"A Horse Walks Into a Bar," by David Grossman

     This novel won the Man Booker International Prize, and once I started reading it--well--I couldn't put it down, as the cliche goes.

      In the New York Times' review Gary Schteyngart wrote:
"...a magnificently comic and sucker-punch-tragic excursion into brilliance.” 

       He praised the book, which takes place over the course of about two hours as the comic delivers his routine to a crowd in a basement club, for its “technical proficiency.” But it is much, much more than a "technically proficient" piece of writing.

     Although most of the novel is in the voice of the stand-up comedian, it is narrated by a retired judge whom the comedian had asked to attend his show, claiming--correctly as it turns out--that they had been childhood friends. The comedian's schtick moves from conventional stand-up comedy into a much darker vein as he describes his childhood and some formative experiences that have deeply influenced his subsequent life.

      At times, members of the audience leave in disgust, and--yes--from time to time the reader feels, 'where is this going,' and may be inclined to follow. But hang in there...

     Great novel.