My Gunny is a bicycling nut, and his latest care package included the novel The Rider, by Tim Krabbé, a Dutchman. It was translated by Sam Garrett.

 Krabbé is an avid cyclist, and in the book he projects himself as a top-level amatuer in a race. The short novel (150 pages) is the story of a race, and his musings as it progresses. There are no chapters; the internal divisions are the distances travelled, e.g. "Kilometer 89-92". Also, there are flashbacks to earlier in his career and his childhood.

The writing style is brisk and to the point, perhaps a legacy of Krabbé's journalistic experience. It read a little bit like Hemingway to me, although it's always hard to say how much that was the translator's hand.

I'm not an endurance athelete, but I practiced painful sports, and it rang true. Racing is way of pushing the body, proving the strength of your will.

Krabbé also makes a number of comparisons to chess playing; a little research shows that he was a decent player, and a specialist in creating joke chess problems. Everyone else in the shop just rolled their eyes when I tried to explain why castling vertically was funny.

So, in summary: Der Renner by Tim Krabbé is a quick and worthwhile read.

Posted by: Boviate at 09:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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