The Studhorse Man: (cuRRents)

Hazard Lepage, the last of the studhorse men, sets out to breed his rare blue stallion, Poseidon. A trickster, a lusty peddler, and a wayward knight, the antics of this hero are only outmatched by those of the narrator, a maniacal, naked writer who works in his bathtub. Told with the ribald zeal of a Prairie beer parlour tall tale and the mythic magnitude of a Greek odyssey, this book is Robert Kroetsch's recharacterisation of the Canadian West upon his mythological return to Alberta.

About the Author :
One of Canada's most accomplished authors, Robert Kroetsch was born in Heisler, Alberta. In 1969 he won the Governor General's Award for Fiction. Kroetsch's enormous contribution to Canadian literature spans fiction, non-fiction, poetry and scholarship, and he is recognised internationally for both his writing and his teaching. A Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Alberta, his most recent award is the Manitoba Arts Council Arts Award of Distinction. Robert Kroetsch lives in Winnipeg.

Review :
"Recognized as a classic when it first appeared, the novel's status as one of the finest pieces of Canadian fiction has only grown over the last three decades.... The Studhorse Man, now 35 years old, has far more intoxicating vigour, structural muscularity and dervish-like linguistic brilliance than almost anything being published in Canada today." Christopher Wiebe, VUE Weekly "Always original, at times wickedly funny, and told with unrestrained enthusiasm framed by a post-war, rough-edged Alberta, The Studhorse Man showcases and documents Robert Kroetsch as one of Canada's best living writers." Wisconsin Bookwatch Listed in Best of the West Comparisons list (between Alberta & Saskatchewan) under category "Classic Scene Setters" against W.O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen the Wind. Canadian Geographic, January/February 2005 "In its comic energy, The Studhorse Man recalls Rabelais, Bakhtin and the carnivalesque....This University of Alberta Press publication includes a very fine introduction by Aritha van Herk. Sharply attentive to the novel's patterns, reference field and detail, she situates it with respect not only to Edmonton, the Saskatchewan river valley, local history and literary conventions of the quest and the trickster, but also to her own experience of the local....Kroetsch's writing in The Studhorse Man is typically vital and generous; its presentation of the priapic wanderer and his odd rake's progress through a changing Albertan landscape is marked by comedy, affection and nostalgia." Brian Edwards, Australasian Canadian Studies Journal, Vol. 22, No.2, 2004 and Vol. 23, No.1, 2005 "Kroetsch's writing cracks with sarcastic wit, and his book ridicules booming Edmonton's desire to banish the horse in favour of a suburban, car-infested future. The city's highest literary award is named after Kroetsch, so you can't go wrong here."