On a beautiful April morning, a man is brought to an insane asylum in contemporary Spain, claiming to be the legendary navigator Christopher Columbus. Found in the treacherous Straight of Gibraltar, he is clearly delusional and has suffered a trauma so severe that he has turned away from reality. As he spins the tall tales of adventure and romance of someone who existed in the late fifteenth century, the lonely Nurse Consuela can’t help but be enchanted by his spirit. Who is Columbus? Where did he come from? This dazzling story about one man’s painstaking search for truth and loyalty will haunt the reader long after the final page. 

I hate Thomas Trofimuk.

Iâ??m sure this sounds a tad extreme, especially since Iâ??ve never met the man. Mr. Trofimuk could very well be a perfectly charming individual--kind to animals and small children--but I donâ??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 donâ??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 Iâ??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 storyâ??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. Iâ??m a writer, goddamn it; I donâ??t do anything for pleasure!

If you give him the chance, prospective reader, Trofimuk will use his sorcery on you, too. Heâ??ll steal precious hours from your life, which could be used for riding horses or volunteering for charity. Heâ??ll make you ignore your family, and possibly even forget to feed your children. Worst of all, heâ??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 donâ??t say I didnâ??t warn you. --Andrew Davidson

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