Kerrigan in Copenhagen

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 * New York Times *
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 *
As he slots together his narratives with masterly elegance, an intimate picture of local life is set before us … Kennedy’s finely calibrated observations make his cast eminently believable * Independent on Falling Sideways *
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 * Joanna Briscoe, Guardian on In The Company of Angels *
The combination of subtle, beautiful prose and searingly painful realities make In the Company of Angels a story that lingers in the intellect as pervasively as in the heart. An astonishing, wise novel of our times * Liz Jensen, author of The Ninth Life of Louis Drax and The Rapture *