The Petting Zoo - by Jim Carroll (Paperback)

About the Book

A moving, vividly rendered novel from the late author of "The Basketball Diaries." Marked by Carroll's sharp wit, hallucinatory imagery, and street-smart style, "The Petting Zoo" is a frank, haunting examination of one artist's personal and professional struggles.

Book Synopsis

A moving, vividly rendered novel from the author of The Basketball Diaries

Suffused with Jim Carroll's humor and sharp wit, his delicate yet hallucinatory imagery, and his cool, sophisticated, streetsmart voice, The Petting Zoo is a frank, haunting examination of one artist's personal and spiritual quest. Billy Wolfram, an enigmatic thirty-eight- year-old star of the late -1980s New York art scene, views a show of Velázquez paintings and is so humbled by their spiritual power that he suffers an emotional breakdown and retreats to his Chelsea loft. In seclusion, he recalls the most emblematic moments and figures of his childhood and early career as he searches to recover the spark of inspiration in his own work and life.

About the Author

Jim Carroll (1949-2009) was the author of two acclaimed memoirs, The Basketball Diaries-a bestseller that was adapted as a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 1995-and Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973, as well as several collections of poetry.