Waiting for Columbus

Found in the treacherous Strait of Gibraltar, a man who answers only to the name of Christopher Columbus is delivered to a mental institution in Seville, Spain. Nurse Consuela, a lonely young woman searching for love, listens to his fantastical tales of adventure and romance day after day, and tries desperately to discover his true identity and why he has been locked up.

Meanwhile, Emile Germaine, an Interpol officer based in France, receives a memo about an enigmatic figure, possibly a dangerous assailant, who is missing from the scene of a crime. All paths lead to Spain, where Germaine finds himself on a journey that seems like a wild goose chase. Unbeknownst to him, as well as to the doctors at the Sevilla Institute, Emile is unraveling more than just one mystery.

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.)

Thomas Trofimuk is a writer, editor, and communications consultant. His poetry and short fiction have been widely published in Canada to critical acclaim. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and daughter.