- Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Classics; New Ed edition (5 Sep 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099323915
- ISBN-13: 978-0099323914
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 4.1 x 20 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 462,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Riders In The Chariot (Vintage Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
Through the crumbling ruins of the once splendid Xanadu Miss Hare wanders, half-mad, yet seeming less alien among the encroaching wildlife than among the inhabitants of Saraparilla. In the wilderness she stumbles firstly upon a half-caste aborigine and then a Jewish refugee. They each place themselves in the care of a local washerwoman. Existing in a world of pervasive evil, all four have been independently damaged and discarded. Now in one shared vision they find themselves bound together, understanding the possibility of redemption.
From the Back Cover
Through the crumbling ruins of the once splendid Xanadu Miss Hare wanders, half-mad, yet seeming less alien among the encroaching wildlife than among the inhabitants of Sarsaparilla. In this wilderness she stumbles firstly upon a half-caste aborigine and then upon a Jewish refugee. They each place themselves in the care of a local washerwoman. Existing in a world of pervasive evil, all four have been independently damaged and discarded. Now in one shared vision they find themselves bound together, understanding the possibilities of redemption.
'Stands out among contemporary novelists like a cathedral surrounded by booths. Its forms, its impulse and its dedication to what is eternal all excite a comparison with religious architecture' Maurice Edelman, Sunday Times
'This is a book which really defies review; for its analysable qualities are overwhelmed by those imponderables which make a work "great" in the untouchable sense. It must be read because, like Everest, "it is there"' Jeremy Brooks, Guardian
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This deceptively complex and tension-filled Australian novel begins as the straightforward story of Mary Hare, a strange, half-mad spinster who lives in Xanadu, a crumbling "pleasure dome," with the busybody Mrs. Jolley, a servant she fears. At various times in her meanderings, Mary meets a kind laundress named Mrs. Godbold, who lives in a shed with her nine children; Alf Dubbo, an often-drunk aborigine artist; and Mordecai Himmelfarb, a Jewish concentration camp survivor who has emigrated to Australia and now works in a machine shop.
In succeeding sections, in which these characters overlap, their intricate interior lives are developed in colorful, memorable detail, and the reader quickly sees that each is a lonely survivor of some traumatic experience which has made him/her question the nature of good and evil. Each hopes to unravel some of the mysteries at the center of the universe. Remarkably, all of them have experienced the same apocalyptic vision of a chariot being drawn by four horses galloping into a shimmering future.
In the hands of a lesser writer, the characters, their daily lives, and their vision of the chariot might have been presented in a sentimental or romantic way, or even been used to illustrate the author's religious views. But White's view of the chariot and its importance is far subtler--and more enigmatic--than that, and its role in the lives of these characters is both unsentimental and haunting. Tantalizing parallels between the vision of the chariot and the mysteries of Revelations, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the Seven Seals, along with Biblical warnings about blood, fire, and destruction will keep a symbol-hunter totally engaged. At the same time, more literal readers will find the stories and characters so firmly grounded in the reality of 1960's Australia, that they are captivating in their own right and may be taken, and thoroughly enjoyed, at face value.
This is a huge novel, an old-fashioned saga of fascinating characters living their lives the best way they can, while wrestling with issues of epic significance. The author's primary concern with telling a good story never falters, despite the overlay of mysticism, and the leisurely pace and fully realized dramatic action make this a totally fulfilling reading experience. Mary Whipple
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In a lifetime obsession with books, I have read few that come near to this. Epic, but extraordinarily down to earth. Ironic, gently probing, teeming with phrases and metaphors which intrigue and quietly challenge. It is a joy to read, just to savour the writing of it. It has been described as an exploration of good and evil, but it is so much more. For no good reason, my copy had been on my bookshelves, unread, for about five years. You need to be ready for it, to have time, but don't put this off, as it is wonderfully rewarding. Genius is an over-used word, but not here.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the great Australian novel: a vast, poetic epic which crosses continents but ultimately resides in Australia. White's characters are all illuminated by a vision of a chariot: a simple-headed heiress living in the ruins of her vast family home, a Jewish intellectual and Holocaust survivor doing manual labour in the local factory, an aboriginal artist and drunk, a wise but poor mother from the Norfolk broads. This is a book to be read slowly, savouring the briliance of White's sentences.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
highly memorable
The main narrative of this novel takes place in Australia over a few weeks (I think) culminating in a set of events over Easter in what seems to be a smallish set of settlements in... Read more
Published 8 months ago by William Jordan
STUNNING
No words to do justice to the experience I had reading this novel. Having worked my way through THE TREE OF MAN and VOSS I thought I knew what to expect from RIDERS IN THE CHARIOT. Read more
Published 11 months ago by JakeThePeg
for a friend's book club
I haven't had a chance to read this yet. When my friend has finished with it I hope to be able to have my turn at reading it and then I'll be able to comment,,,
Published 22 months ago by Ms. Joanne Lancaster
quality of print
The printing quality of my copy is bad all through the volume: generally on the left page (while reading) several characters in a word, (and this in a very irregular way) will be... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2010 by Mme I. Lacassagnere
Epic scope and mystical significance.
This deceptively complex and tension-filled Australian novel begins as the straightforward story of Mary Hare, a strange, half-mad spinster who lives in Xanadu, a crumbling... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2002 by Mary Whipple
Epic scope and mystical significance.
This deceptively complex and tension-filled Australian novel begins as the straightforward story of Mary Hare, a strange, half-mad spinster who lives in Xanadu, a crumbling... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2002 by Mary Whipple
White's great masterpiece
This is perhaps one of the great novels of the 20th century; it is certainly one of White's best works. Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2001 by MICHAEL J DAVIS
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