JC / Railbird

Lord of Misrule

Uneven Form

Janet Maslin in today’s New York Times:

“Lord of Misrule” edges toward some drastic final twists without ever escaping the impression that it is more of a short-story cycle than a full-fledged novel. And its texture is thick even when Ms. Gordon is at her most lighthearted. But this book is best remembered for flashes of startling beauty, despite a racetrack milieu of “la crème da la crud.”

That sums up my impression of the novel, after I finished reading it last week. Amid the dense and often lumbering prose, a scene will open up, gorgeous and true in its rococo lushness. It’s best read for those stunning bits.

Posted in Readings on December 2, 2010 / Tagged Book Reviews, Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule, NBA Winner, Novels

Wednesday Notes

From a Brown Daily Herald profile of Jaimy Gordon, author of “Lord of Misrule,” the racetrack novel awarded the 2010 National Book Award for fiction:

Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly described members of Jaimy Gordon’s MA’72 DA’75 family as “horse riders.” In fact, Gordon said her relatives were “horseplayers.” The Herald regrets the error.

Love that “horseplayers” also warrants a definition within the article.

Take the correction above as a sign that Betfair has its work cut out for it educating the younger set in the US market? A Bloomberg article published today on how the British-based company is gearing up for exchange wagering in California through its American foothold, TVG, notes the generational divide when it comes to horseplayers in the states versus exchange bettors elsewhere: “About 80 percent of TVG’s customer base is over the age of 50, while 80 percent of Betfair’s users are under 50.” As CEO David Yu has acknowledged, “A lot of Americans don’t realise they can bet online legally through something like TVG,” or that the legal something is horse racing …

In an attempt to attract more international wagering, starting gate numbers could be reversed so that stall one is nearest the inside fence at right-handed British tracks, reports the Guardian. There is a potential downside: “It could, however, lead to initial confusion among domestic punters long used to the status quo, particularly with regard to the more renowned draw biases.” Sharp bettors, at home or abroad, will see that as an upside.

Posted in Miscellany on December 1, 2010 / Tagged Betfair, British Racing, Corrections, Exchange Wagering, International, Lord of Misrule