Reviews with content warning for Racism - Horse

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

99 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I have really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved the storyline with Jarrett - it was so richly told and sketched an era of time I don't know much about, from a perspective that is not given much air time. I found the deep diving into 1860s horse racing incredibly fascinating, and I really enjoyed the science aspect of the modern-day storyline. But basically everything else about the modern-day storyline bothered me. Brooks completely forces Jess and Theo together - they have really no chemistry, and I don't really believe they'd have a romantic connection after she had a racist reaction to seeing him standing over what she thought was his bike - and their clashes about their differing backgrounds and perspectives feel incredibly ham-handed and forced. The ending is also completely abrupt, ridiculous, and useless, and really left a bad taste in my mouth.

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alekguerrero's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A fantastic book! So layered and nuanced. You think you’re reading a book about a historical famous racing horse but it’s about so so much more. Makes you think, makes you question, makes you angry, makes you cry. Moving in its entirety!

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jcphillips115's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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elliereads580's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book started out strong, and I really wanted to like this book.

I felt it dragged a lot in the middle and had a twist at the end that I felt was unnecessary.

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penguinreads's review

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Sslloowwwww

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bnhunt's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I listened to the audiobook. I struggled getting into this one. The chapters flip between different eras dating pre-civil war to modern day. I liked the storyline of Lexington and would’ve been fine had the storyline only been about him and his trainer. I love that it’s based on a true story and the research that the author did on this. I didn’t love the Jess/Theo plot line because it just seemed forced for the book to have a racial agenda and not authentic to the story.

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eebluee's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

The worlds of horse racing in the mid-19th century, art criticism, and equine/animal osteology are laid out beautifully, to someone who knew nothing about them beforehand. The characters are vivid, and the perspective (and point of view) switches create a complexity to this world, where the focus is first and foremost on the horse, Lexington, which I quite enjoyed.

Theo's death hit me hard, even though I now see it being foreshadowed. I cried.

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