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Colossus: A Novel
A stark and unsettling portrait of success, in the vein of Philip Roth and Jonathan Franzen, that revives the long-established intersection between ambition and corruption in the pursuit of the American dream.
Teddy Starr has it all. A beloved pastor in a small Midwestern town, a devoted husband and father of three, and a rising real estate magnate, he has built a life that gleams with virtue and success. Self-made in every sense, Teddy is a man of conviction, or at least it seems. But behind the pulpit and the polished smile lies a fractured past, and when a figure from that buried life reemerges, the once-sturdy walls of his world begin to fall.
As scandal and ambition collide, Colossus becomes the story of American hunger for reinvention and the blatant self-interest beneath its surface. Written with the moral gravity of Robert Penn Warren and the psychological insight of Philip Roth, Ross Barkan offers a timely update on the examination of the American identity in an age of performance and decay.
Teddy Starr has it all. A beloved pastor in a small Midwestern town, a devoted husband and father of three, and a rising real estate magnate, he has built a life that gleams with virtue and success. Self-made in every sense, Teddy is a man of conviction, or at least it seems. But behind the pulpit and the polished smile lies a fractured past, and when a figure from that buried life reemerges, the once-sturdy walls of his world begin to fall.
As scandal and ambition collide, Colossus becomes the story of American hunger for reinvention and the blatant self-interest beneath its surface. Written with the moral gravity of Robert Penn Warren and the psychological insight of Philip Roth, Ross Barkan offers a timely update on the examination of the American identity in an age of performance and decay.
- GenresFiction
276 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2026
About the author
Ross Barkan
11 books43 followershttps://www.facebook.com/RossBarkanNYC/
Ross Barkan is the author of Demolition Night, a novel, and The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York. His next novel, The Night Burns Bright, will be published in 2022.
An award-winning journalist and former candidate for office, he is a columnist for the Guardian and Jacobin, as well as a contributing writer to the Nation.
His journalism and essays have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, New York Magazine, GQ, the Village Voice, and the Columbia Journalism Review.
In both 2017 and 2019, he was the recipient of the New York Press Club’s award for distinguished newspaper commentary. He now teaches journalism at NYU and St. Joseph’s College. He also created a popular newsletter, Political Currents, on New York and national affairs.
Ross Barkan is the author of Demolition Night, a novel, and The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York. His next novel, The Night Burns Bright, will be published in 2022.
An award-winning journalist and former candidate for office, he is a columnist for the Guardian and Jacobin, as well as a contributing writer to the Nation.
His journalism and essays have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, New York Magazine, GQ, the Village Voice, and the Columbia Journalism Review.
In both 2017 and 2019, he was the recipient of the New York Press Club’s award for distinguished newspaper commentary. He now teaches journalism at NYU and St. Joseph’s College. He also created a popular newsletter, Political Currents, on New York and national affairs.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
My review for this book was published by Library Journal in February 2026:
From his lofty perch high up in the hills of North Michigan, pastor Teddy Starr commands the attention of his rapt congregation, keeps a steady eye on his burgeoning real estate portfolio, and returns home to the love of his beautiful wife Daniella and their three children. Indeed, Teddy is a Christian man, a self-made man, an American man. That he is also a serial adulterer is a mere complication; his neighbors know who Teddy Starr is, a few mortal sins notwithstanding, and their respect is ironclad. But when a wandering stranger begins showing up around town and threatens the carefully-tended Eden he has created for himself, Teddy must confront the troubling past he thought he had long left behind. What will his congregants think of these revelations? Why won't Daniella speak to him? And why is his teenage son holding hands with his best friend? Is his flock's devotion to him as sacrosanct as he thought? Hard questions for Teddy to answer, but first he has to handle this crazed-looking man hurling accusations at him. VERDICT In his probing latest (following Glass Century), political writer Barkan offers a challenging portrait of this thoroughly modern man and, with the rigorous detail familiar to readers of Ben Lerner, explores how far he will go to renounce his past. Recommended for literary collections.
Copyright ©2026 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
From his lofty perch high up in the hills of North Michigan, pastor Teddy Starr commands the attention of his rapt congregation, keeps a steady eye on his burgeoning real estate portfolio, and returns home to the love of his beautiful wife Daniella and their three children. Indeed, Teddy is a Christian man, a self-made man, an American man. That he is also a serial adulterer is a mere complication; his neighbors know who Teddy Starr is, a few mortal sins notwithstanding, and their respect is ironclad. But when a wandering stranger begins showing up around town and threatens the carefully-tended Eden he has created for himself, Teddy must confront the troubling past he thought he had long left behind. What will his congregants think of these revelations? Why won't Daniella speak to him? And why is his teenage son holding hands with his best friend? Is his flock's devotion to him as sacrosanct as he thought? Hard questions for Teddy to answer, but first he has to handle this crazed-looking man hurling accusations at him. VERDICT In his probing latest (following Glass Century), political writer Barkan offers a challenging portrait of this thoroughly modern man and, with the rigorous detail familiar to readers of Ben Lerner, explores how far he will go to renounce his past. Recommended for literary collections.
Copyright ©2026 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
May 28, 2026
the subject matter is spot-on: real estate midwestern pastor. a real thing.
best scene: the pastor visiting his rentals.
worst scene: flashback to gf in the hardware store.
bummer because it's an unsympathetic portrayal of people the author doesn't seem to like or understand.
it's better to be clever than good, the switchback twist doesn't resolve the lack of narrative tension and poor scene construction, nor does it justify the inability to depict the creature presented before us, seems like a backdoor way to admit that he can't get into the psyche of a hypocritical midwestern pastor. idk. i know the book hinges on the twist, but it feels like an after-thought to make the book more interesting than it could have been had their been no twist and been instead a real boots-on-the-ground journalistic picture of a midwestern town.
i feel like a dick reviewing the book because i want to believe in American literature, but this confirms my suspicion that it's unlikely to come out of New York/MFA programs/cultural elite, they're too disconnected from reality, they can only seem to write caricatures to contain, like jars, their politics/ideas, this class of people lacks an appreciation for depiction without reproach (the primary responsibility of a journalist)
tldr, if you are going to write a book about people, write it for those people. your characters are the audience.
good example of sympathetic portrayal of someone the author doesn't like is Brothers K by David Duncan.
best scene: the pastor visiting his rentals.
worst scene: flashback to gf in the hardware store.
bummer because it's an unsympathetic portrayal of people the author doesn't seem to like or understand.
it's better to be clever than good, the switchback twist doesn't resolve the lack of narrative tension and poor scene construction, nor does it justify the inability to depict the creature presented before us, seems like a backdoor way to admit that he can't get into the psyche of a hypocritical midwestern pastor. idk. i know the book hinges on the twist, but it feels like an after-thought to make the book more interesting than it could have been had their been no twist and been instead a real boots-on-the-ground journalistic picture of a midwestern town.
i feel like a dick reviewing the book because i want to believe in American literature, but this confirms my suspicion that it's unlikely to come out of New York/MFA programs/cultural elite, they're too disconnected from reality, they can only seem to write caricatures to contain, like jars, their politics/ideas, this class of people lacks an appreciation for depiction without reproach (the primary responsibility of a journalist)
tldr, if you are going to write a book about people, write it for those people. your characters are the audience.
good example of sympathetic portrayal of someone the author doesn't like is Brothers K by David Duncan.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a religious and politically heavy story, aggravating on several levels, with a shallow and protracted plot line. I gave the book the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day, a small town in Michigan
Characters: Teddy Starr, pastor, landlord, and realtor, his wife and three kids, town officials, many, many other locals, too numerous to mention
Overview of plot: Told in the first person, Teddy Starr is certainly a star in his own mind – a pastor who does not practice what he preaches, a merciful landlord in his own mind, and a wealthy realty agent who has a commanding grasp on his family and less steady grasps on his mistresses. A mysterious man from the past stalks him and eventually upsets Teddy’s kingdom.
Recommendation: 2 stars
Extras: There is no real thread of a plot until halfway through the book. Numerous, incidental community members are described but have no real bearing on the story. The extended backstory that provides many clues to Teddy’s psychology is mildly interesting, as is one particular anecdote regarding a rake. The writing is good, with many scenes described in rich detail. Otherwise, the pervasive religious references and excessive one-sided political commentary discourage what might have been a more engaging tale.
Thanx to NetGalley and Arcade for the opportunity to provide this candid review.
Setting: Present day, a small town in Michigan
Characters: Teddy Starr, pastor, landlord, and realtor, his wife and three kids, town officials, many, many other locals, too numerous to mention
Overview of plot: Told in the first person, Teddy Starr is certainly a star in his own mind – a pastor who does not practice what he preaches, a merciful landlord in his own mind, and a wealthy realty agent who has a commanding grasp on his family and less steady grasps on his mistresses. A mysterious man from the past stalks him and eventually upsets Teddy’s kingdom.
Recommendation: 2 stars
Extras: There is no real thread of a plot until halfway through the book. Numerous, incidental community members are described but have no real bearing on the story. The extended backstory that provides many clues to Teddy’s psychology is mildly interesting, as is one particular anecdote regarding a rake. The writing is good, with many scenes described in rich detail. Otherwise, the pervasive religious references and excessive one-sided political commentary discourage what might have been a more engaging tale.
Thanx to NetGalley and Arcade for the opportunity to provide this candid review.
April 29, 2026
Colossus is a restrained and methodical piece of literary fiction that focuses on ambition, identity, and the instability of constructed success.
Teddy Starr is a carefully drawn central figure whose multiple roles create a layered sense of tension. His public identity as a pastor and businessman contrasts with the private history that slowly resurfaces, shaping the narrative’s progression.
The novel is grounded in themes of reputation, performance, and moral ambiguity, with a steady focus on how personal and public identities intersect and eventually conflict.
A structured and reflective work of literary fiction for readers interested in contemporary American narratives about power, identity, and reinvention.
Teddy Starr is a carefully drawn central figure whose multiple roles create a layered sense of tension. His public identity as a pastor and businessman contrasts with the private history that slowly resurfaces, shaping the narrative’s progression.
The novel is grounded in themes of reputation, performance, and moral ambiguity, with a steady focus on how personal and public identities intersect and eventually conflict.
A structured and reflective work of literary fiction for readers interested in contemporary American narratives about power, identity, and reinvention.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“If you understand America, and understand yourself, you’ll know what to do tomorrow.”
- Ross Barkan
“Gutter empires for gutter men.”
-Ross Barkan
“No one studies the Bible harder than a Jew who wants to forget.”
-Ross Barkan
Listen to my interview with the author at Substack.
Colossus follows the life of Teddy Starr, a charismatic forty-something pastor with a murky past in the small, college town of Pine Haven, Michigan, who has built a thriving church and a successful real estate and property management business. For a time, things appear to be going to plan, though Starr's upstanding façade quickly is shown to be duplicitous and grasping. Up to the halfway point, the personal disclosures (Teddy narrates the novel) come in a steady progression in parallel with his public image and status in Pine Haven. His carefully constructed identity begins to unravel when his estranged brother, Yoel, arrives from New York, exposing Teddy's hidden past as Reuvain Gantz, a Jewish man who fled Brooklyn after maybe accidentally killing his father. As Yoel sends letters revealing Teddy's secrets to his wife, Daniella, and members of his congregation, Teddy's star looks about to go out along with his marriage, reputation, real estate portfolio, and his flock, but he rides a rhetorical wave of shameless demagoguery to public redemption and is reward with a chance to reach even greater heights.
This book can be read as a clever commentary on Fitzgerald’s famous quip, “There are no second acts in American lives.” The POV character is like many figures from American stories, whether real or fictionalized: Jay Gatsby, Donald Draper, Frank Abagnale Jr, or Donald Trump. Ross Barkan modernizes the rise-and-fall tragic arc for our modern epoch by slapping on a re-ascension midway through the fall that leverages our reflexive but fiercely held tribal identifies, Today, we now know no one can truly be counted out if they have enough pull, charisma, and shamelessness to author another version of themselves. They just have to activate the tribal ids of enough people.
The book is also in a related conversation about American identity, exploring the contours of middle America, more or less a euphemism for "Red America." Arguably, the portrayal is a bit of a satirical caricature, though there is perhaps some sympathy there along the lines of material dispossession. Religiously inflected cultural crusading with frequent instances of hypocrisy is certainly a mainstay for a part of the very activated and vocal Right, but it is a lot more culture-first than God-first these days, especially in the upper Midwest. I think some of the rhetorical talking points will always be appealing to a certain kind of American because it appeals to a deeply embedded understanding of America, one that is alien and ultimately unacceptable to most American urbanites, who are more so citizens of the world elite. Additionally, even when God is abused as a pretext for politicking by those on the right, the use of religion is more or less synonymous with traditionalist and thick communal norms. It is a cry to leave the way most of their ancestors lived during recorded history, meaning gainful work and a married household led by a man, but with a lot more wealth and comfort. In this way, Starr represents an actual threat to those norms at the local level given his reckless rapacity and philandering. However, the hostile reaction from Red America, which is regarded as misguided and manipulated here, is that in some ways they understand too well that Washington has already pulled a Teddy Starr on them many times over, and they want to send their own version back at 'em.
I found the concept and telling of the story entertaining. It is a type of novel we should see more of at least with adult character existing in a social reality navigating the psychological and social challenges of our era. Barkan has a penchant for the social novel and can write prolifically in that register. He doesn't make much of an effort to make his characters speak in a naturalistic way, defaulting to his own style, but he does a good job with describing action and narrating the interiority of his characters. He can also work in effective one-liners that are thematically fitting, but does seem to luxuriate in the set up of a novel and rush through climaxes, denouements, and endings. Anyway, another Barkan novel complete. I think many readers will find it enjoyable if they pick it up. This is something that Netflix or the like could adapt too.
- Ross Barkan
“Gutter empires for gutter men.”
-Ross Barkan
“No one studies the Bible harder than a Jew who wants to forget.”
-Ross Barkan
Listen to my interview with the author at Substack.
Colossus follows the life of Teddy Starr, a charismatic forty-something pastor with a murky past in the small, college town of Pine Haven, Michigan, who has built a thriving church and a successful real estate and property management business. For a time, things appear to be going to plan, though Starr's upstanding façade quickly is shown to be duplicitous and grasping. Up to the halfway point, the personal disclosures (Teddy narrates the novel) come in a steady progression in parallel with his public image and status in Pine Haven. His carefully constructed identity begins to unravel when his estranged brother, Yoel, arrives from New York, exposing Teddy's hidden past as Reuvain Gantz, a Jewish man who fled Brooklyn after maybe accidentally killing his father. As Yoel sends letters revealing Teddy's secrets to his wife, Daniella, and members of his congregation, Teddy's star looks about to go out along with his marriage, reputation, real estate portfolio, and his flock, but he rides a rhetorical wave of shameless demagoguery to public redemption and is reward with a chance to reach even greater heights.
This book can be read as a clever commentary on Fitzgerald’s famous quip, “There are no second acts in American lives.” The POV character is like many figures from American stories, whether real or fictionalized: Jay Gatsby, Donald Draper, Frank Abagnale Jr, or Donald Trump. Ross Barkan modernizes the rise-and-fall tragic arc for our modern epoch by slapping on a re-ascension midway through the fall that leverages our reflexive but fiercely held tribal identifies, Today, we now know no one can truly be counted out if they have enough pull, charisma, and shamelessness to author another version of themselves. They just have to activate the tribal ids of enough people.
The book is also in a related conversation about American identity, exploring the contours of middle America, more or less a euphemism for "Red America." Arguably, the portrayal is a bit of a satirical caricature, though there is perhaps some sympathy there along the lines of material dispossession. Religiously inflected cultural crusading with frequent instances of hypocrisy is certainly a mainstay for a part of the very activated and vocal Right, but it is a lot more culture-first than God-first these days, especially in the upper Midwest. I think some of the rhetorical talking points will always be appealing to a certain kind of American because it appeals to a deeply embedded understanding of America, one that is alien and ultimately unacceptable to most American urbanites, who are more so citizens of the world elite. Additionally, even when God is abused as a pretext for politicking by those on the right, the use of religion is more or less synonymous with traditionalist and thick communal norms. It is a cry to leave the way most of their ancestors lived during recorded history, meaning gainful work and a married household led by a man, but with a lot more wealth and comfort. In this way, Starr represents an actual threat to those norms at the local level given his reckless rapacity and philandering. However, the hostile reaction from Red America, which is regarded as misguided and manipulated here, is that in some ways they understand too well that Washington has already pulled a Teddy Starr on them many times over, and they want to send their own version back at 'em.
I found the concept and telling of the story entertaining. It is a type of novel we should see more of at least with adult character existing in a social reality navigating the psychological and social challenges of our era. Barkan has a penchant for the social novel and can write prolifically in that register. He doesn't make much of an effort to make his characters speak in a naturalistic way, defaulting to his own style, but he does a good job with describing action and narrating the interiority of his characters. He can also work in effective one-liners that are thematically fitting, but does seem to luxuriate in the set up of a novel and rush through climaxes, denouements, and endings. Anyway, another Barkan novel complete. I think many readers will find it enjoyable if they pick it up. This is something that Netflix or the like could adapt too.
Review of advance copy
I really liked this book especially the section when he is a younger man. Don’t really like the man he became. What happened to that young boy? Thank you to NetGalley for a pre publication copy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews