Kerrigan in Copenhagen

Book review: Kerrigan in Copenhagen, by Thomas E Kennedy

There is a suspicion that Kerrigan is an aging idiot savant, his mind a kind of Wikipedia crib that has him unable to mention a name or a year without expanding on it. When he is told that one of the pubs they visit was opened in , for example, he tells us that this was "the year after the birth of Ezra Pound in the US and Francois Mauriac in France, seven years before the birth of Tom Kristensen, who was born a year before Dorothy Parker in , fifteen years before the birth, in , of Kerrigan's father".

This flood of information is accompanied by resumes of stories from Hans Christian Andersen and other Danish authors; we hear about their relationships with writers such as Proust, Dumas, Hugo, Dickens, Goethe, Hemingway and, of course, Joyce. Jazz music and its American and European stars constitute another theme of his discourse. When he finally manages female intimacy, his reaction is to immediately flee to Dublin. He visits some of that city's better known pubs, giving a brief history of each. As he walks through Merrion Square, he notes that it is "the birthplace of Oscar Wilde at number 1, who died in , same year Nietzsche died and Thomas Wolfe was born, Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim appeared and Joyce's first piece of writing was published".

The Keats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci — source of some of Paul Keating's more memorable put-downs — is a constant presence in the text, because Kerrigan sees it as the story of his relationship with his wife. He is also much enamoured of the melancholy in Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach , though the reason here is less clear. There cannot be many sculptures or public monuments in Copenhagen that are not mentioned in the book.

And that yearning for his love i Kennedy shares favorite quotes of other authors, historians, philosophers, friends. And that yearning for his love is yearning for that yearning. He missed it all to be profound. To distill it all down to a few sentences. Kerrigan spends all his life intoxicated, being an observer rather than a participant. I don't know if he ever 'reasoned' his way out of loving but he sure missed the signs that his wife lost her passion for him. He is in love with women, in love with love while remaining completely sealed off from the reality of experiencing a relationship with another human.

MORE BY THOMAS E. KENNEDY

It's getting very late in the game for another chance. I loved this book for the idiot genius. Kerrigan is completely lovable companion to all but without the engagement of a best friend or love of one's life. It could have been a better novel with more interraction with others to showcase all the profound ponderings in his head. His dialogue is with himself most often bringing us full circle to his biggest problem. The locations were more like a laundry list of locations rather than experiencing this glorious city. Sep 15, Deb rated it did not like it Shelves: I couldn't finish this book.

A man works his way through a variety of pubs in Copenhagen, obsessing on both a lost romance, and a new potential one. For me, the story was buried enough that I simply lost interest.

Kerrigan in Copenhagen by Thomas E Kennedy – review

I try not to read reviews of books I'm reading ahead of time unless the review has sent me to the book in the first place , since I don't want to be influenced by someone else's opinion, but I noticed a number of people referring to this book as "Joycean. I don't do well with nonlinear exposition. Jun 27, Steve rated it did not like it Shelves: The premise of this book -- that a writer finds love and a new beginning in the course of his project to visit all 1, of Copenhagen's public houses pubs is a good one, and injecting travel guide-like elements in the text is clever, but it falls flat.

The protagonist's soul searching becomes tiresome, and he pisses his pants one too many times. It could have been a fun novel, but instead, I kept asking myself, "How many pages 'til it's done? This is a strange book. No plot, just a meander through 59 Copenhagen bars and restuarants with random observations on writers, artists, musicians, history, customers, his life, his loves. Jul 20, Roger Brunyate rated it it was ok Shelves: A Guidebook maybe, but not a novel Thomas E. Kennedy's In the Company of Angels is a great book.

Set in Copenhagen, it tells of the hesitant coming-together of a woman fleeing an abusive marriage and a Chilean torture victim.

The healing of post-traumatic stress is a field that Kennedy knows at first hand, and he writes with searing passion, yet clings to the possibility of rebirth. That novel was marketed as the second of his Copenhagen Quartet. What a disappointment, therefore, to find that t A Guidebook maybe, but not a novel Thomas E. What a disappointment, therefore, to find that the present novel, the first of the four, originally published in and now revised and reissued, is so vapid, with any trace of plot or passion buried under a blizzard of intellectual trivia and brutish behavior.

Irish-American Terrence Einhorn Kerrigan note the initials a former literature professor, has been commissioned to write a guidebook to the "serving houses" of Copenhagen. To do this, he has hired a research Associate her name appears much later who accompanies him to an astounding number of bars each day, reading him facts about their history from a Moleskine notebook, while he samples the wares and gradually loses any capacity to process what she tells him.

We learn that Kerrigan got married in his forties, to a much younger woman who later walked out on him, taking their daughter and half his savings. Bitter about this, he lusts after the Associate, though generally ends up too drunk to take advantage of her surprisingly reciprocal interest in him. But she is not the only one; Kerrigan is no more able to resist a woman than to turn down a drink.

Kerrigan's poetry-spouting pub-crawls in Copenhagen are an obvious homage to Leopold Bloom's wanderings in Joyce's Ulysses , and indeed he does fly over to Dublin for a weekend to repeat the process there; Copenhagen apparently also has its Dubh Linn or black pool. The book is written at first in the manner of a guidebook, with landmarks and street names listed in boldface.

Gradually, the topographical and historical information gives way to comments on jazz, and then to literature: Danish, Scandinavian, and European. The combined knowledge of Kerrigan and his Associate is impressively vast; I would not take them on in Trivial Pursuit. But as a way of narrating a novel, it is all bathwater and no baby. James Joyce could do it, so could W. But all three succeeded because at heart there is a character whom we can feel for and respect. Though smart, Kerrigan is a self-indulgent libidinous wineskin, and it is unpleasant to spend time with him. The initials may be the same, but the Thomas Kennedy who wrote In the Company of Angels is worth a hundred of him.

Fortunately, I can treasure that book and forget the rest of the Quartet. Jul 05, Jeff Hanson rated it liked it. Kennedy's Kerrigan in Copenhagen is a book I enjoyed, but there are few people I would recommend it to. Basically told in a stream of conciousness style reminescent of James Joyce, the story is of an aging man, dealing with the shock of his younger wife abruptly leaving him and taking his 2-year-old, and possibly unborn infant if it's his with her.

As he drowns his sorrows in pubs around Copenhagen, he reminesces about the history and literature of the city, and does this all in the Thomas E. As he drowns his sorrows in pubs around Copenhagen, he reminesces about the history and literature of the city, and does this all in the guise of writing a guide to of the best brew houses in the city, which is in reality, just a plot, to spend more time with his "Associate", a woman who just might be his salvation.

There is little plot in this novel, the story wanders and takes some unnecessary detours one chapter is devoted to a sudden trip to Dublin , but overall, despite his flaws and his drunkenness, Kerrigan is, if not likeable, ultimately relatable, as he struggles to define himself in a world where he aspires to great literature, but doesn't write much, is unsure of whether he can ever trust or love again, and struggles with his aging body, his taste for drink, and what kind of future would he will have being old, alone, and never having attained the success he dreamt of in his youth.

Jul 13, Anna rated it really liked it Shelves: Would be great to take along on a trip to Copenhagen as it walks its streets with social history, in particular of all the pubs mixed in with doses of Goethe, Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Andersen, and others. It is a love story of sorts-- I am only part way through. The protagonist is in his cups half the time, but also a lover of words, ideas, and nursing recent rejection at the hands of a wife 20 years younger who walked out on him with their young child and half his bank account.

He seems to Would be great to take along on a trip to Copenhagen as it walks its streets with social history, in particular of all the pubs mixed in with doses of Goethe, Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Andersen, and others. He seems to have had no inkling of her inner workings and is trying to figure himself out and a way forward, as he works on his current project of writing the history of Copenhagen's serving houses, bars and cafes. The current person in the role of love object, is his Danish Associate, whom I was happy to see was a woman in her fifties, and she is portrayed as attractive and alluring and wise.

Unlike in some books, I am not at all drawn to the protagonist, yet still I find myself reading. I did finish it, but it wasn't my favorite, yet still worth reading, pushing me into unfamiliar terrain, l learned a lot. Jun 19, Sue rated it it was amazing. This is a lovely book. It's a novel growing inside a travel book, a wonderful guide and appreciation of Copenhagen with the addition of Kerrigan's story.

It seems loosely and lovingly based on Joyce's Ulysses as well. This unusual combination blends very well into a satisfying novel of a middle-aged man who has suffered, but is sustained by the consolations of life: Thomas Kennedy has a gorgeous writing style t This is a lovely book. Thomas Kennedy has a gorgeous writing style that captures the sounds, smells, sights of the city as well as the thoughts of Kerrigan, and the reader gets to experience it all. I had a great time reading it and would definitely recommend it--particularly to English majors who enjoy beer, or to anyone interested in the city of Copenhagen.

Thanks to the publisher for my copy. Nov 17, John Benson rated it it was ok.

Kerrigan in Copenhagen: A Love Story: Thomas E. Kennedy: Bloomsbury USA

It is a book about Copenhagen, its history and literary figures, and about a love that develops for the city and each other. It was an okay book that helped me get a feel for this city. Like most books however, the mapping was inadequate. Jul 17, Mikebee rated it it was ok. I much prefer Kennedy's other books. This one spent too much time inside the main character's mind and way too much time cycling through dates and memories and literature quotes.

For me these gave quite a kafkaesque feeling that also felt like I was cram studying theory wrote memorization. Anyhow, it was too much for me to push on and complete the book. To be fair, I'm pretty sure hat Kennedy was trying for this effect, and my. Reaction suggests that he did a good job in evoking that mental stat I much prefer Kennedy's other books.

Reaction suggests that he did a good job in evoking that mental state as I read. But, it wasn't for me.

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Jul 29, Laura rated it it was ok. I so wanted to enjoy this book.

A Love Story

My grandparents were from Denmark and I've visited Copenhagen. Unfortunately I could not even make myself finish it. There is a plot, but it is so overwhelmed with descriptions of landmarks and buildings and streets in Copenhagen, along with poems and quotes from various literature, and then throw in erotic visions of the protagonist which were really sophomoric.

The writing is choppy. Maybe you have to be a literary snob to enjoy. Just not enjoyable at all. Aug 03, Caryn rated it did not like it Shelves: Long winded and self indulgent academic meanderings about a long winded and self-pitying academic. The historical and geographical references to the city of Copenhagen are a name-dropping nightmare.