MY REVIEW
Long Explanation: Thirty-six year old Jack Madigan lives at 117 Battersea Road in Boston in the town house of his deceased rock star father. Jack was nine years old when his father died as a result of a wound he received during a concert when he bit into a turtle. Not just any turtle, a snapper; a cranky one at that. It turned around and bit the mighty Baz. No it wasn't that bad a wound but it allowed entry of a common bacteria.
Before salmonella completely overtook him, Baz wrote Jack (who was at a sleepover next door) a note and stuffed it into the remains of the turtle shell after signing the underbelly. Baz believed the turtle shell would be the child's only real inheritance after he was gone. Alone, he made his way down the hall to place the turtle in one of Jack's favourite playing spots - the dumbwaiter.
Almost 30 years later, the turtle shell still hasn't been found and Jack is still living in his battered and bruised four story town house. Except today it is with his eccentric son Harlan and their creepy cat.
Growing up "the house became the strong arms that wrapped around him whenever he'd been scared, lonely, as a boy. The trousered legs he'd always been able to hide behind." A poor replacement for a father he never got to know. The town house became such a strong influence on him that he found himself increasingly fearful of leaving the safety of its perimeters. Until finally he felt he was actually going to die every time he crossed the threshold leading to the outside world.
This story covers a year in Jack's life. Probably the most importantly year since his father's death. The money has run out and Jack can barely support himself and Harlan on what he makes designing paint colors in the cellar. Now the bank is taking things into their own hands and selling Jack's town house... his supplemental father. Plus he has to deal with his ex wife's impending marriage and the fact she keeps trying to take his only connection to the outside world away from him, Harlan.
I'd like to recommend...
Town House: A Novel (P.S.)
Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 11/23/2009)![]()
I enjoyed this foray into the world of a romanticized agoraphobic. Jack is a likeable character that is easy to sympathize with. As are the people in his life: Dorrie the insecure realtor/love interest; quirky and secretive Harlan; Dr. Snowden, the ancient sleep deprived therapist; Lucinda the red mittened child next door who likes to bite and froth at her mother's heels; and Mrs. Brady, the one eyed cat with attitude.
The characters are lively despite the dark tone of Jack's mental illness and while Jack can be sardonically amusing, the sarcasm doesn't get in the way of the story. The opening chapter at the beginning about the missing turtle had an obvious outcome from the moment it disappeared but the characters and flow are so well written that it doesn't matter. It's easy to settle in with the characters and comfortably follow them until the end when all the pieces get nicely tucked in.
I highly recommend reading Tish Cohen's Town House.
"Can't a man be a man, just once in his life, without being outmanned by a cat in a polka-dotted bonnet?"
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What's the Buzz about Tish Cohen?
- Stop, Drop, and Read!: Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen
- Title: Little Black Lies Author: Tish Cohen Age Group: Teens # of Pages: 320. My Rating: 4/5. Going into Anton High is like going to Harvard, except it is a public high school that does not accept you if you do not get in the first year ...
- Tish Cohen tries her hand at “TwitLit” | Quill & Quire
- November 20, 2009: Author Tish Cohen has entered the Twitter-sphere. Her new 2300-word story ?Littleman? will be tweeted line by line over the next two weeks to promote...
- Sarah's random musings...: Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen
- Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen. Rating: Characters: 17/20. Plot: 17/20. Originality: 17/20. Writing: 19/20. Recommendation: 18/20. Overall: 88/100 or B Sara Black is a new eleventh grader at Anton High. Anton High School is the most ...
RATE IT, IF YOU DARE...
Other Books by Tish Cohen
Town House: A Novel (P.S.) by Tish Cohen
ack Madigan is, by many accounts, blessed. He can more...2 points
The Invisible Rules of the Zoe Lama by Tish Cohen
If you are one of Zoë's friends, you know her &qu more...0 points
Inside Out Girl: A Novel (P.S.) by Tish Cohen
This novel is about Rachel Berman, a single mom wh more...0 points
Rumour Has It...
Rumour has it that Town House is in development for movie production. So far it looks like it's a project for Fox 2000 with John Carney attached as the director and Ridley Scott as the producer. Doug Wright who wrote the screenplay for Memoirs of a Geisha is supposed to be writing the screen play.No word yet as who will star in the main roles. I could totally see Matthew McConaughey starring as Jack Madigan.
Tish Cohen's Official Site
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- Tish Cohen, Author | Official Web Site
- This is the official Web site for author Tish Cohen, whose first novel, TOWN HOUSE, debuted in 2007. Ms. Cohen is currently at work on a second novel, and has published a young adult book entitled THE INVISIBLE RULES OF THE ZOE LAMA, also published in 2007.
- Tish's MySpace
- MySpace profile for Tish Cohen with pictures, videos, personal blog, interests, information about me and more
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- mulberry mulberry Jun 16, 2008 @ 1:52 am
- Sounds like an interesting read!
Looking for Information on Agoraphobia?
- Panic Disorder
- Featured studies
- Anxiety Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year,1 causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking
- MedLine Plus
- Definition, causes, symptons, treatment, prevention...
- Panic attacks and panic disorder - MayoClinic.com
- Panic attacks - Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, treatment and self-care for panic disorder.
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