The Trevor Truculence

Amorous Adventures Among the Phoenician Antiquities in the South of Spain

Fiction - Literary
256 Pages
Reviewed on 02/03/2019
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Author Biography

Novelist Peter Kelton, a retired U.S. Newsman, has published six novels in the cross-genre category of literary fiction. His novels conform to the belief that well-written literary fiction doesn’t have to be “Highbrow”; it has to embrace ideas about destiny in a storyline that holds the readers’ attention. He wrote for Texas newspapers in Temple, Greenville and San Antonio and for trade magazines in New York. In 1962 he left the New York editing scene to try to write novels, living in a village in Spain. He returned in 1965 with two manuscripts that Perry Knowlton, an agent at Curtis Brown, promptly accepted. The agent’s only question when they met: “What are you going to write next?” Kelton continued to write novels at night and on weekends for more than 50 years, while writing news daily. Along with more than 100 free-lance assignments, he wrote 450 reviews of novels for six years as National Contemporary Literature critic for Examiner (dot) com. He later placed some of those reviews on Goodreads. He turned 86 in 2018, experiencing a belated wake-up call, for he owned four unsold, unrepresented novels lying fallow, the product of more than 50 years. Kelton has said his story is pretty much the journey that many writers take through the fog of creation to find clarity. “It takes some of us a lot longer to learn than most. But now I’ve got six novels published and well worth reading . . . finally.”

    Book Review

Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

The Trevor Truculence by Peter Kelton is a standalone work of literary fiction set in a tiny village in Spain, perched within reach of the Mediterranean. The village is as much a character in the book as all those who live in it, creating enough nooks, crannies, and mysterious doorways for clandestine meetings among the cobblestone. It is behind these doors and into these lives that Kelton takes us, in a story that begins with Paul and his wife Evelyn, but ultimately weaves in and out of multiple plots and characters, joining together Paul, the divinely portrayed Gerda, and a conspiracist-adventurer named Trevor who is determined to finally unlock a centuries-old legend.

Peter Kelton writes with a strong and witty voice in The Trevor Truculence, leading with dark humor and an intelligent, engaging narrative from Paul's introduction. The scenery is extraordinary and the people—oh my goodness...the people!—are so fully fleshed that even ancillary characters come to life. This is fiction that, told in the first person, leans heavily on the sarcasm of our narrator. This worried me initially because I thought it might compromise my ability to endear myself to other characters, but Kelton writes with the skilled hand of an experienced storyteller and (to my surprise and delight) Paul's acerbic outlook actually achieved the opposite. I'd recommend this book to lovers of offbeat literary fiction and anyone comfortable with a story line that brazenly cavorts outside of convention, all the while being bound and confined within a beautiful Spanish fishing village.

K.C. Finn

The Trevor Truculence: Amorous Adventures Among the Phoenician Antiquities in the South of Spain is another comedic literary work penned by author Peter Kelton. This time set in the idyllic locales of a Spanish fishing village famed for its ancient history, the modern day comes thundering in to create a contemporary mystery rooted in myth. Our central characters, Paul and Gerda, return to romantic notions after a ten-year absence, but Gerda’s former boyfriend, Trevor, is the wedge that they must endure. Trevor is convinced that an ancient Phoenician myth holds the secret to a tunnel full of wealth and riches, and his obsession leads the trio into a conspiracy of epic proportions.

Author Peter Kelton has a real talent for taking bizarre, disparate elements of life and combining them convincingly into a comedic mystery, collecting the pieces together to form an unexpected product. The plot was simpler than some others I’ve read, but enjoyable and interesting nonetheless for its well-researched historical and mythological content. The cultural differences between the American, the Brit and the Spanish lady were well detailed and really added a greater dimension of character to the story. I therefore enjoyed this volume most especially for its focus on character and the interpersonal relationships, which formed as much of the overall plot as the mystery Trevor was obsessed with. Overall, The Trevor Truculence: Amorous Adventures Among the Phoenician Antiquities in the South of Spain is a highly amusing comedy with engaging characters that many readers are certain to enjoy.

Edith Wairimu

The Trevor Truculence: Amorous Adventures among the Phoenician Antiquities in the South of Spain by Peter Kelton follows the lives of a group of foreigners who have decided to make a small Spanish village their home. The book features a mix of flawed and unusual characters. In the beginning, Paul, one of the main characters, moves with his wife, Evelyn, to the village. Their marriage is fragile, only being held together by their unborn child. Other characters come into the picture and Paul later falls in love with Gerda, one of the foreigners who has lived in the village for years. As the plot progresses, more plots appear. A prominent one features Trevor, Gerda’s former lover, and his quest in proving the validity of his own myth.

The Trevor Truculence by Peter Kelton is told from Paul’s perspective and his opinion is surprising in many cases. All the characters are flawed in their own way, which makes them feel real. Themes of love and betrayal are prominent in the story which gives the plot direction but has the potential to make the book unattractive to romance lovers. Trevor’s quest in proving the logic behind his weird claims adds elements of humor to the story. The pace is measured and dialogues between different characters provide details of each individual person in the book. It was interesting to see how the customs and ideologies of the foreigners disrupted the locals’ viewpoint. The Trevor Truculence is strange in its own way, but with the peculiarity comes a captivating plot.

Romuald Dzemo

The Trevor Truculence: Amorous Adventures Among the Phoenician Antiquities in the South of Spain by Peter Kelton is a gripping narrative with great potential to entice fans of literary fiction. A beautiful blend of numerous genres with an exotic setting that evokes thousands of years of history and myth. Set in a Spanish fishing village as old as the Phoenician era, the narrative follows the adventures of an American writer, Paul, returning to the village after being away for a decade. He falls in love with Gerda, a former neighbor. Now they are on a journey to find out the truth about Trevor's schemes, a British adventurer and former lover of Gerda. Will they find out the truth about the hidden treasure of rhino horns buried in the deep recesses of an ancient cave?

The story is told in a compelling first person voice and the powerful tone grips the reader from the very first page. The humor is deftly done and it opens the narrative, enriching the reading experience, and keeping readers interested throughout the fascinating journey. From the very first page, the reader is greeted with an intriguing element of plot: "Today is special. My wife Evelyn carries a dead fetus. I am to tell her at four o’clock, after her nap. The doctor, his name is Ricardo; he listened and found no life signs or sounds." I love novels that make me feel like having a great conversation with the characters and Peter Kelton offers just that. The dialogues are intelligently written and they enrich the different elements of the story — plot, character, themes, the humor, and setting. The Trevor Truculence is a fabulous ride. If you love laughter, you'll find just so much of it in this mix of romance and adventure.