Description
St. Urbain’s Horseman is a complex, moving, and wonderfully comic evocation of a generation consumed with guilt—guilt at not joining every battle, at not healing every wound. Thirty-seven-year-old Jake Hersh is a film director of modest success, a faithful husband, and a man in disgrace. His alter ego is his cousin Joey, a legend in their childhood neighbourhood in Montreal. Nazi-hunter, adventurer, and hero of the Spanish Civil War, Joey is the avenging horseman of Jake’s impotent dreams. When Jake becomes embroiled in a scandalous trial in London, England, he puts his own unadventurous life on trial as well, finding it desperately wanting as he steadfastly longs for the Horseman’s glorious return. Irreverent, deeply felt, as scathing in its critique of social mores as it is uproariously funny, St. Urbain’s Horseman confirms Mordecai Richler’s reputation as a pre-eminent observer of the hypocrisies and absurdities of modern life.
About the author
Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) wrote ten novels; numerous screenplays, essays, children's books; and several works of non-fiction. He gained international acclaim with The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which was later made into a movie. During his career, he was the recipient of dozens of literary awards, including two Governor General's Awards, The Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Mordecai Richler was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001.
Awards
- Nominated, Booker Prize
- Winner, Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book
- Winner, Governor General's Literary Awards - Fiction
Editorial Reviews
“The most brilliant and exciting new novel in years. . . . Mordecai Richler has written a masterpiece.” —The New Leader
Other titles by
Son of a Smaller Hero
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Solomon Gursky Was Here
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
The Acrobats
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Barney's Version
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Joshua Then and Now
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Cocksure
Penguin Modern Classics Edition
Joshua Then and Now
Son of a Smaller Hero
Barney's Version (Movie Tie-in Edition)
