Fiction: Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk

First of all, as near as I can tell, the title of Thomas Trofimuk’s latest novel has nothing at all to do with the 1978 album by Little Feat. It’s also a bit of a red herring. The main character in this novel set in a contemporary mental institution in Spain isn’t actually waiting: he thinks he is the explorer, inexplicably come to ground just at what he seems to feel is the worst possible time.

Waiting for Columbus (Doubleday/McLelland & Stewart) is told from three clear perspectives: the man who is not Columbus himself, comfortable with his delusion if not always his incarceration; his nurse, Consuela, who against her better judgment finds herself romantically drawn to her unusual patient; and Emile Germain, a French Interpol officer on the trail of an elusive prey. His path leads to Spain where Emile finds a mystery larger than the one he anticipated.

This is Trofimuk’s third novel after The 52nd Poem and Doubting Yourself to the Bone. All three have been memorable and quite worthy of the deep notice and attention they’ve been paid. Trofimuk is a writer worth watching, he has a delicate touch and a lot to say.