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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I keep reading these books that win the Man Booker prize. This has been the third. First was "A Brief History of Seven Killings" an ensemble period vision of 70s Jamaica tangentially set against the backdrop of an attempt on Bob Marley's life. The next was "The Sellout" about a guy in South Central LA who brings back segregation and jim crow rules. "A Horse Walks into a Bar" is equally nuts.
An Israeli comedian has a slow burn of a break/meltdown on stage. IT'S A FUCKING PAGE TURNER.
Rare find for me.
He's like 50, and invites a super distant friend from his childhood to come watch the show. The show starts with jokes has some deft commentary about the Israeli experience. Shit that made me take out the highlighter. And then he starts to tell the audience the story of his life which has been a bummer.
It's tight. It's got great timing. It's a bit of a gut punch. A super circumcised gut punch.
An Israeli comedian has a slow burn of a break/meltdown on stage. IT'S A FUCKING PAGE TURNER.
Rare find for me.
He's like 50, and invites a super distant friend from his childhood to come watch the show. The show starts with jokes has some deft commentary about the Israeli experience. Shit that made me take out the highlighter. And then he starts to tell the audience the story of his life which has been a bummer.
It's tight. It's got great timing. It's a bit of a gut punch. A super circumcised gut punch.
I love stand-up comedy, so the premise of this book really appealed to me. The execution was very good too, but it was far from the lighthearted laugh-a-minute book I was expecting. It is full of raw emotion; as a reader you are essentially invited to watch a man's very public breakdown as he talks about very personal issues that have been bottled up for a long time. That can be quite a hard journey, but the narrator is going through it with you and feeling just as uncomfortable.
The story is told through the eyes of an old friend of comedian Dovaleh G, and it unfurls so slowly that the first 100 pages or so are essentially just setting up the two main characters and introducing a few minor characters in the form of other audience members. There are no chapter breaks and the whole of the main narrative takes places during one stand-up set, interrupted occasionally by flashbacks. I really liked this as a narrative device and it was interesting trying to work out what had happened between the two characters, because very little is given away at first.
This book is undoubtedly clever, but it's not one that sucks you in very easily. Because of the structure, it's easy enough to read in one go and actually I would recommend that approach as once I put it down I wasn't really incentivised to pick it up again. I'm glad I finished it, and I definitely enjoyed the original way of presenting the story, but sadly I don't think it's going to be a book I revisit again and again.
A free eARC was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The story is told through the eyes of an old friend of comedian Dovaleh G, and it unfurls so slowly that the first 100 pages or so are essentially just setting up the two main characters and introducing a few minor characters in the form of other audience members. There are no chapter breaks and the whole of the main narrative takes places during one stand-up set, interrupted occasionally by flashbacks. I really liked this as a narrative device and it was interesting trying to work out what had happened between the two characters, because very little is given away at first.
This book is undoubtedly clever, but it's not one that sucks you in very easily. Because of the structure, it's easy enough to read in one go and actually I would recommend that approach as once I put it down I wasn't really incentivised to pick it up again. I'm glad I finished it, and I definitely enjoyed the original way of presenting the story, but sadly I don't think it's going to be a book I revisit again and again.
A free eARC was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
One of the most unique books I’ve read by one of the most celebrated Israeli authors. Riddled with pain and personal history, the book takes place over the course of a 2 hours stand up comedy show. Over the night the comedian recounts critical moments of his past as the audience stares on. Disturbing yet mesmerizing, and unmistakably complex.
Dazzling.
This uncanny clairvoyance about the Man Booker results should really be getting me some moolah. [a:David Grossman|34031|David Grossman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1258357322p2/34031.jpg], much like [a:Paul Beatty|44076|Paul Beatty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410926394p2/44076.jpg], takes risks with his prose and the result is the story of a damaged stand-up comic, who decides to revisit his past and get some closure, while trying to appease a less-than-cooperative audience. The prose is sharp, the jokes uncomfortably funny and the ending leaves you rooting for Dovaleh's deliverance.
Someone MUST get a copy of this to Noah Baumbach. Joaquin Phoenix can play Dovaleh; Jeffrey Tambor, Lazar.
This uncanny clairvoyance about the Man Booker results should really be getting me some moolah. [a:David Grossman|34031|David Grossman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1258357322p2/34031.jpg], much like [a:Paul Beatty|44076|Paul Beatty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410926394p2/44076.jpg], takes risks with his prose and the result is the story of a damaged stand-up comic, who decides to revisit his past and get some closure, while trying to appease a less-than-cooperative audience. The prose is sharp, the jokes uncomfortably funny and the ending leaves you rooting for Dovaleh's deliverance.
Someone MUST get a copy of this to Noah Baumbach. Joaquin Phoenix can play Dovaleh; Jeffrey Tambor, Lazar.
I’ve read a few translated books recently, and this has been one of the best translations I’ve read – a worthy winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2017.
The book itself takes place over the course of one evening, with a few flashbacks interspersed. It feels quite stream-of-consciousness and must have been challenging to translate from the original Hebrew as it’s mostly a stand-up comedian on stage, told from the point of view of an audience member and old friend. The comedian seems to undergo a breakdown on stage, reliving childhood traumas under the guise of comedy, leaving the audience puzzled and shocked. It’s almost car-crash narration – you feel powerless to look away yet can’t help staring, and afterwards everything feels hollow.
It’s a beautifully written and translated book, very powerful, but not one to pick up for a bit of light reading. It will haunt you.
I received a free e-ARC of this book via Netgalley but all opinions are my own.
The book itself takes place over the course of one evening, with a few flashbacks interspersed. It feels quite stream-of-consciousness and must have been challenging to translate from the original Hebrew as it’s mostly a stand-up comedian on stage, told from the point of view of an audience member and old friend. The comedian seems to undergo a breakdown on stage, reliving childhood traumas under the guise of comedy, leaving the audience puzzled and shocked. It’s almost car-crash narration – you feel powerless to look away yet can’t help staring, and afterwards everything feels hollow.
It’s a beautifully written and translated book, very powerful, but not one to pick up for a bit of light reading. It will haunt you.
I received a free e-ARC of this book via Netgalley but all opinions are my own.
Painful to experience this man's story, so I am glad it was very short.
A Night At the Opera
Brilliant. David Grossman has created a new stand-up star with the acidic wit of Lenny Bruce and the pitiable cynicism of The Simpsons Krusty the Clown. I have seen performances by Jackie Mason and Rodney Dangerfield with dialogue that didn’t match Grossman’s Dov Greenstein. How many stage shows and clubs must Grossman have attended in order to understand the mysteries of technique, timing, and narrative line that are required to control an audience for hours? And on top of that, turn it into an engaging story? As I said: brilliant.
Here’s the thing ladies and gentlemen: Dov Greenstein doesn’t have a clue who Dov Greenstein is. Are you listening? You think he knows where this stuff comes from? There’s no script. Words just come out from nowhere. OK, maybe not nowhere, but from the past which is the same thing. The words are what the past has done to him and they want everyone to know it. But Dov can’t see what the words look like can he? Are you with me?
But here’s the thing, my trusted friends. Yes, that’s you too, you gorgeous ladies. It’s not just Dov’s past. Dov’s past is… what? Well, let’s say boring, tragic but boring - like Donald Trump or magnolia paint. Like anyone else’s past. Maybe his mother cares about it but not even his uncle Mo wants to know from Dov’s past. So forget about Dov’s past. It’s your past and my past he’s talking about, our memories of blessed memory. Crazy, right? But you’re so awesome. You get it. I know you get it. You’re so awesome.
So, bottom line, you’re not looking at Dov, you’re looking at you through Dov. I know, I know, can’t be true right? Dov knows bupkis about you. But trust me I’m a doctor. There’s a universe somewhere where this makes sense. Go ahead, laugh. But the man’s a psychic genius. Or do I mean psychotic? I’m telling you, this guy can act. And we all like looking into another man’s hell. Long story short: read about this schmekela . You’ll thank me. Are you listening Table #13? Yes, you, the lady with the concrete blue hair. Just checking, darling. I couldn't tell if you were asleep or, God forbid, dead under all that eye make-up. Good night all you wonderful people. You know I love you.
Brilliant. David Grossman has created a new stand-up star with the acidic wit of Lenny Bruce and the pitiable cynicism of The Simpsons Krusty the Clown. I have seen performances by Jackie Mason and Rodney Dangerfield with dialogue that didn’t match Grossman’s Dov Greenstein. How many stage shows and clubs must Grossman have attended in order to understand the mysteries of technique, timing, and narrative line that are required to control an audience for hours? And on top of that, turn it into an engaging story? As I said: brilliant.
Here’s the thing ladies and gentlemen: Dov Greenstein doesn’t have a clue who Dov Greenstein is. Are you listening? You think he knows where this stuff comes from? There’s no script. Words just come out from nowhere. OK, maybe not nowhere, but from the past which is the same thing. The words are what the past has done to him and they want everyone to know it. But Dov can’t see what the words look like can he? Are you with me?
But here’s the thing, my trusted friends. Yes, that’s you too, you gorgeous ladies. It’s not just Dov’s past. Dov’s past is… what? Well, let’s say boring, tragic but boring - like Donald Trump or magnolia paint. Like anyone else’s past. Maybe his mother cares about it but not even his uncle Mo wants to know from Dov’s past. So forget about Dov’s past. It’s your past and my past he’s talking about, our memories of blessed memory. Crazy, right? But you’re so awesome. You get it. I know you get it. You’re so awesome.
So, bottom line, you’re not looking at Dov, you’re looking at you through Dov. I know, I know, can’t be true right? Dov knows bupkis about you. But trust me I’m a doctor. There’s a universe somewhere where this makes sense. Go ahead, laugh. But the man’s a psychic genius. Or do I mean psychotic? I’m telling you, this guy can act. And we all like looking into another man’s hell. Long story short: read about this schmekela . You’ll thank me. Are you listening Table #13? Yes, you, the lady with the concrete blue hair. Just checking, darling. I couldn't tell if you were asleep or, God forbid, dead under all that eye make-up. Good night all you wonderful people. You know I love you.
An interesting format makes for a really breezy and intimate read, and one that really will probably be lingering with me for a while. It's bleak and sad, and makes me want to reach out to old friends.
Fine mix of comic and tragic, but not sure it is the winner.
“A single moment that lasts a lifetime, still poisoning anything I come close to, to this day. Every person I touch.”
If you are going into A Horse Walks into a Bar thinking you will read a funny and humorous book about a stand-up comedian's fall from grace, turn on your heels and walk away. This book is not that. This book is a claustrophobic, harrowing, emotional rollercoaster in which one man's journey through life and its traumas come to represent the trauma and geography of pain of Israel.
We enter a night club in a seaside Israeli town called Netanya, where a popular stand-up comedian, Dovaleh G (Greenstein) is giving what seems to be his last show. Dovaleh has invited his childhood 'friend', senior judge Avishai Lazar, to come and see this show and later on tell him what he sees. We watch the show from Avishai's point of view, which plants us in the audience of this gig. In the beginning, everything seems pretty regular: Dovaleh, pushing sixty, is agitating his crowd, making jokes that border on good taste, making fun of his audience. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a stand-up show.
But slowly, Avishai realises, as do we, that tonight isn't about comedy. Tonight isn't about making jokes. Tonight is about a man, so traumatized by a pivotal moment in his past, and underneath it, about a nation, traumatized by its own. Dovaleh begins to spur and spiral into madness, smashing his face, hurting himself, yelling obscenities to the audience. He begins to tell a story of the day during which he had to choose between the two people he loved the most in this world - not literally, but figuratively.
David Grossman is known for both his love for his homeland Israel and as a critic of its political system. In A Horse Walks into a Bar, Dovaleh's life is swept to another track by a traumatic event, which leaves the rest of his life as a sort of a parallel to what his life should be, says Grossman in an interview with Global Conversation. This is an allegory for the Israeli state and to the overall history of the Jewish people, whose lives were forced into a different direction by a heinous act. From thereon, the Jewish people have entered a parallel world where a 'today without the Holocaust' is unimaginable. That is what trauma does, it sometimes leaves a cross-generational mark. A Horse Walks into a Bar is an incredibly emotive and deep analysis of this history and its effects in today's society.
Avishai, to me, reflected all the people who have to live with witnessing the wrongdoings, both past and present. He was a bystander to the most traumatic day of Dovaleh's life, and here he is again, being brought in as a bystander to his mental breakdown. He feels forced to look and forced to spectate, but simultaneously unable to do anything to stop Dovaleh's grief. These acts of indifference, of letting things slip by, allow for the conflict to go on. Avishai had a chance to be there for Dovaleh, he had a chance to alleviate this trauma. He lives the rest of his life knowing he never did. The world as onlookers of the Holocaust, the world as onlookers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - we all watch, very few of us do anything. An endless amount of us has to live with that. It is a devastating limbo to be in. Grossman handles it fantastically.
Grossman takes a structural risk with this novel. There are no chapters, and paragraphs of text are rarely broken for a bit of a breather break. Other than that, it's go go go from the first line to the last. That really accentuates the spur of Dovaleh's emotions and performance, as we are brought along for the exhilarating and exhausting ride. When the audience in the club feel uncomfortable, we feel uncomfortable - we are the audience. It is a brilliant manipulation of emotions that Grossman manages to practice all throughout the book, from disgust to laughter, from laughter to tears and heartbreak. It is truly one of the most atmospheric novels I have ever read, and as I put it down I felt as if I had been in that run down night club in Netanya, witnessing a man tell his tale, along with the tale of his homeland. A brilliant, brilliant novel. One of my favorites of all time.