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17th out of 29 books
—
19 voters
St. Urbain's Horseman
Long considered one of Mordecai Richler’s most beloved and acclaimed novels, St. Urbain’s Horseman has now been adapted into a high-profile two-part CBC drama. The attention this star-studded and heavily promoted mini-series will receive will renew interest in the book among Richler fans and introduce many new readers to this modern classic, now available in this attractiv...more
Paperback, 504 pages
Published
April 10th 2001
by McClelland & Stewart
(first published January 1st 1971)
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My friend didn’t recommend this book, exactly, but she did recommend the author, Javier Marias, or at least said she was impressed with him, and this title is what my neighborhood library had on the shelf, so here we are.
Dark Back of Time is a book about writing a book, and the book it’s about writing is Dark Back of Time. Marias here recounts the reaction to his earlier novel All Souls, which is set at Oxford University and which apparently was suspected of being a roman a clef. Assuming that...more
Dark Back of Time is a book about writing a book, and the book it’s about writing is Dark Back of Time. Marias here recounts the reaction to his earlier novel All Souls, which is set at Oxford University and which apparently was suspected of being a roman a clef. Assuming that...more
The center of the novel is a crisis point in the life of Jake Hersh, a film director of modest success and a man disgraced. A Canadian living in London going through a mid-life crunch triggered by an unfulfilled professional life and intimidated by his mortality. Jack fails to navigate successfully into middle age as he gets involved with the repellent Harry Stein, a petty criminal, and his cousin Joey, his alter ego, who Jake recreates in the image of his needs. Joey is the avenging horseman of...more
Feb 07, 2012
rabbitprincess
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Richler, particularly Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
I'm giving this one four stars for its merits as a character-driven novel. Richler really buries us deep inside the head of Jake Hersh, an expat Canadian film director living in London, as he contemplates his life to date. When the story begins he is embroiled in a scandalous trial along with probably the scuzziest fellow I've read about in a while, and Jake looks back on everything that has happened to bring him to this point. A recurring figure in his thoughts is his cousin Joey, whom he dubs...more
So I just recently watched the film version of Richler's "Barney's Version", and having finished "Horseman" I feel that it would be equally ill-advised to translate this work to the screen. There's just too much going on. On the one hand you have funny dialogue - I'm sure Dustin Hoffman, having wrapped his tongue around "briskets and blowjobs", could do Issy Hersh as well as he did Izzy Panofsky. But then there's all the other stuff - the Montreal nostalgia, the political/cultural satire, the my...more
This book is a black satire, and study of characters far more interesting than they initially appear.
Jake Hersh's life has become unravelled. His relationships with his family, his troubles with the law, the questions about his work - everything seems to be coming apart. The early chapters of this book reflect that, as everything in his world is thrown at you, all at once. But slowly, the book starts to build a complete character out of all these fragments, coming together as you see the gears i...more
Jake Hersh's life has become unravelled. His relationships with his family, his troubles with the law, the questions about his work - everything seems to be coming apart. The early chapters of this book reflect that, as everything in his world is thrown at you, all at once. But slowly, the book starts to build a complete character out of all these fragments, coming together as you see the gears i...more
Richler proves that he has the mettle to deal with a bunch of issues in each book he writes and this one is no exception. Nazis, interracial marriage, the sexual revolution, Duddy Kravitz, bigotry, stolid English characteristics, infidelity and several varieties of angst. At times this book reads a bit like a broken record, especially if it's read with a bunch of other Richler novels - Uncle Abe's diatribe near the end reminded me of another diatribe in Solomon Gursky Was Here; ultimately, howev...more
I thought it interesting to read what was a contemporary book of it's time period. Richler hadn't quite reached his stride as an author yet and the book suffers as less coherent in comparison to Barney's Version or Solomon Gursky. As many reviewers have comented, Richler often writes great, comic vignettes but sometimes has trouble bringing them all together and some of the scenes and characters are so black comic as to be out of place in the structure of the novel or character. That said, there...more
It's certainly the most savage of the Richler novels I've read...a mega-mix of his dark/serious side with his irreverent/love of pastiche side. I think it's too sprawling for its own good, but the novel's ambition still produces some amazing passages & prose. I'm not entirely satisfied, but certainly impressed.
Well written and a great story of personal growth and struggles with personal ambitions and insecurities. Great book to expand your vocabulary and plenty of memorable phrases. Captures the Canadian inferiority complex well.
When I first started on this my reaction was: what do I want to read this cheap ugliness for? And then things started to fall into place... A riveting, moving, and in places very funny book.
Shifting timeline? Done. Generally a limited narration from the view of one character's thoughts? You got it. A little bit Canadian, a little bit international, a little bit Montreal, a little bit sexy, a little bit tragic? Yep. This book has a few of the things I'm generally drawn to in lit, but it fell short of the five stars because (a) it took me so long to finish it and (b) I couldn't quite understand Jake, for whatever reason. I liked it though, and it's different from other Richler.
Very gritty, neurotic but honest writing. There is no plot - just character. And what a character!
Mar 03, 2013
Ayelet Waldman
added it
Another book for the Bloom Girls. As good as his others, better, certainly, than some.
Sublime satire of a film director who longs for the return of his heroic alter-ego.
Loved this book, takes place in Montreal- read a long time ago.
Apr 04, 2007
Talya Rubin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lover's of literature with a good sense of humour
Mordechai Richler's potrayal of Jacob Hersh, a Jewish Montrealer with aspirations of being a great film maker and ties to a past that has given him an anxious personality and a hero complex, makes for a wonderful read. The sometimes indulgent and ridiculous main character wins us over with his charm and delinquence. Richler is extraordinary at potraying the struggles of a man coming to terms with his identity, his conscience, his loves and his life.
I know this is considered a Canadian classic, but there were some spots I struggled through and others that I thought were awesome.
This was on the shelf at a friend's house. I took it home, read a few chapters, and then remembered why, long ago, when this novel first appeared, I wasn't interested in it. I'm sad to say little has changed in 30 years, except that Richler's characters, their dreams and desires, are even more irritating than back in their heyday. Sorry.
The characters in this book are fantastic, the descriptions are incredible, and the development is amazing.
I find myself in a similar place, though, as when I read "Native Son:" I really just want to bleach something. I have a strong desire to make something clean, even if it is simply my apartment.
I find myself in a similar place, though, as when I read "Native Son:" I really just want to bleach something. I have a strong desire to make something clean, even if it is simply my apartment.
just read it again for the nth time - love this book
May 20, 2013
Alan
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Darcie Bentley
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Regan
marked it as to-read
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Mordecai Richler, was a Canadian author, screenwriter and essayist.
His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) and Barney's Version (1997); his 1989 novel Solomon Gursky Was Here was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1990. He was also well known for the Jacob Two-Two children's stories. .
The son of a Jewish scrap yard dealer, Richler was born in 1931 and raised on St...more
More about Mordecai Richler...
His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) and Barney's Version (1997); his 1989 novel Solomon Gursky Was Here was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1990. He was also well known for the Jacob Two-Two children's stories. .
The son of a Jewish scrap yard dealer, Richler was born in 1931 and raised on St...more
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