As much as I enjoyed the oddball characters and off-beat humor of Robert Bruce Cormack's novel You Can Lead a Horse to Water (But You Can't Make It Scuba Dive), I was disappointed that story never really emerged. Cormack writes funny scenes, but he couldn't seem to pull together an actual plot. There is an argument for character development; there is some of that, to be sure. But I kept waiting and waiting for a point to come, and it never really did.
When Sam Bennett gets fired from the advertising agency where he has worked for thirty years, he's not sure where to go next. When his daughter and son-in-law come for an extended stay, and he starts hanging out with a security guard from his former employer, they all get into assorted mischief and entrepreneurial pursuits. House painting, web casting, catering, and children's books take up the group's time, fueled by copious amounts of pot brownies.
You Can Lead a Horse to Water isn't a bad book, it's not poorly written, it just never goes anywhere. If that suits you, check it out. If you are like me and seek a little more from novels you read, you will likely be disappointed.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Robert Bruce Cormack’s first novel is like a modern-day Candide, filled with oddball characters, and a plot that seems almost nonexistent at first. Cormack is essentially a dialogist , but unlike Roddy Doyle, the exchanges in this book are filled with underlying wisdom, often touching nerves we don’t expect. We follow Sam Bennett, a 58-year-old ad man, who is fired after 30 years with the same agency. Falling in with Max, a stoner security guard, Sam learns about life as it exists outside of advertising campaigns. Like Candide, the path to enlightenment takes many crazy twists and turns, including tango dancing and baking grass brownies. Despite all the craziness, we soon realize we’re in the company of truly genuine people with surprising insights and advice. As Dr. Krupsky says to Sam: “Life’s a crapshoot. At least you filled the cheap seats.” Even from the cheap seats, this book leaves us wanting more.
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