist enthuses about the photos he has taken to document his road trip, he dedicates himself to photography. But acts of violence, illnesses, and sudden deaths are in store in his parallel lives, ultimately leading to his disappearance. He leaves behind a set of photos that only certain people can see, including a manipulated shot of Mr. Breakfast, a long-shuttered roadside diner that eerily comes back to life. Among Carroll's novels, including the fabulous The Land of Laughs (1980), this is one of his most elusive--the narratives overlap and interact with a slippery interior logic. The new novel also may be his most lyrical. Few recent works of fiction in any genre have touched on the vagaries of life, love, and art more movingly or with deeper understanding. An intoxicating, deeply affecting novel by the influential fantasist. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The latest from award-winning Carroll (Bathing the Lion) is a compulsively readable, introspective tale about the road not taken. Between his bombing comedy career and his failed love life, Graham Patterson's life is plummeting downhill. He aimlessly hits the road and stops at a tattoo shop in North Carolina, where he uncharacteristically gets a rare and otherworldly tattoo. The tattoo sparks visions of alternate lives, and Graham suddenly finds that he can choose between the paths. In the meantime, biographer James Arthur receives a series of mysterious blank photographs that are full of meaning, leading him to investigate the strange past of the famous photographer Graham Patterson and his inexplicable disappearance. Carroll's weird and heartfelt adventure explores what it means to have a perfect life and the choices people make to get there. Though the ending is abrupt and a bit anticlimactic, the alternate timelines are cleverly interconnected. VERDICT At its heart, this is an arresting and imaginative meditation on life. Perfect for fans of magical realism with a free-flowing style like that of David Mitchell and Toshikazu Kawaguchi.--Andrea Dyba

Graham Patterson wanted to be a famous comedian but didn't have the edge that would make him a star. Ignoring the smart suggestions of his longtime girlfriend Ruth, he found himself without another gig. Buying a red Mustang off the showroom floor, Graham started searching for something he couldn't name. Breaking down on the road, he impulsively chose his first tattoo without knowing the design contained magic. Now Graham can experience three possible lives at three different times, from the present into the future, but must pick only one for the rest of his days. What ensues is a wild ride as characters continuously change and grow through their experiences, which are full of surprises for characters and readers alike. As always with the exceptionally imaginative Carroll, he creates complex worlds for his hero to inhabit and with clever crossovers between realms that are carefully thought out and fun to explore. Carroll's attention to details is impressive, and the unexpected prevails. Although not exactly comparable, this should appeal to fans of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library (2020).

This self-congratulatory contemporary fantasy from Carroll (Bathing the Lion) follows comedian-turned-photographer Graham Patterson as he explores the alternate directions his life could take. While fleeing from his comedy career on a road trip across the U.S., Patterson impulsively gets a tattoo from Anna Mae Collins. Soon thereafter, he starts to see "mirror versions" of himself, first witnessing himself get kidnapped. Collins conveniently returns to explain that the "Breakfast Tattoo" Patterson selected gives the bearer the ability to observe, and ultimately choose between, three different versions of his own life. Carroll takes pains to assure the reader that the protagonist's jokes are funny and his photographs magnificent, and the narrative frequently stalls to explain the message of a scene through heavy-handed metaphor, leaving little room for imagination or interpretation. Together with a stable of female characters almost universally concerned with motherhood, and disabled characters built on tired stereotypes (a "spooky" blind person, a murderous schizophrenic, and a burdensome autistic child), it makes for a turgid reading experience. While the alternate realities deliver some genuine surprises alongside the occasional heartfelt meditation on the randomness of life and the futility in trying to control it, the whole is too trite to be very thought provoking. All but Carroll's most devoted fans can skip this. (Jan.)