Trevanian | Author | LibraryThing

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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Trevanian
Legal name: Whitaker, Rodney William
Other names: Seare, Nicholas
Le Cagot, Beñat
Moran, Edoard
Birthdate: 1931-06-12
Date of death: 2005-12-14
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Granville, New York, USA
Place of death: Somerset, West Country, England, UK
Cause of death: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Places of residence: Granville, New York, USA (birth)
Albany, New York, USA
Blair, Nebraska, USA
Austin, Texas, USA
France
England
Education: University of Washington (BA, MA)
Northwestern University (PhD)
Occupations: professor (Dana College)
professor (University of Texas)
novelist
film scholar
short story writer
Organizations: United States Navy
Dana College
University of Texas
Agent: Michael V. Carlisle
Short biography: Rodney William Whitaker wrote best-selling novels in a variety of genres and published under several pseudonyms, the best known of which was Trevanian. He revealed his real identity in 1979 in an interview with the New York Times. He published The Language of Film (1970) under his legal name.

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Reviews

The Summer of Katya by Trevanian

This is a ponderous, Gothic-y novel that takes too long to get going and by the time it does, the reader has been so dulled by the journey that the payoff seems weak. There's a crumbling estate, a weird family, love, insanity, murder - all the makings of a good, creepy read, but it just wasn't. Some of the writing is very good, and I enjoyed learning a bit about Basque culture, but ultimately I didn't care what happened by the end.

2.5 stars
(My rating scale translation: Didn't work for me)… (more)

½

Flagged

katiekrug | 13 other reviews | Jan 12, 2024 |

Shibumi by Trevanian Trevanian

Okay but not stellar

Alright but not sure I'm a fan of the writer's phrasing and pacing. Glad I read it but not sure if I want to read anything else by the author.

Flagged

levlazarev | 55 other reviews | Oct 18, 2023 |

Shibumi by Trevanian

I don't remember anything about this story, but I do remember that I read several of Trevanian's books and liked them, although I can't remember if I actually liked every one. This was before the web, so he was a bit of a mystery to me. I just looked for his books in the bookstores.

I can't really rate any of his specific books, unfortunately, without rereading them.

Flagged

MartyFried | 55 other reviews | Oct 9, 2022 |

The Summer of Katya: A Novel by Trevanian

I don't remember anything about this story, but I do remember that I read several of Trevanian's books and liked them, although I can't remember if I actually liked every one. This was before the web, so he was a bit of a mystery to me. I just looked for his books in the bookstores.

I can't really rate any of his specific books, unfortunately, without rereading them.

Flagged

MartyFried | 13 other reviews | Oct 9, 2022 |

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