His next six novels were all published as mainstream fiction and he set out to conquer a vaster audience. In Europe, Carroll has been very well received. For example, he is seen as a major writer in the United Kingdom and his first story collection was published in German years before it appeared in the author's own language. In North America, however, he is more a writer's writer. He is read by a die-hard loyal core audience that, despite his publishers' best efforts, refuses to significantly expand.
Fantasy is a loaded word in publishing.
It unfortunately evokes elves, wizards, kings, princesses, magic swords, pseudo-medievalism, juvenilia, and a strict formula based on The Lord of the Rings and Arthurian legend. There are many fantasists whose fiction does not fall into this narrow definition, but their work is hard to market. This is especially true in North America, where genre labels are often more important that the work itself, because it is not recognizable as commercial fantasy and its fantastic elements potentially alienate those readers who favor strict realism. The Marriage of Sticks is not set in a never-never land filled with Tolkienesque paraphernalia. Its characters are preoccupied with love, family, career, pets, memories and friendship.