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Tadzio Koelb

Goodreads Author

Born

in Washington, DC, The United States

Website

http://www.tadziokoelb.com/

Genre

Fiction

Influences

William Faulkner Ivy Compton-Burnett Lawrence Durrell Joseph Conrad He ...more

Member Since

February 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/tadziokoelb

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Tadzio Koelb is a graduate of the prestigious writing program at the University of East Anglia. In addition to writing fiction he is a reviewer and essayist for a variety of publications that include The New York Times and The Times Literary Supplement. He has lived in Belgium, Spain, France, England, Uzbekistan, Rwanda, Madagascar, and Tunisia. He now lives in Belgium. ...more

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Tadzio Koelb Writer's block is just another name for fear of failure. Once you know that, you know that the solution is simply to get on with it, whatever "it" is …moreWriter's block is just another name for fear of failure. Once you know that, you know that the solution is simply to get on with it, whatever "it" is – whether writing or something else. The courage to fail is essential to art, and maybe to all of life, for all I know.(less)

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I was born in 1946 in Trenton and stayed there until 1969, so your novel resonated with me in a personal way. How did you come to choose Trenton as your setting?

Tadzio Koelb Thanks for asking.

I was drawn to Trenton for a few different reasons. The first was that women had worked in Trenton’s factories during WWII, which w…moreThanks for asking.

I was drawn to Trenton for a few different reasons. The first was that women had worked in Trenton’s factories during WWII, which was essential to the plot. Then, research taught me that the city is kind of a portrait in miniature of America in the 20th century—success and optimism followed by hubris and disaster, and beneath it all runs a vein poverty and disadvantage. It gave me an opportunity to look at a lot of our assumptions about our history, and to ask if the things that fed American success aren’t also precisely what we find at the root of its problems.

And of course I thought about the slogan on the Lower Trenton Bridge, a thing that had long been a kind of obsession for me, and which fits perfectly with a question I wanted the novel to ask: to what extent are we the products of our own decisions, and to what extent are we “manufactured” by the mechanisms of history and culture?(less)

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Average rating: 2.94 · 331 ratings · 89 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Trenton Makes 2.92 avg rating — 327 ratings — published 2018 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Signature's 2018 Compact Guide to Writing Short Stories by Joseph O'Neill, Jen Silverman, Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Teach Creative Writing With a Sense of Humor: Why (and How to) Be a Funnier and More Effective Creative Writing Professor and Laugh All the Way to Your Classroom by Kishor Vaidya (Editor), Cody Walker, Mark Spitzer it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Tadzio Koelb has read Young Pattullo by J.I.M. Stewart	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 23, 2025 10:12AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Young Pattullo by J.I.M. Stewart. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Young Pattullo by J.I.M. Stewart <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Nov 19, 2024 02:21AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Don't Care by Ágota Kristóf. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Don't Care by Ágota Kristóf <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Tadzio Koelb has read A Shilling for Candles (Inspector Alan Grant, #2) by Josephine Tey	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 16, 2024 02:40AM · like

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Quotes by Tadzio Koelb (?)

“Like a thing is a thing. Someone like a thief is a thief. Someone like a cut-up is a cut-up. And somebody like a dipso is definitely a dipso. Like just is, there’s no difference.”
― Tadzio Koelb, Trenton Makes

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Fiction: Woman kills husband, steals his identity, lives as a man and marries another woman. Recently published. [s]	5	51	Dec 07, 2023 10:03AM

Tadzio’s Quotes

“Everything is breaking stones, up to a point.”
― Ivy Compton-Burnett, A God and His Gifts

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“Never do business with a religious son-of-a-bitch. His word ain't worth a shit -- not with the Good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal.”
― William S. Burroughs

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“Cats and monkeys - monkeys and cats - all human life is there!”
― Henry James, The Madonna of the Future

tags: cats, human, life, monkeys

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“I am just having all anti-Semites shot.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

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