
Leonard Cohen
A Novel
Jeffrey Lewis(Author)
Haus Publishing
Published on 3. April 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-914979-15-6 (ISBN)
Description
Dear Leonard Cohen,
Could I ask you something, just between us? How was it that you never changed your name? You could have been Lawrence Cole. You could have been Lindsay Kohl, or Lionel Cone...
So begins the story of an everyman Leonard Cohen, a would-be artist, a would-be lover, a would-be tragic figure, yet a man haunted by the greatness of his namesake. He struggles to compete. He struggles to be more than a punchline in his own mind. He struggles, in particular, to write one song as great as the least of the great Leonard Cohen's songs.
At the center of Leonard's life is Daphne. In their meeting on a Greek island, a contemporary fable of Daphne and Apollo plays out. But even with her, Leonard is shadowed by the "other" Leonard Cohen. The ancient myth haunts the fated lovers of this novel, in which art, love, and fame all fatefully intertwine.
Could I ask you something, just between us? How was it that you never changed your name? You could have been Lawrence Cole. You could have been Lindsay Kohl, or Lionel Cone...
So begins the story of an everyman Leonard Cohen, a would-be artist, a would-be lover, a would-be tragic figure, yet a man haunted by the greatness of his namesake. He struggles to compete. He struggles to be more than a punchline in his own mind. He struggles, in particular, to write one song as great as the least of the great Leonard Cohen's songs.
At the center of Leonard's life is Daphne. In their meeting on a Greek island, a contemporary fable of Daphne and Apollo plays out. But even with her, Leonard is shadowed by the "other" Leonard Cohen. The ancient myth haunts the fated lovers of this novel, in which art, love, and fame all fatefully intertwine.
Reviews / Votes
'Lewis is a master of the subtle interplay of coincidence and character, the light tripping of events that lead to a disaster that seems at once inevitable and yet shocking' -- Ron Charles, Washington Post 'Bittersweet and beautiful in equal measure ... Lewis has earned his place in the domain of contemporary American literature' -- Julian Philpot, Nudge 'His prose is fluent and beautiful with a light, witty touch and he can evoke a character in just a few lines' -- Nick Curtis, Evening Standard 'Lewis, the award-winning novelist and screenwriter (he wrote and produced Hill Street Blues for six years) is a born storyteller with a gift for creating immensely sympathetic characters' -- Carol Herman, Washington TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
148 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-914979-15-6 (9781914979156)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jeffrey Lewis has won a string of awards for his novels including the Independent Publishers Gold Medal for Literary Fiction, the Independent Publishers Gold Medal for General Fiction, and the ForeWord Book of the Year Silver Medal for Fiction. His Bealport: A Novel of a Town was a 2019 Maine Literary Awards finalist. He has also received two Emmy Awards and been nominated twelve times for his work as a television writer and producer, most notably for Hill Street Blues. He is also the author of Berlin Cantata, The Inquisitor's Diary, The Meritocracy Quartet, and Land of Cockaigne.