“Grossman no longer writes what we traditionally think of as novels: he has transcended genre; or rather, he has descended deep into the vaults beneath … A Horse Walks into a Bar – again translated by Jessica Cohen, who has long proved herself capable of keeping up with Grossman’s twists and turns of style – is more like a parable, about the loss of parents and the losses of a nation. As with all good parables, it requires the reader to do some work in order to understand its meaning … Grossman does make a few concessions to the reader, who might – understandably – come looking for humour in a book about a comic…But Grossman’s true interests lie elsewhere: A Horse Walks into a Bar is not a book about standup comedy. It is a book about art, and the relationship of suffering to art … 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, like Dovaleh, has become a master of the truth-telling tale. ‘What is he selling them?’ wonders the judge. ‘What is he selling himself?’ These are important questions at this moment in history, a time of trickery and lies. This is a novel for our new Age of Offense – offence easily taken and endlessly performed.”
–Ian Sansom, The Guardian, December 9, 2016
