Ebook Trenton Makes A Novel Tadzio Koelb Books

By Dale Gilbert on Thursday, May 2, 2019

Ebook Trenton Makes A Novel Tadzio Koelb Books





Product details

  • Paperback 222 pages
  • Publisher Anchor; Reprint edition (January 15, 2019)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10 0525436065




Trenton Makes A Novel Tadzio Koelb Books Reviews


  • I think this is a really important book. Koelb explores issues of masculinity and femininity, violence and love In the edgy blue-collar world of Trenton, New Jersey. In Abe Kunstler he create a character unlike any you’ve encountered before but also very recognizable and relatable. The book also subtly comments on America in the last century through the bookends of post-war recovery and a sweltering summer of the Vietnam era. I felt myself drawn to the people, place and issues of the novel. Koelb knows how to create scenes and tell stories in them.
  • A engrossing story, carefully observed and gorgeously written.

    It is surprisingly funny for a story that deals with some very intense issues of personal identity and what it means to live in a "Mans World." I loved the rich detail of the setting and the very natural voices of the characters. Koelb obviously loves both written language and everyday speech. I had the opportunity to hear the author read an excerpt at the book launch and was moved to read passages out afterward, the writing is like an modern epic poem.

    Very rewarding, highly recommended.
  • I picked up this book looking for something set in Jersey without really knowing what to expect. The story itself was all fine and good. It was interesting--and probably timely given #metoo and the current discourse on gender and identity.

    But what did it for me was the settings. As a denizen of the Garden State I was really taken by the rich backdrop--it's as is if Jersey found its Faulkner.
  • Intense and unsettling ... and also transportative and beautiful at the same time. Trenton Makes completely immersed me in a time & place and also into a twisted soul... both painted so well!
  • This novel represents the dominance of commercialism in bookselling. Even Shakespeare’s plays and Voltaire’s novels had intriguing plots and story lines. Their craft was making the fundamental realities of life very compelling through the use of story and language.

    This novel is a joke, loved by the apparent literati at The NY Times (my favorite paper). But they got this one wrong.

    This novel consist of aimless passages, and to my view contains nothing compelling to draw a reader in and and makes her care about an otherwise interesting time and place, in addition to a potentially sympathetic main character.

    Better luck next time Mr Koelb.
  • Literary, but lurid - the perfect summer read. You can't put it down, but at the same time you can't help but think about what you're reading.
  • I love books that take a plunge into the psychological.
  • This was not just one of the worst books I've ever read...it IS the worst book I've ever read.
    It's like being tested to constantly figure out a trend of the story....it should have come with a set of instructions.
    It's just too much to make a continued sense of purpose. Sorry.