the novels
"Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood."
--Gabriel Garcia Marquez
REVIEWED:
The Elephant on Karluv Bridge
Thistledown Press
"In Thomas Trofimuk’s amazing, inventive new novel we encounter not only a runaway zoo elephant remembering haunting, musical echoes from a heritage of free roaming but also a bridge celebrating its endurance and prominence as a Prague landmark..." -- The Elephant on Karlův Bridge - Alberta Views
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"In his latest novel, The Elephant on Karlův Bridge, Thomas Trofimuk imagines the escape of an elephant named Sal from the Prague zoo on an early July morning..." -- The Elephant on Karlův Bridge - Quill and Quire
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"July 9th is a day to remember by many residents of Prague, particularly those in proximity to the Karlův Bridge. In fact, the bridge itself plays a pivotal role as an over 600 year old occasional narrator. It has had the likes of famous composers and everyday people cross its being, with many secrets and tales to tell. The most recent tale involves the memory-scented escape of Sál the elephant from the Prague Zoo. As the story is told, we discover the intriguing interconnectedness between various characters in the wee hours surrounding the great Sál escape..." -- Throwback: The Elephant on Karlův Bridge by Thomas Trofimuk | The Miramichi Reader
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"A novel about an elephant escaped from the Prague Zoo, narrated by centuries-old bridge?
I wanted to read it, and purchased a copy in the summer that I’ve now scrambled to fit into my 2022 reads, and I’m so glad I did, because I loved it. Thoughtful, artful, playful (a note on an opening page reads, “Any resemblance to actual elephants, living or dead, is entirely deliberate), Thomas Trofimuk’s latest novel, The Elephant on Karluv Bridge, is an absorbing literary puzzle and truly a delight to encounter..." -- The Elephant on Karluv Bridge, by Thomas Trofimuk « Pickle Me This​
REVIEWED:
This is All a Lie
Enfield & Wizenty
Readers will notice something amiss from the very opening of This Is All a Lie, the new novel from Edmonton writer Thomas Trofimuk. It might be that the first page is numbered 320, with the page numbers descending as the book progresses. It might be that the opening section is titled “1/2,” or that it begins with direct acknowledgement of the reader. It might be that the next chapter is called “A Note on the Font,” followed by one called “Acknowledgements,” then one called “Epilogue.” Do not be alarmed. It’s clear from early on: we’re in the realm of metafiction..." -- This Is All a Lie - Quill and Quire
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"You are about to read a review of Thomas Trofimuk’s new novel. Perhaps you’ve seen This is All a Lie reclining against the shelf at your local bookstore, its stark white cover a breath of sanity amidst more lurid neighbours. Hesitantly, you ease it off the shelf, for you’ve been hurt before. Still, you remain optimistic that, somewhere past the bland bestsellers and the remainder bin, the perfect paperback awaits you..." -- The Novel That Lies Before Us: Thomas Trofimuk’s This is All a Lie – PRISM international (prismmagazine.ca)
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"Edmontonian Thomas Trofimuk’s delightfully inventive and provocative new book toys with the traditional novel format while showing what a major role lying can play in everyday life.
The main storyline deals with a lover’s triangle, beautifully fleshing out the formula offered in the opening line of John Updike’s short story Problems: “During the night, A, though sleeping with B, dreams of C.” -- Trofimuk’s lying trio truthfully terrific – Winnipeg Free Press
REVIEWED:
Waiting for Columbus
Doubleday, McClelland & Stewart, Picador
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"This marriage of symbolism and history says a lot about storytelling, and that is the principle attraction of Waiting for Columbus. Trofimuk consciously and deliberately plays with metaphor and character in a transparent manner..." -- https://kara.reviews/waiting-for-columbus
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"Thomas Trofimuk’s novel, Waiting For Columbus, begins with what might seem an outright silly premise for a novel: a man who thinks he is Christopher Columbus is admitted into a mental hospital in Sevilla, Spain. Not 15th-century Spain, mind you. Rather, it is the present day, some months after the Madrid bombings. As the nurse who cares for the mysterious patient wonders, “Why Columbus? Why not Genghis Khan or one of the Roman emperors, or keeping with Spain, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, or Ferdinand of Aragon? Christopher Columbus doesn’t seem like much fun.”" --https://macleans.ca/culture/books/waiting-for-columbus-by-thomas-trofimuk/
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“One of those rare gems. . . . Trofimuk’s novel throws you for a loop, pulls you back, twists you around and opens your eyes to the world not just as it was, but as we find it.” —The Globe and Mail
“Riveting. . . . Provides an insightful glimpse into how we cope with untenable loss with a smart, immensely satisfying plot.” —The Tucson Citizen
“A memorable, unique tale of grief and how a shattered man can attempt to plummet over the edge of the Earth, only to find that a lifeline made of hope still tethers him to reality. Waiting for Columbus is a captivating discovery.” —Las Vegas Review-Journal
“Like Scheherazade, [Columbus] captures the reader’s heart—and the lonely Consuela’s—with the gradual unfolding of his alter ego’s efforts to get the necessary backing to sail across the vast unknown. . . . Stunning.” —The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)
“Powerful. . . . A delicate but heady novel which will enthrall and captivate. . . . A bravura performance.” —The Edmonton Journal
“[Trofimuk] forced me to rush headlong through his story, reading it simply 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, author of The Gargoyle
“A multifaceted story that never loses its vitality.” —BookPage
“Waiting for Columbus is a riveting meditation on identity, loss, and the fragility of our own life stories. Thomas Trofimuk shows us that when it comes to love, we are all Columbus, setting sail on unknown waters, hoping we won’t come to an edge.” —Carolyn Parkhurst, bestselling author of The Dogs of Babel and Lost and Found
“Thomas Trofimuk just keeps getting better and better. . . . Deliriously imaginative and heart-wrenching. . . . With his utterly gripping plot and characters, Trofimuk moves elegantly from the poetic to the mundane. . . . Unforgettable.” —Alberta Views
“Waiting for Columbus should add to [Thomas Trofimuk’s] reputation as an engaging storyteller, thanks to its fully developed characters and engaging plot.” —Winnipeg Free Press
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“The Columbus that Trofimuk creates is both fascinating and intensely likeable. . . . An impressive work, masterfully blending the history of Columbus with a real-world mystery.” —Maclean’s “A wonderfully engaging study of love and loss.” —The Sunday Post (London) “Stunningly lovely and deeply moving, difficult to put down and most welcoming to pick up. . . . Unforgettable.” —The Owen-Sound Sun Times
“What a wonderful, mad mongrel of a book—part mystery, part passionate romance, part postmodern historical romp in the spirit of Leonard Cohen’s Beautiful Losers and Douglas Glover’s Elle. . . . The hero of Thomas Trofimuk’s Waiting for Columbus is, like all storytellers, a seducer—and so is the author himself. His compassion, intelligence, shrewd humor, and taste in wine make for an irresistible read.” —Steven Heighton, author of Afterlands
“An imaginative and authentic hybrid of romance, mystery and historical novel, with bits of War on Terror-era political analogy thrown in . . . [that] will have readers gripped.” —The Catholic Herald (London)
“Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk is a compelling read, a tale very well told. The idea that a mental patient convinced he is Christopher Columbus is so persuasive in the role that he has others convinced in is a masterstroke. Trofimuk’s story is imaginative and realistic, fueled by an epic mystery, and the ending surprise is both shocking and deeply moving. From beginning to end here, we are in the hands of a gifted storyteller.” —Selden Edwards, author of The Little Book
REVIEWED:
Doubting Yourself to the Bone
Cormorant
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“It has been a long time since a book had me as thoroughly engaged as Thomas Trofimuk’s Doubting Yourself to the Bone. The Edmonton author’s writing is poetically wonderful from beginning to end as he drapes his words over a story that deals with death but is really about life and can’t help but leave you thinking … this novel flows together seamlessly.”
-- Edmonton Journal
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​“The everyday detail that Trofimuk infuses into his fiction makes for a realistic portrayal of family life, friendship and regeneration. Even when characters veer toward the unusual, or even unlikely, Trofimuk achieves verisimilitude, and his flair with prose is luxurious.”
— The Globe and Mail
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“There are parts when Thomas writes, you read over and over again. It’s that delightful kind of writing — where you go, my gosh, it’s so beautiful!”
— CBC Radio
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REVIEWED:
The 52nd Poem
Great Plains Publications
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***Winner of the 2003 Alberta Book Awards Georges Bugnet Novel of the Year, the City of Edmonton Book Prize and the Manuela Dias Book Design of the Year Award.
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"Almost every word he records resonates with beauty, truth and tenderness."
--Winnipeg Free Press
"The 52nd Poem is a Can Lit classica gripping, powerful and moving book"
--Edmonton Journal "The best book I’ve read all year!"
