Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

11 reviews

kendoll_renea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, War, and Classism

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Classism

chickaboogawah's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book by Geraldine Brooks. She is such a great author, and she skillfully wove the various storylines together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Death, Gore, Excrement, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

calamitydeeds's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

melissabristol's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

The only thing I thought was less than ideal was the ending.  Sending Jess back to Australia felt like a bit of a way to avoid harder questions about where her relationship with Theo was going and the interracial dating issues that would have been raised there.  I don't deny that, sadly, Theo getting shot was a realistic outcome (see, e.g., Ahmed Aubrey, RIP), but I felt that it was in some ways throwing a HUGE issue in without really having time to discuss it.  It could have been a book of its own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

creativerunnings's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

fifteenthjessica's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Horse weaves together two and a half story lines together across three different centuries, using the famous nineteenth century stallion Lexington as inspiration. The first (and my favorite) follows the life of the horse Lexington, primarily through the eyes of artist/Civil War soldier Thomas J. Scott who produced the most famous painting of Lexington, and Jarret, a fictional character based on an enslaved groom in one of those paintings. The second follows two modern young adults, Theo and Jess, as their work as an art historian and scientist at the Smithsonian brings them together into a project and a budding relationship. The last one is a handful of chapters that tries to answer the question as to why mid-20th century art gallery owner Martha Jackson had one of Scott's oil paintings of Lexington in her collection, which focused primarily on abstract art by her contemporaries. Throughout the story, there is also an exploration of the way people mistreat other humans and horses. I don't think these storylines are of equal quality. Jarret's life story was far more compelling and poignant than Theo and Jess's, especially when their plotline shifts from their research projects to their beginning relationship. Martha was interesting, but she could have ended up on the cutting room floor without much lost to the overarching plot and themes.

Geraldine Brooks definitely did her research while working on this and can create interesting characters as well as poignant imagery. Characters are complex and not necessarily likable. Jarret is my favorite of the PoV characters, and I enjoy his arc from acceptance of his fate to a determination to make his best life, as well as his attempts to show kindness when he can. A lot of historical fiction that comment on modern day issues tend to focus on more rebellious protagonists, and I like that Brooks made a compelling character within the reality that many people, unfortunately, can be accepting of unfair systems, even if they are the ones who are crushed by it. Another strength of Jarret's plotline is that all of the major white characters, including Scott, both oppose and are complicit with different aspects of life in the antebellum South. The modern cast features many dorks that are enjoyable because of their passions.

The book is not perfect. It talks a lot about racism in multiple points of American history, but African American women are almost exclusively relegated to bit roles as love interests. I'm not sure how to fix this (maybe tell Martha's story through the eyes of Annie, the maid whose family had inherited the painting?). Theo's justified resentment of racism paired with his utter lack of self awareness about how his parents' wealth sheltered him from some of the worst parts can be grating, and attempts to address this flaw fell flat for me.

His death in the third act also feels like it's more about shocking than a satisfying conclusion for his and Jess's arcs, but it is a good illustration of how far society has to go that the modern characters' arc has a more depressing end than the arc that heavily features slavery.

It is also has a rough first chapter that is a case study on why relatability in characters is not as important as resonance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Racism, slavery, and mistreatment of horses are very important to the themes of this book, but did not feel gratuitous to me.

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

To be reviewed after BookTube Prize rounds

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Racial slurs

atamano's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

katiescott's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty