The Rider on the White Horse – Book Review

Book Review
The Rider on the White Horse
Written by Theodor Storm
Translated by James Wright
Originally published in 1888

Why I chose this book:
One of the short stories was highly recommended to me by my husband, and I couldn't pass up the others.

Review:
A collection of short stories set in nineteenth-century Germany, The Rider on the White Horse entrances the reader more with each story. With themes of death, love, sacrifice, and honor, the stories are made even more compelling by their frame narratives. It is as though the reader absorb's the narrator's passion and curiosity for each story (the narrators of several stories relate tales that they themselves heard, often in response to personal queries). In "Aquis Submersus," for example, the narrator has seen a painting of a child in his church; the expression of the child and the inscription on the painting have always intrigued him. Later in life, he comes upon an old journal written by the artist. Enhanced by the character's drive to learn the history of the child, the reader cannot help but be fully consumed by the tale. Readers who enjoy short stories, realism, or anecdotal history will likely fly through The Rider on the White Horse at breakneck speed. Read it with a friend – you'll want to talk to someone about it!