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Waking Up at Rembrandt's
With his words, Thomas Lloyd Qualls has painted for us a bridge between prose and poetry, between literary fiction and spirituality, and between every novel which has come before Waking Up at Rembrandt's and those which will follow. In the sanctuary of café rembrandt, all the little things that happen in a day are imbued with light. Whipping fresh cream is an act of poetry and pouring a drink is an act of faith. With a voice that is at once prophetic, immediate, and lyrical, a woman who is equal parts purveyor of spirits and spiritual guru leads us on a different kind of journey through the stories of three lives in transition. As the characters begin to wake up, we, too, are awakened from our slumber. Like the paintings of the master himself, Waking Up at Rembrandt's is a luminous work of art.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Lloyd Qualls
5 books32 followersThomas Lloyd Qualls is a writer, a condition that is apparently incurable.
He is also a storyteller, podcaster, and the former owner of a music festival, as well as a former copywriter, a licensed attorney who has overturned two death sentences, and a one-time vagabond who used to wander the globe with a backpack and three changes of clothes.
What he means to say is that he is a human being who, so far, has done all these things. He’ll probably do more things not on this list.
His third book, Happiness Is an Imaginary Line in the Sand, is available for pre-order now. Release date is October 26, 2021.
Happiness Is an Imaginary Line in the Sand delivers a down-to-earth oracle to help decipher the riddles of modern life. It is convincing in its stubborn insistence that a better world is not only possible, but within our grasp.
His second novel Painted Oxen earned eight literary awards, including the Landmark Prize for Fiction, a Silver Nautilus Award, and the award for Best New Fiction at the American Fiction Awards.
Finally, his debut novel Waking Up At Rembrandt’s received national critical acclaim. The Midwest Book Review called it, “an impressive debut novel showcasing an undeniably talented and imaginative author.”
With all of his creative work, he seeks to bridge the worlds of literary and spiritual and to blur the lines between what is real and what is imagined. He also strives to create worlds where labels are difficult to affix. He loves Pablo Neruda’s poem Too Many Names.
Thomas lives in the high desert beauty of Northern Nevada, along with the children’s author Lynell Garfield and their son. You can follow his trail of words and other misadventures at www.tlqonline.com.
He is also a storyteller, podcaster, and the former owner of a music festival, as well as a former copywriter, a licensed attorney who has overturned two death sentences, and a one-time vagabond who used to wander the globe with a backpack and three changes of clothes.
What he means to say is that he is a human being who, so far, has done all these things. He’ll probably do more things not on this list.
His third book, Happiness Is an Imaginary Line in the Sand, is available for pre-order now. Release date is October 26, 2021.
Happiness Is an Imaginary Line in the Sand delivers a down-to-earth oracle to help decipher the riddles of modern life. It is convincing in its stubborn insistence that a better world is not only possible, but within our grasp.
His second novel Painted Oxen earned eight literary awards, including the Landmark Prize for Fiction, a Silver Nautilus Award, and the award for Best New Fiction at the American Fiction Awards.
Finally, his debut novel Waking Up At Rembrandt’s received national critical acclaim. The Midwest Book Review called it, “an impressive debut novel showcasing an undeniably talented and imaginative author.”
With all of his creative work, he seeks to bridge the worlds of literary and spiritual and to blur the lines between what is real and what is imagined. He also strives to create worlds where labels are difficult to affix. He loves Pablo Neruda’s poem Too Many Names.
Thomas lives in the high desert beauty of Northern Nevada, along with the children’s author Lynell Garfield and their son. You can follow his trail of words and other misadventures at www.tlqonline.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 22, 2018
From the beginning, I noticed that this novel is not for all readers. However, this book really has a fresh, original style of literary fiction.
Every poem presented is precisely and beautifully written with deep meaning and worthy lesson. With no apparent plot and told from second point of view, each story of each character invites the readers to not only know the character's insight in depth, but also take the readers into getting to know their 'inside' selves better as well as their own insight on the important matters in life.
This book has many lessons of life, awakening, and spirituality, which truly worth your time.
I received a free copy of this book in accordance with the terms of For Love of a Book's Advanced Readers Opportunity program.
Every poem presented is precisely and beautifully written with deep meaning and worthy lesson. With no apparent plot and told from second point of view, each story of each character invites the readers to not only know the character's insight in depth, but also take the readers into getting to know their 'inside' selves better as well as their own insight on the important matters in life.
This book has many lessons of life, awakening, and spirituality, which truly worth your time.
I received a free copy of this book in accordance with the terms of For Love of a Book's Advanced Readers Opportunity program.
October 15, 2017
Qualls' debut novel "Waking Up at Rembrandt's" feels like it was written just for you. No matter what walk of life you come from, there is some level of relation to be found in the characters he has crafted, the lives they lead, and the stories that unfold.
His love for his characters shines through in the intimate details about how the prepare certain drinks, the way the walk down streets and up stairs and down alleys, the way they stir their coffee or the way they agonize over what it means to be human. He asks fundamental questions about the meaning of our human existence that we all wonder but maybe not many of us ever really say it out loud. What makes this novel so special is that he does it with a sarcastic candor that is at once provocative and sensitive, sultry and innocent, reckless and controlled. I feel like this novel was written for me, about me, to me. Qualls makes you feel like you have been every character at one point or another.
It is unique in its organization and narration and worth celebrating in its message, which I took to be this: life is happening whether you want it to or not. How will you choose to live it?
His love for his characters shines through in the intimate details about how the prepare certain drinks, the way the walk down streets and up stairs and down alleys, the way they stir their coffee or the way they agonize over what it means to be human. He asks fundamental questions about the meaning of our human existence that we all wonder but maybe not many of us ever really say it out loud. What makes this novel so special is that he does it with a sarcastic candor that is at once provocative and sensitive, sultry and innocent, reckless and controlled. I feel like this novel was written for me, about me, to me. Qualls makes you feel like you have been every character at one point or another.
It is unique in its organization and narration and worth celebrating in its message, which I took to be this: life is happening whether you want it to or not. How will you choose to live it?
January 3, 2018
Waking up at Remembrandt's was written by Thomas Lloyd Qualls and was published in 2007
"Maggie is a discouraged lawyer, Dillon, a heart-broken vagabond, and Phillip, a frustrated writer. Their stories are told by the mysterious Jillian, part purveyor of spirits and part spiritual guru. Inside the walls of cafe rembrandt, where whipping fresh cream is an act of poetry and pouring a drink an act of faith, we fall under Jillian's spell. With a voice that is lyrical and immediate, she artfully trails her Ariadne thread to lead her devotees back into the light.
Waking Up at Rembrandt's is a fresh take on the tale of awakenings. It celebrates the sensual, as well as the spiritual, effortlessly bridging the two worlds."*
I was given a complementary copy of Waking up at Rembrandt's to review. It in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion/review of the book.
Waking Up at Rembrandt's is an oddly charming book. It is compact, sweet, and rife with interweaving moments that all coagulate into one whole being. It's unlike many other books - there's no central conflict, no true main character, and no characters to fit certain archetypes. That's not a bad thing of course, but it's something to consider if you are a reader interested in a tight plot that has a distinguishable beginning, middle, and end. This novel actually comes across as a cross between an Eckhart Tolle book and a literary classic you'd come across in school. It's not a book you can speed through and expect to grasp every moment. It will take some patience and an open mind to fully realize the intent.
Perhaps my favourite part of the book - which was actually my least favourite thing to begin with - was the point of view narration. The reader assumes the identity of whoever sits on the customer side of the bar at Rembrandt's (or at least that's how it came across for me - I suppose it could be argued that the reader is Jillian). Once you get over the fact that you are essentially written into the book, it'll suck you right in. Though jarring at first, I came to realize that this is just one of the very special things that sets Waking up at Rembrandt's apart from all the other novels on my bookshelves. Instead of feeling disconnected from the issues at hand, being folded into the drama stopped me from rolling my eyes at the existential, semi-drunken plights of Maggie, Dillon, and Phillip.
Which leads me to my next point; this book is a complete existential crisis. Any thought I'd ever had about why I'm on this earth, why I'm me and not you, why the world was created, etc, was addressed. Comfortingly, Qualls doesn't offer answers or promises he can't keep. Instead, he uses Jillian as a stabilizer on ships fighting through stormy seas. Jillian herself offers a sense of warmness - she is an old soul with plenty of wisdom gleaned from years behind the bar top. Jillian knows when to speak, when to hold her tongue, and what adult drink to splash into your coffee. She is the shining jewel in this book, and it is her alone - not the cafe - that enables all the other characters to connect in various ways, whether they have met the others or not.
Of course, this brings to the question of, 'why is this not a five star novel?' I've made it a point in all my reviews that, if there are any mistakes at all, the book immediately isn't perfect. This book is littered with metaphors and similes, and it's not surprising when some of them don't land. One that sticks out in my mind is "as resigned as a question mark" (9). When these similes don't quickly click and I have to spend some time processing them, I'm drawn out of the book. (Truthfully, I'm still scratching my head on what the example above means). Moreover, the random pop culture references (such as Big Bird) did little in setting the scenes. They seemed clunky and out of place in such lyrical prose. Finally, from a grammatical standpoint, there was one line that I hate to have to add here:
"The crowd starts to arrive and you're section gets sat" (45).
And the last point to address is the poetry. It is my understanding that Qualls has another book dedicated solely to the poetry included in this one. To me, the poetry and the novel itself are two separate entities, and don't influence the other. In fact, they're so separate that it is almost strange to see them side by side. To me, while Waking up at Rembrandt's is masterful in it's complex prose, Love Jaywalks is about as basic as Milk and Honey. (A harsh comparison, I realize, but necessary). I just couldn't seem to grasp the point of it all. If the poetry was taken out of the novel, I wouldn't have cared, and that's probably the greatest indication of how disconnected it is from the rest of the book.
Overall, I'm pleased with Waking up at Rembrandt's. It is not a book I would finish and immediately re-read, but I do see myself pulling it down from the shelf in the future.
4 out of 5 stars.
*Blurb by Goodreads
"Maggie is a discouraged lawyer, Dillon, a heart-broken vagabond, and Phillip, a frustrated writer. Their stories are told by the mysterious Jillian, part purveyor of spirits and part spiritual guru. Inside the walls of cafe rembrandt, where whipping fresh cream is an act of poetry and pouring a drink an act of faith, we fall under Jillian's spell. With a voice that is lyrical and immediate, she artfully trails her Ariadne thread to lead her devotees back into the light.
Waking Up at Rembrandt's is a fresh take on the tale of awakenings. It celebrates the sensual, as well as the spiritual, effortlessly bridging the two worlds."*
I was given a complementary copy of Waking up at Rembrandt's to review. It in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion/review of the book.
Waking Up at Rembrandt's is an oddly charming book. It is compact, sweet, and rife with interweaving moments that all coagulate into one whole being. It's unlike many other books - there's no central conflict, no true main character, and no characters to fit certain archetypes. That's not a bad thing of course, but it's something to consider if you are a reader interested in a tight plot that has a distinguishable beginning, middle, and end. This novel actually comes across as a cross between an Eckhart Tolle book and a literary classic you'd come across in school. It's not a book you can speed through and expect to grasp every moment. It will take some patience and an open mind to fully realize the intent.
Perhaps my favourite part of the book - which was actually my least favourite thing to begin with - was the point of view narration. The reader assumes the identity of whoever sits on the customer side of the bar at Rembrandt's (or at least that's how it came across for me - I suppose it could be argued that the reader is Jillian). Once you get over the fact that you are essentially written into the book, it'll suck you right in. Though jarring at first, I came to realize that this is just one of the very special things that sets Waking up at Rembrandt's apart from all the other novels on my bookshelves. Instead of feeling disconnected from the issues at hand, being folded into the drama stopped me from rolling my eyes at the existential, semi-drunken plights of Maggie, Dillon, and Phillip.
Which leads me to my next point; this book is a complete existential crisis. Any thought I'd ever had about why I'm on this earth, why I'm me and not you, why the world was created, etc, was addressed. Comfortingly, Qualls doesn't offer answers or promises he can't keep. Instead, he uses Jillian as a stabilizer on ships fighting through stormy seas. Jillian herself offers a sense of warmness - she is an old soul with plenty of wisdom gleaned from years behind the bar top. Jillian knows when to speak, when to hold her tongue, and what adult drink to splash into your coffee. She is the shining jewel in this book, and it is her alone - not the cafe - that enables all the other characters to connect in various ways, whether they have met the others or not.
Of course, this brings to the question of, 'why is this not a five star novel?' I've made it a point in all my reviews that, if there are any mistakes at all, the book immediately isn't perfect. This book is littered with metaphors and similes, and it's not surprising when some of them don't land. One that sticks out in my mind is "as resigned as a question mark" (9). When these similes don't quickly click and I have to spend some time processing them, I'm drawn out of the book. (Truthfully, I'm still scratching my head on what the example above means). Moreover, the random pop culture references (such as Big Bird) did little in setting the scenes. They seemed clunky and out of place in such lyrical prose. Finally, from a grammatical standpoint, there was one line that I hate to have to add here:
"The crowd starts to arrive and you're section gets sat" (45).
And the last point to address is the poetry. It is my understanding that Qualls has another book dedicated solely to the poetry included in this one. To me, the poetry and the novel itself are two separate entities, and don't influence the other. In fact, they're so separate that it is almost strange to see them side by side. To me, while Waking up at Rembrandt's is masterful in it's complex prose, Love Jaywalks is about as basic as Milk and Honey. (A harsh comparison, I realize, but necessary). I just couldn't seem to grasp the point of it all. If the poetry was taken out of the novel, I wouldn't have cared, and that's probably the greatest indication of how disconnected it is from the rest of the book.
Overall, I'm pleased with Waking up at Rembrandt's. It is not a book I would finish and immediately re-read, but I do see myself pulling it down from the shelf in the future.
4 out of 5 stars.
*Blurb by Goodreads
November 15, 2019
Thomas Lloyd Qualls crafts a beautiful emotional piece in Waking up at Rembrandt’s! Spiritual guru Jillian helps several patrons of Café Rembrandt find their way back to the light. I loved the variety of characters Qualls pursues, and seeing the completion of each’s journey was greatly satisfying! Check this one out if you’re looking for a good emotional piece with depth!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews