Google 'a horse walks into a bar + punchline' and you'll find plenty of examples of this old chestnut, all of them really weak. So this is a perfect title for a story about a stand-up comedian who tells terrible, pathetic jokes. But that's not why most of the audience eventually walks out. It's not even because he routinely insults his audience, picks on individuals with hurtful commentary or because he satirises taboo topics such as the Holocaust and the occupation of Palestine. No. It's because the comedian, Dovaleh G, is performing what is probably his swan song since he's obviously not a well man, and his routine, such as it is, is an heroic effort to exorcise his demons.

The narrator is his erstwhile childhood friend, now a retired judge by name of Lazar, who has been asked to come along to evaluate the performance. Not as a critic, but as someone who could perhaps see the uniqueness of Dov's being, not just one among millions...

'That thing, he said softly, “That comes out of person without his control? That thing that maybe only this one person in the world has?'

The radiance of personality, I thought. The inner glow. Or the inner darkness. The secret, the tremble of singularity. Everything that lies beyond the words that describe a person, beyond the things that happened to him and the things that went wrong and became warped in him. The same thing that years ago, when I was just starting out as a judge, I naïvely swore to look for in every person who stood before me, whether defendant or witness. The thing I swore I would never be indifferent to, which would be the point of departure for my judgment.' (p.63)

In the course of the show, as Dov tells about the existential crisis of his life when he was fourteen, Lazar remembers how he betrayed their friendship. Boys who had met and formed a bond at an after-school maths tutoring class, they found themselves at a quasi-military training camp for teenagers, learning the escape drills they might need in a country surrounded by hostile nations. Lazar distances himself from Dov, turns his back on scenes of grotesque bullying, and never lets himself see Dov — because he knows that if it's not Dov being bullied, it will be him.

Yes, metaphors abound in this novel.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/02/19/a-horse-walks-into-a-bar-2017-by-david-gross... ( )

A Horse Walks Into a Bar is undeniably dark. It focuses on a stand-up comedian telling the tale of his miserable life in the face of an increasingly hostile crowd that just wants light entertainment. It is claustrophobic; the action hardly departs from the small-town nightclub Dovaleh is performing in, other than through his reminiscences. It is uncomfortable, as Grossman places us firmly in the audience watching this man fall apart, through the eyes of an old acquaintance that Dovaleh has asked to attend. The reader squirms right along with the audience and the performer as his attempts to get through his tale fall flat, or even provoke outrage. It is compelling, as the novel forces you to choose between walking out on Dovaleh's act. like some of the characters, or staying the course to hear the final punchline. It is also funny; some of the jokes that Dovaleh delivers in the course of his monologue cracked me up.

Coming from a city and country where stand-up comedians are an integral part of our popular culture, I was attracted to this book's premise, and I wasn't disappointed. I have seen shows like Dovaleh's, where the comedian departed from jokes and ventured into the deeply personal, and I've seen the audience response. I've seen guys walk out of a comedian's account of his experience with multiple sclerosis because it wasn't funny enough for them. Grossman captured this awkward "should we really be laughing?" dynamic perfectly, and gives us a perfect rendition of a quintessential sad clown. ( )

A stand up comic has his most honest set ever while reliving his past.

So not what I expected. It has an American Pastoral [b:American Pastoral|11650|American Pastoral (The American Trilogy, #1)|Philip Roth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504801263l/11650._SY75_.jpg|598119] feel. ( )

Really depressing and really funny.
Reminded a lot of Stewart lee.
Took me a while to decide not to give up on it. I'm glad I didn't. ( )

Interesting premise fairly skillfully executed. I'm not sure it all works for me emotionally. I find the reactions of the audience sometimes confusing, and I don't quite understand the particular way that Dov holds onto and attempts to reconcile his past, but I do like the way the characters play with memory. Our memories and personal stories shift and change as we tell them and re-tell them to ourselves and as we experience them at different stages of our lives and to reinforce or refute a particular view of ourselves; that aspect of both Dov and Avishai's stories rings true to me, as does the way that experiences reverberate through families even to those who have no experience with or perhaps even knowledge of the experiences themselves, like with the driver and the brother he never knew.

Power plays a significant part in the novel, as we see how both power and the lack of it can result in some pretty unpleasant outcomes. There's also something here about the interplay of Israel's national identity and the identity and experiences of the individuals who live there and how each is influenced by the Holocaust, but I'm not sure I have the wisdom or perspective to comment on this piece of the story.

Overall, I found the novel engaging, but, like stand-up comedy often does, it leaves me feeling somewhat hopeless. ( )