Imagine death isn’t the end but a conversation. A puzzle. A shadow that slips into your life wearing a familiar face and asking questions you’re not ready to answer. That’s the world Jonathan Carroll builds—quietly devastating, eerily beautiful, and charged with the kind of surreal introspection that sneaks up on you like an old memory with teeth.

This isn’t a story so much as three lives—three threads—slowly unraveling toward an inevitable, mysterious center. There’s Walker Easterling, the famous stage director. There’s Maris York, a woman chasing healing but haunted by the past. And then there’s Weiss, a man touched by death in a way that rewrites his whole understanding of life.

And interwoven through it all? Death itself. Not as a faceless horror, but as a presence—complicated, curious, and, dare I say, oddly human.

Carroll doesn’t just write—he enchants. His prose walks the tightrope between lyrical and razor-sharp, making you feel like you’re dreaming with your eyes open. He’s not here to comfort you. He’s here to whisper uncomfortable truths in the dark, to remind you that love, loss, and mortality are all teeth from the same bite.

The pacing is deliberately unsettling—dream logic rules the narrative. You might feel like you’re drowning in metaphor one minute, then dragged into painfully raw emotional territory the next. But trust him. He knows where he’s going. Even if you don’t.

Verdict:
This book is a strange, beautiful ghost that will haunt your thoughts long after you close the cover. It’s not for everyone—it doesn’t hold your hand, and it won’t give you easy answers. But if you’re brave enough to look Death in the eye and ask it a question, From the Teeth of Angels might just answer.

4.5/5 stars. Docked half a point for existential damage. Proceed with caution. And maybe a hug.

Thank you for an early copy of the audiobook.

This was a really interesting book with a promising premise. I indeed liked the way the author has with his words and the story was entertaining all the way through, it just lacked some kind of a spark that would drive it home for me.
Sadly I was not really able to connect with the characters because of the ever-present jumps in time and space, though I really liked Sophie and her storyline.

All in all the book is an interesting take on Death, and how Death can be an a**hole that has their favourites in life… and in death too. The most compelling part of the book was its last chapter and the idea introduced in it, which could have brought more depth to the book, had it been developed further or introduced sooner.

An ok book to pass the time, especially in the form of an audiobook. The narrating is done very well and to be honest might have mostly been the reason why I enjoyed the book.

Ok. So I’m not sure what I just read…
At first I thought it was a bunch of short stories, but then I realized that I recognized a name here and there. 😮
That being said, I. Am. Lost!

Arlen is/was a famous actress.
She is featured in many of these short stories.

Wyatt is facing death with a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Also, he can somehow see (or understand) things that no one else can…

We bounce back and forth between different time periods and places…
Different points of view, and different aspects of death…

Which I believe is the whole purpose of the book…
But still, I don’t understand it…

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me, for drawing me in and keeping me reading… thinking it would all make sense in the end.

#FromTheTeethOfAngels by #JonathanCarroll. Narrated by #ChristianBarillas; #CarlyRobins and #SarahMolloChristensen.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #BrillianceAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.
*** Release date is coming SOON on, 4/1/25, so look 👀 for it on shelves soon !! ***
I also see that it was originally released in 1995… so I guess this new release is for the audiobook… not sure.

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I read Jonathan Carroll years ago and really love his style and use of magical realism. His characters are so far from people I know in real life but I still relate to them. This story has three main characters and their experiences with death, and they experience events like cancer and war. But death is even more personal and they make decisions about how they will live and face death. The performers were excellent, and I'm excited I got to experience the audiobook. Thanks to NetGalley for making this available to me in exchange for an honest review

This was an ok book I liked the subject of death that was enjoyable just maybe it wasn't my cup of tea I think it might have been the writing