Waiting for Columbus [Hardcover]

Thomas Trofimuk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2009

A man arrives at an insane asylum in contemporary Spain claiming to be the legendary navigator Christopher Columbus. Who he really is, and the events that led him to break with reality, lie at the center of this captivating, romantic, and stunningly written novel.

Found in the treacherous Strait of Gibraltar, the mysterious man who calls himself Columbus appears to be just another delirious mental patient, until he begins to tell the “true” story of how he famously obtained three ships from Spanish royalty.

It's Nurse Consuela who listens to these fantastical tales of adventure and romance, and tries desperately to make sense of why this seemingly intelligent man has been locked up, and why no one has come to visit. As splintered fragments of the man beneath the façade reveal a charming yet guarded individual, Nurse Consuela can't avoid the inappropriate longings she begins to feel. Something terrible caused his break with reality and she can only listen and wait as Columbus spins his tale to the very end.

In the tradition of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle and The Dogs of Babel, this unforgettable novel mines the darkest recesses of loss and the extraordinary capacity of the human spirit. It is an immensely satisfying novel that will introduce Thomas Trofimuk to readers who will want to hear his voice again and again.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Andrew Davidson Reviews Waiting for Columbus

Andrew Davidson’s debut novel, The Gargoyle, was published in August 2008. It was one of Amazon.com’s “Best Books of 2008” and was Amazon.co.uk’s “Rising Star” for Autumn 2008. In addition to being a New York Times bestseller, The Gargoyle is being translated into twenty-nine languages. Read Davidson's exclusive Amazon guest review of Waiting for Columbus:

I hate Thomas Trofimuk.

I’m sure this sounds a tad extreme, especially since I’ve never met the man. Mr. Trofimuk could very well be a perfectly charming individual--kind to animals and small children--but I don’t care. I hate him in the small-hearted way that only writers (and perhaps actors) hate another: with a mixture of jealousy and miserable respect, hidden behind giant fake smiles. For the record, I should clarify that I don’t hate all writers, only those who produce books like Waiting for Columbus, which is exactly the worst kind of novel: fantastic, and written by someone other than me.

There are three reasons, specifically, that Columbus causes pain in my soul. First, because I wish I’d written it. Second, because I fear that Trofimuk has stolen all the good words. Third, because he tricked me. You see, normally I dissect novels rather than actually read them; I pull out the story’s entrails and comb through them inch-by-intestinal-inch, because anything I learn, I can steal. But Trofimuk made me forget my larcenous ways, and forced me to rush headlong through his story, reading it simply for pleasure. I’m a writer, goddamn it; I don’t do anything for pleasure!

If you give him the chance, prospective reader, Trofimuk will use his sorcery on you, too. He’ll steal precious hours from your life, which could be used for riding horses or volunteering for charity. He’ll make you ignore your family, and possibly even forget to feed your children. Worst of all, he’ll set you up with all these little details that you think are simply nice touches in the story, but are actually landmines planted in your subconscious, waiting to explode with pathos and beauty when you least expect it.

So go ahead. Let Trofimuk steal your time and explode your head. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. --Andrew Davidson

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian writer Trofimuk's uneven novel begins with an inspired premise: a man claiming to be Christopher Columbus shows up at an insane asylum in contemporary Spain. Under the care of a nurse named Consuela, he begins to tell stories of Columbus's adventures, remembering some and reliving others. It is interesting enough at first, but the blending of then and now gets tiresome and hokey (as when, after strenuous intercourse, Columbus watches TV). Also, Columbus is a voracious lover who speaks in purple prose about how much he loves women. The women, real and imagined, likewise find him irresistible. (Indeed, even Consuela falls hard for Columbus.) Meanwhile, Interpol declares the mystery man officially suspicious and dispatches an agent specializing in cold trails to track him down. Trofimuk never quite pulls together a cohesive narrative; the imaginings of a mentally unwell man hold some promise, but too many developments are murky and inexplicable. (Aug.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition. 1 in number line edition (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385529139
• ISBN-13: 978-0385529136
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A regaling tale about the depths of human compassion and sorrow, July 31, 2009

By 

Travis Stein (Houston, TX (USA)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Waiting for Columbus (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

When I sent in for this book, I was intrigued by the premise of the mysterious man washing up on the shores of Spain after swimming/floating in the Strait of Gibraltar thinking he's Christopher Columbus. Columbus is then admitted to a local mental institution in Seville, Spain and no one quite knows just how in the world he ended in the middle of the ocean or why he has this entrenched belief that he is in fact Christopher Columbus from over 500 years ago. A dark and mysterious set of events is implied as the cause of this seemingly normal man creating this fictitious personality/cover up as a coping device. Just what is it though? It is the job of Nurse Consuela, an employee of the Seville Mental Institution to listen to Columbus' recounting of his journey to discover the New World and the perils he faced on the way there.

Some additional clues are also provided that Columbus is not your standard run-of-the-mill mental patient either as the International Police (Interpol) are looking for a man that has been missing for months after a horrifying event took place in Spain just months prior to his disappearance and disconnect with reality. Could it be the same man?

That's the essential plot of Waiting for Columbus, but on a personal level it went much deeper. There is so much loss and sorrow in Columbus and by the end of the novel, the reader finds out just who Columbus really is and what caused him to become Columbus. It's also a story of great inspiration as Columbus through all the sorrow and pain he has experienced ends up finding out that life is indeed worth living and goes through hell and back to really figure that out. Of course, it's mildly cheesy at the end that there is a Columbus in all of us but it really struck a chord with me because of loss I've experienced in my own life and it's a nice reminder that if this man can come to terms with his demons then maybe we all can in some way.

My only qualm with the book is what others have said so far in that it's hard to tell the narratives apart sometimes and I found myself re-reading a few of Columbus' tales from time to time. In a way, it's a lot like Life of Pi in terms of narrative style but with alternating real-world and fictitious world stories instead of strictly fictitious and then a small real world piece at the the end. Once you get used to that style, it's not a bad book. It just takes a while.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Cried All During the Last Two Chapters, November 11, 2010

By 

Jana Greer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waiting for Columbus (Paperback)

A man washes up on the Spanish shore claiming to be Christopher Columbus. His belief is unshakable and he is institutionalized in Seville. It is unknown how he got into the water and his true identity is unknown as well. He bonds with a nurse named Consuela and it becomes her job to listen to his stories and pass them on to a psychiatrist. During the telling she falls in love with him.

He obviously knows a great deal about Columbus as his stories seem dead on accurate in places, but in other places he places modern things in his narrative, like cell phones, for example. As the story progresses Consuela believes they are getting closer and closer to finding out his real identity and what happened to him, but then a man from Interpol shows up. He's been looking for a missing person and Columbus seems to fill the bill.

Most of this story takes place in the institution and it seems like two stories in one, the one occurring in the present and the tale the man who thinks he's Columbus spins, the one that takes place five hundred years ago. And as impossible as it seems, the story seems real. Both stories are rife with tension, both exquisitely told. I cared for Columbus and I cared for Consuela. And I cried all during the last two chapters. This is a wonderful book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully complex. Compellingly passionate., June 3, 2010

By 

Eileen Schuh "Author THE TRAZ & "Schrödin... (St. Paul, Ab. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waiting for Columbus (Hardcover)

I loved this story. It was my "Waiting Room Comfort" during a month of medical appointments--the specialist kind of appointment--where the waiting lasts for hours.

The inner workings of the human mind have always intrigued me. Throw in a bit of romance, an exotic local, and INTERPOL--and I'm captured. A great story that shows both understanding of, and compassion for, the tortured human soul. I found the ending especially powerful.

Great characters, a wending plot, vivid scenes. WAITING FOR COLUMBUS is a wonderful tale, expertly delivered.