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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I realize that the book is framed as a stand-up comedian's increasingly awkward and uncomfortably confessional set... but let's be honest, that's just a transparent framing device and nothing about the book is even remotely about stand-up comedy. The fact that that joke in the title is never actually completed is a pretty clear sign of this! Instead, what we've got is an extended novella about a bullied kid's childhood and upbringing, and the incident that serves as his most important formative experience. As such, ... eh. It's okay, but the storytelling is wildly inconsistent; some of the details really hit home and some are basically lost in the general muddle of the storytelling style. The device works well for the introduction, but increasingly strains the narrative aspect -- the climactic ending with no follow-up is a particular weakness of the technique. Overall, it's okay, but it could have been substantially better had it really explored the limits and opportunities provided by the form.
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I decided to read this book because I'm living in Israel for almost two years already, and I'm always trying to cover the Booker Prize Awardees. A good friend of mine strongly recommended the book, but my former roommate disliked it, so I was curious.
The story is a two-hour stand-up comedy show by Dovaleh Greenstein. The narrator is the meanwhile retired judge Avishai Lazar, who knew Greenstein as a boy decades ago. Lazar joined the show in Netanya, Israel, upon request. Greenstein had called him earlier and kindly asked him to attend. Lazar is supposed to note what he's seeing in Greenstein while performing. The show itself turns into a disturbing recap of a traumatic event in Greenstein's childhood rather than a decent comedy. Even though many jokes are being told, the majority of the audience is leaving prior to the end of the show as they were expecting something different. Also Lazar is tempted to escape prematurely. He doesn't see the point in all of this. When Greenstein called him in the first place, Lazar couldn't even remember him. But as the show continues, Lazar's memories are being revived, and he's dragged into the misery, just like the reader.
"A horse walks into a bar" is a compelling read. Greenstein's language is very rough and comedy-like. The description of his performance is full of both, contempt and sympathy, altering as Greenstein is telling his story unsteadily, losing his train-of-thought every now and then. It turns out that Greenstein himself is sharing his thoughts to bring back his feelings, to understand them. The reader witnesses how events of their own biography can or cannot be rationally analysed to make sense out of them. A bit arbitrary and nonetheless special. Arbitrary because things just happen at random, we'll never have full control, we make decisions that we wouldn't make in retrospect, but we can't go back, so we have to accept them as part of our history. Special because all this makes us what we are, what people see, eventually when it all comes up. This is a valuable lesson, taught by an intriguing novel worth reading.
The story is a two-hour stand-up comedy show by Dovaleh Greenstein. The narrator is the meanwhile retired judge Avishai Lazar, who knew Greenstein as a boy decades ago. Lazar joined the show in Netanya, Israel, upon request. Greenstein had called him earlier and kindly asked him to attend. Lazar is supposed to note what he's seeing in Greenstein while performing. The show itself turns into a disturbing recap of a traumatic event in Greenstein's childhood rather than a decent comedy. Even though many jokes are being told, the majority of the audience is leaving prior to the end of the show as they were expecting something different. Also Lazar is tempted to escape prematurely. He doesn't see the point in all of this. When Greenstein called him in the first place, Lazar couldn't even remember him. But as the show continues, Lazar's memories are being revived, and he's dragged into the misery, just like the reader.
"A horse walks into a bar" is a compelling read. Greenstein's language is very rough and comedy-like. The description of his performance is full of both, contempt and sympathy, altering as Greenstein is telling his story unsteadily, losing his train-of-thought every now and then. It turns out that Greenstein himself is sharing his thoughts to bring back his feelings, to understand them. The reader witnesses how events of their own biography can or cannot be rationally analysed to make sense out of them. A bit arbitrary and nonetheless special. Arbitrary because things just happen at random, we'll never have full control, we make decisions that we wouldn't make in retrospect, but we can't go back, so we have to accept them as part of our history. Special because all this makes us what we are, what people see, eventually when it all comes up. This is a valuable lesson, taught by an intriguing novel worth reading.
A sad and moving story of loss, told at great pace. The reader is put in the shoes of a man watching someone he used to know when he was a child perform a stand up comedy show that gets steadily fewer laughs.
I’m always suspicious of stand up comics as there often seems to be sadness and insecurity there, with humour used to mask these and the comic character in this story is no different. Nevertheless I didn’t find myself wanting to walk out the show as many viewers in the story do. Might have given this an extra star if it wasn’t for the racist joke which the novel would have been equally effective without — totally unnecessary.
I’m always suspicious of stand up comics as there often seems to be sadness and insecurity there, with humour used to mask these and the comic character in this story is no different. Nevertheless I didn’t find myself wanting to walk out the show as many viewers in the story do. Might have given this an extra star if it wasn’t for the racist joke which the novel would have been equally effective without — totally unnecessary.
I had a lot of trouble getting into this one. The narrative conceit is that the entire novel takes place in the course of a single stand up comedy routine that goes off the rails and becomes a tortured exploration of the performer’s past. Too often I sympathized with the groaning audience members, and the pacing of the story just felt deadly slow.
This book begins as a mildly entertaining retelling of a stand up comedy routine. As it progresses it turns into something strange and gripping, exploring a human experience of tragic loss and painful remorse.
I was particularly enthralled by the exploration Israeli culture with which I am unfamiliar. I’m going to make an effort to read authors with different backgrounds this year.
I was particularly enthralled by the exploration Israeli culture with which I am unfamiliar. I’m going to make an effort to read authors with different backgrounds this year.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes