Richard Cohen (novelist)
Richard Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (age 72–73) |
| Occupation | Novelist, textbook writer |
| Education | University of Michigan |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Years active | 1973–2010 |
| Notable works | Domestic Tranquility, Don't Mention the Moon, and Say You Want Me |
| Notable awards | Hopwood Award for Major Fiction (1973) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Richard Lawrence Cohen (born 1952) is an American novelist. His novels include Domestic Tranquility (1980), Don't Mention the Moon (1983), and Say You Want Me (1988).
Education
Cohen was raised in the Bronx.[1] He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he won the Hopwood Award for major fiction in 1973.[2]
Writing
Cohen sold his debut novel, Domestic Tranquility, the day before he was scheduled to start law school.[1] The book was published by Seaview in 1980 to positive reviews.[3][4][5][6] The book—which one reviewer noted was, "unlike most first novels, not overtly autobiographical"—was told from multiple perspectives about a multi-generational family in Connecticut.[1]
Cohen's second book, Don't Mention the Moon, was a comic novel whose protagonist is an unemployed liberal-arts graduate who seeks employment in business. The book was poorly received, with reviewers calling it "sophomoric"[7] and a "semi-intellectual mind-trip...that ends at the same place it began." One reviewer said "it might as well be a first novel, and that's not a compliment."[8][9]
In 1988, Cohen published Say You Want Me, about an illustrator who cares for his toddler son as a stay-at-home dad and cheats on his wife, a corporate executive, with a woman he meets at the playground. Publishers Weekly called it "haunting and beautifully written"[10] and the Chicago Tribune's reviewer said the reader "hears echoes of O'Hara, Cheever and an earlier, kinder Updike."[11]
Cohen has also published a collection of short fiction called Pronoun Music in 2001[12] and a textbook on fiction writing.[13]
Personal life
Cohen has been married twice and has four sons.[14] Cohen's first marriage was to law professor Ann Althouse.[15]
References
- ^ a b c Schapiro, Nancy (May 3, 1981). "Through Life to the Sounds of Lips Moving". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 4H.
- ^ Lavine, Steven David (1982). "Growing Up and Other Adventures: Fiction by Hopwood Winners". Michigan Quarterly Review. 21 (1): 192. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Weller, Sheila (February 15, 1981). "Family Trouble". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY". Kirkus Reviews. January 1, 1980. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Lifson, Martha (March 9, 1981). "Out of the Cell, Into the Soap Opera". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Murray, Mary Hart (March 15, 1981). "Can She Break Out of the Pumpkin Shell?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- ^ "Don't Mention the Moon". Kirkus Reviews. March 1, 1983. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Badder, Frank C. (July 31, 1983). "Semi-intellectual mind trip ends nowhere". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 7E.
- ^ Heller, Scott (April 25, 1983). "Cohen book funny, at first". Philadelphia Inquirer. Knight-Ridder. p. 4-D.
- ^ "Say You Want Me". Publishers Weekly. June 1988. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Slater, Joyce (July 31, 1988). "HOUSEHUSBAND BLUES". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Graziano, Jo-Ann (January–February 2001). "Pronoun Music". Foreword. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Cohen, Richard (1995). Writer's Mind: Crafting Fiction. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group. ISBN 9780844258645. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Cohen, Richard Lawrence (2006). "About the Author". ONLY WHAT IS: fiction and other writings from a blog. iUniverse. p. 173. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ Hoffman, Jan (April 3, 2009). "Commoner Captures Princess, Blog Version". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2025.