Synopses & Reviews
Twenty-one years ago, a domestic tragedy catapulted Terrence Einhorn Kerrigan from his comfortable life as a professor and family man in America and landed him in Copenhagen, where he's made his living as a writer, editor, and translator. Now in his mid-fifties, he has begun a project which he hopes to drag out for the remainder of his days: a catalogue of Copenhagen's 1,525 serving houses, a volume in the series
The Great Bars of the Western World.To assist him, he has engaged the voluptuous, green-eyed Research Associate, to whom he is desperately attracted, and with whom he desperately does not want to fall in love; love, his past has proved, is too painful. Kerrigan must, at last, escape the Associate and the Copenhagen, fleeing to Dublin. But can the city he's adopted, wandered, and mapped, and the woman with whom he's done it, really be extricated from his life?
The third work in Thomas Kennedy's Copenhagen Quartet, Kerrigan in Copenhagen assumes the form of Kerrigan's bar guide, with each chapter taking place in a different serving house. But the novel develops into a legitimate kind of guidebook to the city of Copenhagen: its culture, its history, its beer, books, cigars, its art, architecture, streets and parks and especially its people-the characters who swirl around our reluctant lovers, and the pair themselves, who form the deeply human core of this wonderfully original novel.
Review
“The essay, the guidebook, the love story, the comforting exchange of facts in a bewildering world of emotion—all are to be found in Thomas E. Kennedys Kerrigan in Copenhagen . . . Coarse language plays off lyrical images and often stunning prose that twirls with the improvisations of the jazz musicians Kerrigan admires.” —The New York Times Book Review"This up-and-down kind of boozy journey is well worth the time . . . Kennedy's obvious love for Copenhagen drives an exciting work." —Library Journal
“Once again showcases [Kennedys] authorial bravado and passion . . . Kennedy proves to be an intellectual and entertaining guide to a remarkable city and to the deepest longings of a broken, aging man.” —Booklist
"Thomas E. Kennedy is an astonishment, and In the Company of Angels is as elegant as it is beautiful, as important as it is profound. A marvel of a read." —Junot Diaz, on In the Company of Angels
"In the Company of Angels is powerful and of the moment... [Kennedy] is a writer to be reckoned with, and it's about time the reckoning got underway in the country of his birth."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post, on In the Company of Angels
"In its wisdom and empathy, in its understanding of the supreme importance of love, in its portrait of a strong man and its knowledge of the human soul in all its suffering, this is indeed a profound and exceptional work." —The Guardian, on In the Company of Angels
"Falling Sideways is the finest novel I have read in many years. Thomas Kennedy is a true discovery, an author of rare intelligence and moral vision. Not least, the book is immensely compelling and beautifully written." —Alain de Botton, on Falling Sideways
Synopsis
"In Kerrigan in Copenhagen, Thomas E. Kennedy takes the reader on a raucous journey of regret and desire - but also of erudition and wit. Kennedy is a masterful writer and here he is testing his own limits and pushing the limits of literature. A stirring, original work." -- James Carroll, National Book Award-winning author of An American Requiem and Constantine's Sword
Synopsis
"A raucous journey of regret and desire-but also of erudition and wit. A stirring, original work." -James Carroll, National Book Award-winning author of An American Requiem and Constantine's Sword
Synopsis
Kerrigan is writing a guide book to his adopted city of Copenhagen. Specifically, a guide to the city's drinking establishments-of which there are more than 1,500.Thus, it is a project potentially without end, and one with a certain amount of numbness built into it, through countless drinks imbibed.And that is part of the point: for Kerrigan, an American expat fleeing a brutal family tragedy, has plenty he wants to numb.The only problem with his project is his research associate, a voluptuous, green eyed gal who makes him tremble with forgotten desire.
Kerrigan in Copenhagen is a love story. It is also a deeply human, Joycean romp through a magical city-its people, history, literature, and culture-giving Copenhagen its literary due and establishing Kennedy as a tremendously gifted novelist.
Synopsis
“A spiraling exploration of alcohol, history, literature, art and jazz . . . [in] often stunning prose.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors Choice
Synopsis
Kerrigan is writing a guide book to his adopted city of Copenhagen. Specifically, a guide to the citys drinking establishments—of which there are more than 1,500. Thus, it is a project potentially without end, and one with a certain amount of drunken numbness built into it. And thats the point: for Kerrigan, an American expat fleeing a terrible betrayal, has plenty he wants to forget. The only problem with his proposed project is his research associate, a voluptuous green-eyed beauty who makes him tremble with forgotten desire.
But his associate also has a past, and as the two of them stroll the cobblestoned streets, studying the art, architecture, parks, and poetry of Copenhagen, they also study each other, circling with uncertainty—to love or not to love? To regret or to renew?
A Joycean celebration of one citys history, culture, and people, Kerrigan in Copenhagen is at once a poignant romance and a raucous journey of discovery, of coming out of darkness to delight again in life.
About the Author
Thomas E. Kennedys writing has been awarded several prizes, including the National Magazine Award in 2008. He teaches in the M.F.A. program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Kerrigan in Copenhagen is one of four novels in his acclaimed Copenhagen Quartet; the final, Beneath the Neon Egg, will be published in fall 2014. Born and raised in New York, Kennedy currently lives in Copenhagen with his two children. His websites are www.copenhagenquartet.com and www.thomasekennedy.com.