The Rider by Tim Krabbe Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Rider
Book Review: Brilliant Novella--Even for the Noncyclist
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a cyclist by any stretch of the imagination, and am only a moderate fan of the sport in general. But Krabbé's novella, originally published in the Netherlands 25 years ago, has got to best one of the best fictional treatments of any sport. The book follows an competitive amateur rider through a half-day, 150 kilometer race over the very real Mont Aigoual in France. Krabbé is himself an avid amateur cyclist, and his ability to capture both the mental and physical aspects of the sport is uncanny. Although I've never raced a bike, I did run cross-country competitively, and many of the elements carry over-mainly the twin battle each individual faces with their brain and their body (There's one excellent moment when the rider wills his bike to get a flat so he can withdraw with honor.).The stripped-down prose style (common to all Krabbé's work), works especially well in the context of a race where the long distances can lead to almost a trance-like state. The mind wanders all over the place, and that is captured brilliantly in the rider's musings-for example, one part describes how he tries to invent words to keep himself amused during long, boring training rides. At the same time, the race itself is very tense, and Krabbé does quite well at describing the various tactical gambits employed along the way. The main competitors emerge as distinct figures-allies and foes in both a psychological and physical sense (I especially liked the unknown in the blue Cycles Goff jersey). Interwoven with it all are tidbits of cycling history, which are intermittently interesting to the non-racer.
It's not a reach to call this a masterpiece of sports literature. The story does a remarkable job at conveying the tension and flow of a race to the outsider. At the same time, the insights into the psychology of the athlete are so acute as to be universally recognizable across cultures and sports.
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.Book Review: Fantastic novella
Summary: 5 Stars
A highly enjoyable book that really gets to the heart of bike racing - the sacrifice, the pain, the frustration. Well-written and intriguing, and short enough to be a nice fast read.
The only problem is that Krabbe goes off the rails every now and then; the lack of focus in a book this short is baffling.
Book Review: Go, Timmy, Go!
Summary: 5 Stars
An utterly engrossing book, "The Rider" by Tim Krabbé is a first-person account of a competitor in a French amateur cycling race. Kilometer by kilometer, the author describes, economically, but with plausible feeling, the range of emotions he goes through. It is clear that he rides for the love of cycling, but his writing reveals the mental calculations, often not very flattering, that go through the mind of a rider. A chess player, he is out on the road playing a form of chess with his opponents, considering their weaknesses, weighing their histories, examining his own position on the board, so to speak.In this short book about a 150 km long race, Tim Krabbé also travels back in his mind, recalling legends of bike racing as well as his own dreams of sporting success in Holland. These include some wonderful absurdist episodes, including a brief "Little ABC of Road Racing" where he fantasizes about riding with Merckx and Anquetil and the other greats in a series of bizarre circumstances. And all through this one is conscious of the race going on, the change of scenery and weather and how the cyclist must constantly monitor his situation-now trying to make up for his downhill lack of skills, now attacking as the others weaken, now preparing for a sprint. One is struck by the fundamental cruelty of the sport, how one must endure pain and inflict it as well.
Anyone who has ridden fairly seriously will love this book, as will those who admire strong, clean writing. The author has brilliantly portrayed a concentrated moment. This is a world of intense focus and narrow but exhilarating boundaries.
Book Review: Great concept, great insight, but the execution...
Summary: 3 Stars
I know I am the minority here, but I just can't rave about this book. I love bike racing, love tactics and all of that, but something just didn't click for me with this one. In my opinion, it wasn't worth the money.