In the Company of Angels

A Novel

By Thomas E. Kennedy

A luminous love story and an internationally acclaimed masterpiece, published in the US for the first time.

In the Company of Angels is the powerful story of two damaged souls trying to find their way from darkness toward light.

Imprisoned and tortured for months by Pinochet's henchmen for teaching political poetry to his students, Bernardo Greene is visited by two angels, who promise him that he will survive to experience beauty and love once again. Months later, at the Torture Rehabilitation Center in Copenhagen, the Chilean exile befriends Michela Ibsen, herself a survivor of domestic abuse. In the long nights of summer, the two of them struggle to heal, to forgive those who have left them damaged, and to trust themselves to love.

Dense with wisdom and humanity, possessed of a timeless, fable-like quality, In the Company of Angels is a riveting read and a testament to the resilience and complexity of the human heart.

The novel marks the first large-scale US publication of a major American author, known internationally but only within literary circles in his homeland.

Reviews for In the Company of Angels :

Listen to Thomas E. Kennedy discussing his novel In The Company Of Angels on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midmorning"

The long-awaited feature from The Irish Echo on Thomas E. Kennedy and his novel, In the Company of Angels, has finally run. Read profile.

“[An] ensnaring and original novel…"In the Company of Angels" is simply an unforgettable novel. Its tongue is not tucked up safely in its cheek.”—Kai Maristed, the Los Angeles Times!

“In the Company of Angels…is powerful and of the moment…. Kennedy writes clean, evocative prose, and an occasional note of humor leavens this dark novel. He is a writer to be reckoned with, and it's about time the reckoning got underway in the country of his birth.”—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

“[A] wide-ranging and assured novel….The stories of torture that emerge…offer, in their horror and dignity, a quiet criticism of the characters with more prosaic problems.” — The New Yorker

“In the Company of Angels is a novel about grown-ups, people battered and dinged by life, painfully aware of their own responsibility, whose understanding of their past never stops evolving. It's the dignity of their adulthood — the elusive prize at stake in any midlife crisis — that makes them so admirable and, above all, so moving.” — Laura Miller, Salon.com

"Thomas Kennedy hits few false notes in this brave novel about two victims of different kinds of torture... His characters are vivid."—Minneapolis Star Tribune. Read full review.

“Kennedy knows how to whisper and to let his reader discover the patterns he makes of teeth, silence and sky. Food, especially, is put to strong, sensual use. A small Irish press first published this moving novel as "Greene's Summer," then it appeared in Danish in Kennedy's own translation. Its belated arrival here is an ambitious experiment. I'm glad to welcome it ashore.” —Karen Long, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Read full review

“This is the first volume of the series to be published in the U.S. If its stellar quality is any indication, the entire quartet promises to be an exceptional reading experience…. This novel offers much more than just a beautiful writing style. Each character’s story is soundeniably interesting that the reader gains a sense of the wonder of disparate lives with unpredictable but intriguing connections.”—Brad Hooper, Booklist, (starred review)

“Expatriate American author Kennedy finally gets the major U.S. release merited by his European reviews with this third volume of his Copenhagen Quartet…. An artfully written story with a conscience.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Kennedy writes with unusual insight and compassion, depicting the best and the worst of the human experience. His work may be new to U.S. readers, but it merits greater attention, and we should look forward to seeing the other three books in his quartet published here. A great choice for readers of literary fiction.”—Library Journal

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In the Company of Angels

A Novel