Kerrigan in Copenhagen

Thomas E. Kennedy's books include novels, story and essay collections, literary criticism, translations, and anthologies and his writing has been awarded several prizes, including the National Magazine Award in 2008. He teaches in the MFA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Born and raised in New York, Kennedy currently lives in Copenhagen with his two children.@ThomasEKennedywww.copenhagenquartet.comwww.thomasekennedy.com

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. Kennedy’s Kerrigan in Copenhagen ... A spiralling exploration of alcohol, history, literature, art and jazz – and Kerrigan’s wounded psyche ... Undeniably smart, not least because it records the formation of a not-so-smart book. Coarse language plays off lyrical images and often stunning prose that twirls with the improvisations of the jazz musicians Kerrigan admires. It’s a swirl of dichotomies ... The quest for precision – perhaps an end to improvisation – drives the novel’s literally breathless second half ... Take the rough words of an educated man for what they’re worth: perhaps one more miracle tipping the scales that weigh the eternal question of love