I have been a fan of Geraldine Brooks for several years and have read and enjoyed several of her novels including Year of Wonders, People of the Book, and March. Of these, I think I enjoyed PEOPLE OF THE BOOK the most but HORSE definitely gave it a run for the money.
HORSE is a really great historical novel telling the story of Lexington, perhaps the greatest thoroughbred of all time. The story is told from several different perspectives. First, a Nigerian American art historian, Theo, finds a very dingy painting of a horse in his neighbor's trash. Turns out after taking the painting to be restored at the Smithsonian, it is found to be a portrait of Lexington as a young colt. This leads him to Jess, an Australian working for the Smithsonian who is an expert on bones and who happens to be examining the skeleton of Lexington that was stored in the Smithsonian attic. But then the meat of the story is about the life of the horse and its groom, Jarret, a young black who was present at the foaling in 1850 and stays with the horse throughout his storied career with record breaking victories in the pre-Civil War south. The story also tells of the artist, Thomas Scott, who made several paintings of Lexington including the one found by Theo.
I was enthralled by this novel. Although I am not a horse racing enthusiast, this one had me hooked from the start. It is definitely more than the story of a horse, it is also about race issues prior to the Civil War and how they are still with us today. The story was poignant with its instances of the abuse of these magnificent animals and it also had some very tragic moments including the deep-rooted prejudices of today and how they affected both Theo and Jess. This is a story that I will find hard to forget.
HORSE is a really great historical novel telling the story of Lexington, perhaps the greatest thoroughbred of all time. The story is told from several different perspectives. First, a Nigerian American art historian, Theo, finds a very dingy painting of a horse in his neighbor's trash. Turns out after taking the painting to be restored at the Smithsonian, it is found to be a portrait of Lexington as a young colt. This leads him to Jess, an Australian working for the Smithsonian who is an expert on bones and who happens to be examining the skeleton of Lexington that was stored in the Smithsonian attic. But then the meat of the story is about the life of the horse and its groom, Jarret, a young black who was present at the foaling in 1850 and stays with the horse throughout his storied career with record breaking victories in the pre-Civil War south. The story also tells of the artist, Thomas Scott, who made several paintings of Lexington including the one found by Theo.
I was enthralled by this novel. Although I am not a horse racing enthusiast, this one had me hooked from the start. It is definitely more than the story of a horse, it is also about race issues prior to the Civil War and how they are still with us today. The story was poignant with its instances of the abuse of these magnificent animals and it also had some very tragic moments including the deep-rooted prejudices of today and how they affected both Theo and Jess. This is a story that I will find hard to forget.
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