That Just Happened!

Richler, Mordecai.  St. Urbain’s Horseman. McClelland & Stewart. (2001).

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 Horsemanconfirms Mordecai Richler’s reputation as a pre-eminent observer of the hypocrisies and absurdities of modern life.

From the Publisher

I don’t get it. I mean, I get that it was about class distinction, religious persecution, personal crisis and family relationships, but other than the overriding themes, I just. Don’t. Get. It.  So, Jake Hersh is on trial for perversions and he basically goes back through his life and the major events that led up to him being in this position.  It took me three tries to actually read the dang thing and two weeks to complete it.  I even took it with me for an hour on the treadmill and I barely made a dent.  Granted, this is a long book, but he has lived a long life, so I guess there was a lot leading up to the trial. 

Oh heck, I know I am trying to look for meaning where there is some, but I can’t seem to find it.  His character wasn’t necessarily relatable, or likeable.  I couldn’t get on his side at all.  Really I read this book because I had to for my Governor General Award Challenge.

This is my rating, but I would be willing to reconsider if someone could explain this stupid book to me.  What am I missing?  I have a feeling I should be more enthusiastic about it than I am.  It has been made into an award winning movie and a miniseries on CBC television, so someone gets it and should be able to explain it to me, dang it!