DAVID GROSSMAN was born in Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and has been translated into more than forty languages. He is the recipient of many prizes, including the French Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Buxtehuder Bulle in Germany, Rome's Premio per la Pace e l'Azione Umanitaria, the Premio Ischia--international award for journalism, Israel's Emet Prize, and the Albatross Prize given by the Günter Grass Foundation.
JESSICA COHEN was born in England, raised in Israel, and now lives in the United States. She has translated contemporary Israeli fiction, nonfiction and other creative works, including David Grossman's To the End of the Land.
"David Grossman has attempted an ambitious high-wire act of a
novel, and he's pulled it off spectacularly. A Horse Walks into a
Bar shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint of
sentimentality. The central character is challenging and flawed,
but completely compelling. We were bowled over by Grossman's
willingness to take emotional as well as stylistic risks: every
sentence counts, every word matters in this supreme example of the
writer's craft." --Judges' Citation, Man Booker International
Prize, 2017 "Astounding . . . [A] magnificently comic and
sucker-punch-tragic excursion into brilliance . . . He has left a
trail of blood and sweat on the page that only a true master--a
Lenny Bruce, a Franz Kafka--could dream of replicating." --Gary
Shteyngart, The New York Times Book Review (front cover) "Urgent .
. . Mesmerizing . . . A novel as beautiful as it is unusual . . .
Grossman takes a lot of risks in A Horse Walks into a Bar, and
every one of them pays off spectacularly well . . . It's nearly
impossible to put down." --Michael Schaub, NPR "Blistering . . .
Concise . . . Grossman masterfully weaves several complex strands
of narrative [and] translator Jessica Cohen turns the performance
into fluent, American-style patter." --Ken Kalfus, The Washington
Post "Accomplished and audacious . . . An Israeli offspring of
Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Dostoyevsky's Notes from the
Underground [that is] laced with loss and leave-taking . . .
Grossman has once more proved himself as one of Israel's finest
literary alchemists." --Benjamin Balint, Haaretz "I have never read
a book like this, or even thought that one could exist . . . A
hard, fast, and bumpy ride through the deserts of Israel and the
soul." --Rafael Alvarez, Washington Independent Review of Books
"Arresting . . . Entertaining." --Paul Wilner, San Francisco
Chronicle "Grossman brings real humanity to this heart-wrenching
and well-written novel, offering insight into one man's
psychological makeup and how society has damaged him. An excellent
translation; highly recommended." --Lisa Rohrbaugh, Library Journal
Praise from the UK "Grossman has transcended genre, or rather, he
has descended deep into the vaults beneath . . . This isn't just a
book about Israel: it's about people and societies horribly
malfunctioning. Sometimes we can only apprehend these truths
through story--and Grossman has become a master of the
truth-telling tale . . . These are important questions at this
moment in history, a time of trickery and lies. This is a novel for
our new Age of Offence--offence easily taken and endlessly
performed." --Ian Sansom, The Guardian "A polemic of unusual power
. . . Shocking, raw, and eloquent. . . Grossman has pushed down
deep into the wounded heart of a despairing man . . . A Horse Walks
into a Bar is unlike anything Grossman has yet done. --Eileen
Battersby, The Irish Times
"Grossman's latest offering is a short, shocking masterpiece . . .
in which absurdity and humour are used to probe the darkest corners
of the human condition . . . It is a tale of nerve-shredding
psychological and spiritual torture, the kind of story that is so
dark that the only defence against it is darker laughter." --Adam
Lively, The Sunday Times (London) "It takes an author of Mr.
Grossman's stature to channel not a failed stand-up but a
shockingly effective one . . . This book feels far removed from
Falling out of Time . . . Both books, however, circle around
dramatic acts of mourning: the first as lyric tragedy, the second
as pitch-black comedy." --Jonathan Cape, The Economist Praise from
Europe "Literature at its highest, and most enchanting." --Il
Mattino (Italy) "Grossman has written a beautiful and hypnotizing
book, on the friction between tragedy--both personal and
collective--and life, which must go on." --Il Messaggero (Italy) "A
psychological, intimate chamber drama whose choreography and
eloquence captivate and pain the reader in equal measure . . . By
the end, the book not only radiates humanity but demands it as
well." --Leipziger Volkszeitung (Germany) "A magnificent book about
the different levels of being that we carry within ourselves." --Le
Monde (France) "Resonant of Dostoyevsky and Kafka . . . The novel
is not about one man alone; its significance lies in the exposure
of the failings of humanity. We knew that stand-up comedy is
inflammatory, but we didn't know that it can reveal the flames of
hell." --Transfuge (France)
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