War Horse

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Horse" is a pretty mediocre novel that I would normally give three stars. There is nothing in this book that stands out as particularly excellent except maybe the research that went into it. Characters are bland, the plot is predictable, pacing is slow and dull. There is nothing particularly offensive about it, but there is nothing all that amazing about it either. This book is far more of a horse book than it is about race issues. Imaginative, and impeccably researched historical fiction, wonderfully written as well as skillfully structured, with characters to connect to and a story that moved me. This is pretty much everything I could ask for in a novel. All of this in a story about a horse, yet it is about much more than story a magnificent racing horse. It is about the injustice of slavery, selling people, like they sold horses, families separated and the racism that continues years later with tragic consequences.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks | Goodreads Horse by Geraldine Brooks | Goodreads

I’ve never been a horse-or pony girl….but I’m at least a part-time Geraldine Brooks girl. “People of the Book”, was one of my favorites. I found the melding of horse racing and the civil war very intriguing. I never contemplated thoroughbred horse racing and slavery. Other POV’s are added which enriched the story, although Jarret and Theo drive the plot.The author clearly has an affinity for horses, which made the relationship between Jarret and Lexington all the more poignant. I felt the intense love between human and horse, and appreciated the subtle way Brooks connected revelations about the horse from the past with its legacy and bones in the present. I loved learning about the field of osteology and art history – and even the national fascination with horse racing. It’s gratifying to break my hiatus with such a well-written book. These are some passages and my thoughts. A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history Horse by Geraldine Brooks was a well written novel that spanned three different time lines. Geraldine Brooks masterfully wove together the distinct characters in each time period to tell the story of one of America’s most notorious thoroughbred racing horse, Lexington. She combined real characters with imagined ones in a way that absolutely worked. Horse was based on Lexington’s true story. His life spanned from 1850 to 1875 but his legacy continued to be celebrated even after he departed this world through the foals he sired. Lexington became known for his agility, speed, stamina and faithfulness. I listened to the audiobook of Horse that was read by multiple narrators. The multiple narrators allowed each character to be distinguished easily and made the audiobook enjoyable to listen to.

MICHAEL MORPURGO

It is set in parallel - the history of a horse and his slave groomer in the 1850’s and a painting that has survived the century to the present day & how the piece was discovered discarded. I got a lot more than I bargained for. Art, art history, science, behind the scenes looks at the unknown rooms and work of the Smithsonian, some of the early movers and shakers in the southern horse racing world in the mid 1850's, and let's throw in some modern social commentary while we're about it. even though I’m concurrently reading three other books….I’ve had this advance copy for over a month. Overtime, her bedroom became a mini natural history Museum, filled with skeletons of lizards, mice, birds, displayed on plinth fashioned from salvaged wire spools or cotton reels. The book spans many generations, from the 1800's to current day, where interconnectedness seems serendipitous. As a reader, I rooted for those who had high ethics, integrity and work ethic...yet their efforts were often thwarted by those with different values.I love the use of words and language. I looked up 66 new words while reading Horse. Some of those words included: semaphores, deshabillement, ziggurat, macerating, plinths, zygomatic, pannier, ferruled, addlepated, turves, obduracy, riven, rowel, doggerel, jussive, subfusc, and many others. stars. I enjoy Brooks' writing and have read all of her novels. Really wanted this to be a 5 star winner for me, but it didn't quite get there. I was excited that she chose for her subject the racehorse Lexington, as I had some familiarity with Boston, having done research on him for a mini bio of him that I wrote for a library database in my home county in Virginia. And I'm a longtime fan of Sir Archie, the grandsire of Boston and who is considered the first and greatest American racehorse, as well as the ancestor of many of the greatest horses in American racehorse history. War Horse is now available on the National Theatre’s new streaming service National Theatre at Home. The iconic and multi-award-winning production of War Horse, based on the novel by Michael Morpugo, is available on demand for the first time since its premiere 13 years ago. War Horse is now available from Monday 21 December to Wednesday 20 January in the UK only. The artist, Thomas Scott, made his name by painting Lexington, first as a young foal, then as he matured into his racing beauty. When the Civil War began and Scott enlisted, his reconnection with Jarret and Lexington was unexpected and dangerous. The author clearly spent a lot of time researching this book. However, the author had a hard time letting go some of her research, and the pacing seemed off. The paragraphs were too long, impacting the storytelling, and I wanted to ask the author to read an Andy Weir novel to get a better feel for how to move the plot forward.

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo War Horse - Michael Morpurgo

Although this novel is entitled “Horse” and is ostensibly about a magnificent historical horse and the prestigious horse races of the antebellum South. It is also about “race” itself. “Race” when used to define us simply by the pigmentation of our skin can be such a horrible word. The lives of Jarret and those who surrounded him collided with the lives of Jess and Theo from one century to another. The story of how it all happened was deeply researched by Aussie author Geraldine Brooks and resulted in the book, Horse, a magnificent tale based on the true story of a record breaking thoroughbred, Lexington, who went on to become America's greatest stud sire. The racism, slavery, emancipation, and rivalry flowed through this remarkable book, which I recommend highly. I feel like I could point to this book as a manual for all the things racist white liberals do that irritate me short of that white savior nonesense. Fortunately there were few white savior incidents to be found in this book. The themes of slavery, discrimination, racism - then and now. The story is timeless. Anyone who has an affinity to animals will experience this connection as well as those who appreciate art in its many forms. There are three timelines all linked together by a painting of "Lexington", the famous horse who the story revolves around.With all the history and research that Brooks brought to this book… I thought it was her most intimate of all the books she has written. It’s my new Brooks favorite.