Reviews - A Horse Walks Into a Bar

A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman, Jessica Cohen

405 reviews for:

This was an addictive read that unfortunately fell a little flat for me. At first, I really liked the quippy nature of Dovaleh. I settled myself in for a comedic fest, and like the audience I felt like leaving and that I hadn't gotten what I expected. This is really the story of how Dovaleh coerces an old childhood friend to come to his stand-up show to reveal the reason behind why they hadn't seen each other in years. There is this overarching narrative that pisses off patrons because it's not comedic, however, he intersperses comedy into his performance. Nothing that actually made me laugh but that's alright; the comedic effect of stand-up is lost when translated to text. Dovaleh's performance style got on my nerves towards the ending because he kept interrupting his story or saying things like "I'm being serious now" which was over used and got annoying. Or the fact that he only "comedically" attacked women in the audience. I did enjoy the pacing of the narrative and the narrator who was semi-analysing the show as it went on. On the whole, I enjoyed it despite being annoyed through the second half of the novel. I will be very shocked if this wins the Man Booker International Prize.

laurap's review against another edition

4.0

dark medium-paced

pavel_nedelcu's review against another edition

4.0

A very well-written book about friendship, parent-son relationship, interiority and how stories (in this case, jokes told by a stand-uper) can create a loop in which one can feel safe ignoring (but for how long?) the cruel reality of the past and the present.
It is also the first book I read in which stand-up comedy is given a central role. This new form of entertainment - Dovaleh, the comic, seems to suggest - is by no means different from the traditional theatre spectacle or from any artistic act requiering an audience and a stage. And like any other form of artistic show, it can be reversed and deconstructed, intepreted from different angles. In brief, revolutionised.

kaisaei's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

imvharini's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bookeboy's review against another edition

5.0

That was a ride. Read it in one big lockdown gulp. I will need time to come down. I feel all nervy. Imagine if Camus' The Fall was a conversation between a stand-up comedian and his audience instead of an attorney and a stranger and you're almost there. Brilliant.