The Rider
by Tim Krabbe
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Book Reviews of The Rider
Book Review: Best Bike Racing Book?
Summary: 3 Stars
The Rider probably is the best-written novel on bike racing, edging out Ralph Hurne's The Yellow Jersey, but that could be damning with faint praise. If you're a fan of bike racing you should enjoy this book, but as a fan of books, I was often frustrated by the fact this this was so close to being utterly brilliant, but somehow fell short. I'm going to assume it is because the work was translated, but perhaps not. Perhaps it is brilliant, and I need to read it again. As it stands I enjoyed this book, and often found myself smiling (Krabbe clearly knows amateur bike racing and isn't faking knowledge the way so many thriller writers do when they botch scenes involving ordnance, for example) but for me the experience never produced the aesthetic moment wherein the story elevated itself to art. Krabbe's style is typically stark, and effective. It would be easy to parody. If you have seen the original version of The Vanishing and the U.S. version than you know how Krabbe's work was somehow dumbed-down for Hollywood. I have a suspicion that is what happened with the translated version of this novel. A good book, but certainly not a great book. For overall cycling enjoyment I'd recommend James Starrs anthology on cycling The Noiseless Tenor. Still, this is vastly superior to anything anyone in the U.S. has produced on bike racing.Book Review: the best cycling novel...
Summary: 5 Stars
This is easily the best novel I've read about bicycle racing--it's relatively short, no murders, no love interest, just
bicycle racing pure and simple. It centers on a single minor
1-day race in southern France, 150 kilometers in the mountains,
and a racer (Krabbe) who is decent but not professional caliber.
The novel is part stream-of-thought, part flashbacks to Krabbe's
other 300+ races, part anecdotes about the great cyclists from
the Tour de France and elsewhere. If you want a baseball
analogy, Krabbe would be playing in the low minor leagues, and
describing the life there, and relating some tales about well-
known major-leaguers--kind of a Ron Shelton [Bull Durham] of
bicycle racing. In the Tour de France, the police keep the roads
clear for the racers: in the Tour de Mont Aigoual, police are
at intersections directing the racers, but you share the road
with ordinary drivers. Krabbe describes speeding down steep
mountain roads and having to plan in his mind what to do if a car
comes around the corner towards him while he's doing 60kph.
A very involving, finely-written book!
Book Review: Short but sweet
Summary: 5 Stars
A wonderfully evocative tale of a one-day bicycle race. I don't know if it will appeal to non-bike riders, but anyone who cycles with some regularity will get a glimpse of the real pain and strategy involved in bicycle racing. Note: The book was written in the 1970's, when racing bikes had 12 gears, unlike today's 20, and there was no radio communication between riders and/or team managers. Those elements added a need for planning and strategy that have been lost to some extent in today's world. Back then, when a rider broke away, for example, the riders following would have had no idea what kind of lead had been extended. Today, they'd know exactly how far away the leader was. There's one oddity in the book that I believe is the fault of the translator. Krabbe writes about having to change tires; they are referred to as "tubes" when the proper term should be "tubulars", a type of tire preferred by bicycle racers. That has no bearing on the story or the reader's enjoyment. This is a can't put it down race through the pages charmer.Book Review: Only 3 stars, and I'm being polite !
Summary: 3 Stars
I had high hopes for this book, and truly felt it deserved only 2 stars. However, since there are not many cycling "novels" on the market, I felt compelled to issue a 3 star rating.
Just like the perennial movie that wins "Picture of the Year", and you shake your head and ask, "WHY"...this is no different. Granted, the author does offer the reader an occasional, brilliant passage or two that perhaps only a seasoned cyclist can directly relate to, but those are much too few and far between.
What's between is a mix of strange writing dialogue that...quite often... not only doesn't make sense, but he tends to bounces back in time to previous stories, and it gave (this) reader a bit of difficulty in not only following the intended story at hand, but staying focused enough to finish the book.
Rather disappointed.
Book Review: Crisp and focused...
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an `inside the head of the cyclist' account of a 1970's amateur, 150 kilometer cycle race in France. Only 148 pages, the novella is not written in chapters but broken down into kilometres travelled. This is effective in terms of conveying the unbroken nature of the race. The writing is sparse and pared down; in places it felt as hard and real as a bicycle saddle. This clean, efficient prose helps to convey the clinical sense of competition amongst the racers. It brings a strong sense of realism but perhaps at the expense of warmth and emotion. I felt I understood the characters but I didn't form any lasting connection to them. The Rider doesn't try to be something it isn't - its main aim is to give the reader an 'in-situ' 150 kilometre saddle-ride, and it achieves this. Without question, The Rider works as a specific, cult piece of work.