St. Urbain’s Horseman by Mordecai Richler
Read for: Orbis Terrarum Challenge – Canada
This is either the third or fourth book I’ve read by Richler. I like his books because although they are definitely can lit they aren’t as depressing as some books in this genre tend to be. This one was no exception. Richler’s novels (at least the ones I’ve read) tend to be satirical and sometimes funny without being satirical, which according to the wiki article linked above is one of the traits common to can lit, who knew? (Probably lots of people, but I haven’t read that much can lit that was funny!)
Anyway, this one is about a man, Jake, who is on trial. The book is one of those story’s where the reader isn’t given a lot of information and has to try and piece it together until your suspicions are confirmed near the end of the novel. Richler gives us a peek into Jake’s life at the time of the trial and the reasons he is on trial but then back tracks to give the reader more insight into the Jake and his character. As Jake remembers different incidents and times in his life he begins to question who he is and where he’s been. St. Urbain’s Horseman, the title character is Jake’s cousin whom he pretty much worships even though he hasn’t seen him for years. I don’t want to give away too much more about the horseman and Jake’s trial because part of what is good about the book is finding these things out as they are revealed in the book.
I wasn’t really sure if I would like this book when I first starting reading. It took a while to get into it because as I mentioned before, the reader isn’t really given a lot of information. I think Richler did this on purpose though. He introduces his character, charging him with a crime and then puts him on trial. By the end of the novel, the reader knows whether Jake is guilty or not before the circumstances around his crime are described. We know whether or not he should be acquitted because we know Jake and we know his character. What I didn’t like at first, I had come to appreciate by the end of the novel. I would defintely recommend this book to most people. It is kind of crude though, so you might what to avoid it if that kind of thing bothers you.
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