Mikhael Trenton

Infobox Writer
name = Mikhael Trenton


imagesize =
caption =
pseudonym =
birthdate = December 20 1954,
birthplace = Tblisi, Georgia
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Novelist, Short Story writer
nationality = Georgian New Zealand
period =
genre = Literary Fiction
movement =
notableworks = "A Werewolf at Christmas", "The Bizarre Adventures of David Staide"
awards = None
influences =
influenced =


website =

Mikhael Trenton (born December 20, 1954 in Georgia) is a controversial New Zealand postmodern author best known for his debut novel "A Werewolf at Christmas". He is also the author of "The Bizarre Adventures of David Staide".

Early life

Mikhael Trenton was born in Tiblisi, Georgia. His father was a carpet salesman, and his mother died when he was twelve. Mikhael has cited her death as one of the prime motivators for his early involvement in writing. In a 1993 interview he revealed he saw her death from their living room window: "She was hit by a truck in front of our little bungalow; this affected me most in terms of the way I write about violence, which some critics have called jarring. If they knew it was the truth I think they would be shocked." At a young age, Mikhael was introduced to writing by his teacher: "Mrs. Izchat taught me everything I know about writing, grammar and sentences in private lessons at her schoolhouse, but I realised in retrospect she was simply trying to have sex with me. I was a very attractive individual at that age." ["Face to Face: Mikhael Trenton" "New Zealand Listener", January 24-27, 1988]

Criticism

The general reaction to Trenton's first novel "A Werewolf at Christmas", written upon his migration to New Zealand in 1976, was generally positive. William Douglas of the New Zealand Listener was appraising of Trenton's dijointed, violent style, saying it reflected the state of the Western world at the time. Trenton was added to the list of "Ones to Watch" in the author's category that year ["Ones to Watch" "The New Zealand Listener", June 12-15 1976] . However, other critics were not as friendly toward Trenton's debut. Holly Davids of the The Press said Trenton's "jumped-up" and "sexually violent" style reflected his personality more than anything. She also called the final chapters "trite and predictable" [Davids, Holly, "Review: A Werewolf at Christmas" "The Press", June 19, 1976] .

The reaction to Trenton's second novel, The Bizarre Adventures of David Staide, was much less positive. An anonymous reader of The Timaru Herald pointed out that the book appeared to copy passages nearly verbatim from Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" [Letters to the Editor, "The Timaru Herald", July 12, 1989] . Mikhael himself has admitted that the book was written under the influence of a wide array of drugs. William Douglas wrote that he was "deeply disappointed" with Trenton's follow up to his debut.

See also

References