Customer Reviews

Riders

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Almost as soon as you open the book you'll be able to tell that "Riders" was written in the 80's - it's the type of melodramatic, trashy novel that was very popular during that decade. But don't let that put you off. Behind the clichés is a book with an amazing plot and likeable characters.

The book focuses on three men, all connected through the exciting sport of show jumping, and the women who love (or hate) them.

Rupert Campbell Black is rich, mean, and ruthless. He treats his horses badly and his women worse. His wife, Helen, is a young, respectable American, who finds herself unable to deal with Rupert's sex drive and infidelity.

Rupert's best friend, Billy, is the nice guy of the show-jumping world. He loves his horses, and treats them like friends. Most people seem to feel that he doesn't have the drive to win that can propel him to true greatness.

Jake, an orphan gypsy, is Rupert's polar opposite, or at least he seems to be. He treats his horses like people, and loves them more than anything, even his poor wife, Tory, who he only married for her money.

The paths of these men cross again and again as they compete against each other, sometimes with disastrous results. The book has its share of tragedy, although the incredible triumphs make up for any sadness the characters have to deal with. It covers an incredibly long period of time, which means you get to see characters grow up and change, something that makes the reader very attached to them.

Some of the writing, especially in regards to sex, is very crude. Readers used to the more flowery writing of today may not like it very much. But the wonderful plot made up for any flaws in the writing. This is the first book of Jilly Cooper's wonderful series, and an excellent introduction to her writing.

My Mom bought me this book on a trip to England back in the mid-1980's when it was published. All she knew was that it was "horsey", and I was a horse-crazy teen. I have thanked her ever since for bringing Jilly Cooper into my life! Perhaps because it was the first, "Riders" is still my favorite, although I love her subsequent tales as well -- even the non-"horsey" ones. The characters are so well-developed, that there are so many people to love and hate -- and hate to love! Rupert should not be a sympathetic character, yet who doesn't root for him in the final Olympic test of his heart and strength? Jake is moody, broody, and takes Tory for granted -- yet OF COURSE you want things to wind up well for him. And even though Fen takes a detour into bratty self-obsession, you have to hope that she and Dino will get it together in the end. I go back and re-read this book every year or two, and EVERY TIME I hate to put it down, and I'm depressed when I reach the end. I hope Jilly Cooper continues writing about the antics of these fabulous characters. I'd hate to think "Score" was her last tale about this group! There are so many stories left to tell. Read this book!

I read everything I can get my hands on - from classics, to fantasy, romance, technical publications, and best sellers. This is my favorite book of all time. I find Jilly Cooper's writing style fast, sexy, and enthralling. I read this book for the first time over 10 years ago and have just re-read it. It's mesmerizing. Rupert, Jake, Fen, Billy and company will keep you glued to the pages. Add to that horses and show-jumping, this book just couldn't get any better.

"Riders" was the first Jilly Cooper I read and after that I was hooked. You become caught up in the lives of the characters, who come to life through Jilly's sparkling writing. After reading this book I became fascinated with upper-class English life, and I found the show-jumping theme really interesting even though I am not a horsey person. The best thing is that all the main characters appear again in at least some of the five sequels, with "Rivals" having a great love story involving Rupert Campbell-Black. Jilly Cooper is the best in her genre, and "Riders" is one of her best.

I actually found Jilly Cooper by reading books by Fiona Walker(who is brilliant by the way). Jilly's books are a little hard to come by, but boy am I glad I searched...soooo worth it. Riders was a great read...don't let the length of the book intimidate you...you'll fly through it...You are with the characters through so much and for such a span of years..that by the end...you really feel as if you know them. I definitely recommend this book..also, go out and get Fiona Walker's books as well!! French Relations and Well Groomed( In that order) are my favorites of the bunch.

Jilly Cooper is skilled at outlining the psychology of her characters, and having such a long novel where you can follow the growth of the characters over years was nice. However, the downside to following the same characters for so long, is that by page 400, you get really sick of a few of them.

Anyone picking up this book thinking there's any real information about horses or show jumping in it will be sadly disappointed. As the Thornbirds, the rickety plot simply sets the stage for continual sexual depravity - on all sides. I'm in no way a prude or naive, but it annoys me when people talk about having affairs as though it's to be expected, as if most people cheat on their spouses. I realize that this is an 80's trash novel, but still. There's even a horrible scene of group rape (which involves a character who was very likable up to that point), without any consequences for anyone!

I did find it hard to put down, but by the end of the book - a very haphazard and abrupt ending at that - I was so fed up with Jake, Rupert, Helen and Janey that I received no satisfaction or sense of closure whatsoever. There was no real revelation, no hope, no revenge - nothing to make for a fitting conclusion.

Every romance novelist should take lessons from Jilly Cooper:

1.She does her research (finally!). Riders is the first of five novels to date, and is an extremely detailed (and accurate) description of the show world. She is equally thorough in her subsequent books, tackling, among other things, polo and the classical music world.

2. She creates complex, unpredictable, and compelling characters and doesn't mire herself with the stereotypical beautiful, smart, innocent virgins and violent, troubled (but just waiting for the right woman to come along) men. Her characters get spots and worry about shaving their legs...thank God.

3. She doesn't write by formula. Her following books are just as good (Polo is my personal favorite), but refreshingly deal with vastly different subjects. The characters she introduces in Riders continue to reappear and establish a wonderful sense of continuity and forethought- a fact which ultimately makes her books read as though they were one (massive) work, plots unrecycled from romance to romance.

4. She's really funny in that (in)famous biting English way- subject matter aside, she's reminiscent of Bill Bryson, albeit less uptight (she is after all writing romances...).

Really a fantastic read.

Attention all Anglophiles! Riders is one book in the saga of life with the horsey set. Jilly Cooper is utterly addictive and keeps you reading for more. Have you ever started reading a really great book and gone into a complete panic over the thought that this is the only book this author has ever written, and you are destined to live your life searching for other books as good? -- that's what I mean when I say "READ IT"

Yes, Riders is good, but I have to say it had the nastiest streak of all Jilly's Rutshire books in the bitter, never-let-up rivalry between glamorous Rupert Campbell-Black and gypsy Jake Lovell. But it's like an excellent cup of coffee in its bitterness--you want to drink it anyway. It's also her least funny of the Rutshire books--which doesn't mean it isn't laden with her wry British humor, just that the darkish story tones it down a bit. At the same time--even though it's not my favorite--I reread it compulsively, enjoying the human and animal characters, the comical and poignant encounters, the way we get to see that romance-novel romances don't always end happily ever after. And Jilly's writing style, funny, evocative, based on the rhythm of life, and all delivered with a happy ease, is pure pleasure to read. She's spoiled me for Judith Krantz forever, and Danielle Steel was never in the running. If you're ready for a beach book that manages to be both lightweight and challenging, Riders would be good.

Excerpts from "Riders":
Scorching over the upright, bucketing over the walls, Fen was already looking ahead to the combination. She was coming in too fast; she was going to crash. She knew a terrifying moment of fear, then Hardy took over and executed a trio of perfect jumps and hurtled Fen through the finish.......The problem now was stopping....Hardy skidded to the right, sliding along on his back legs for five seconds before coming to a halt.
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Billy, already undressed, was sitting on the bed drinking brandy, watching Jandy and wearing Helen's sun hat. He was roaring with with excited laughter and had a huge er*cti*n. Janey was standing in front of the mirror......spraying Helen's most expensive scent over her b**bs and jiggling them so they caught the light. Helen turned to bolt but Rupert's vise like grip on her arm tightened.....
Billy took off the sun hat and turned to Helen.
"Come on lovie, it'll be fun. No one's going to eat you."
"Everyone's going to eat her, said Rupert...
[Helen] looked like a martyr at the stake.....For once she was in luck. In his excitement Rupert hadn't locked the door properly. Crying hysterically, she managed to slip out....
But the others were enjoying themselves.
"The grown-up has gone to bed now," said Janey.
"All hands on dick," said Rupert, filling up the glasses.
Playing games of their own, they carried on till morning.
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You'll feel the terror and glory of Grand Prix jumping even if you've never been on a horse; revel in the bawdy thrill of a one-night stand without the danger. This is unashamed literary fast food at its best, and whatever your appetite--show jumping, drama, British humor, gratuitous sex, or the whole buffet--you'll want to devour "Riders"....have "Polo" for dessert...return for seconds and thirds....and still hunger for more!