hpuphd's review against another edition
4.0
Three short novels, all good, but Noon Wine, like an ancient tragedy set at a Texas dairy farm, stands out most.
laura_reads_stuff's review against another edition
4.0
"Don't you love being alive?" asked Miranda. "Don't you love weather and the colors at different times of the day, and all the sounds and noises like children screaming in the next lot, and the automobile horns and little bands playing in the street and the sound of food cooking?"
It's always good when I enjoy reading something I'm studying. What a great short story. I refer only to the title piece "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" in this review, although I'm keen to try some of Katherine Anne Porter's other short stories having enjoyed this one.
Dreams, illness, a backdrop of war and the pain of love with the fear of time running out... A solid and enjoyable 4 stars.
It's always good when I enjoy reading something I'm studying. What a great short story. I refer only to the title piece "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" in this review, although I'm keen to try some of Katherine Anne Porter's other short stories having enjoyed this one.
Dreams, illness, a backdrop of war and the pain of love with the fear of time running out... A solid and enjoyable 4 stars.
hollyevaallen's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely gorgeous. Porter blends memory, thought, action, and dreams impeccably. The writing style is fabulous.
bobbo49's review against another edition
4.0
Three novellas, set at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th Century, through WWI. Porter's characters have depth and breadth, and her stories - about family, about life and especially about death, are believable and passionate. The writing style is of its time (the 1920s), but the tales are good enough to carry that weight.
hayleyab's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
macy_richards's review against another edition
4.0
Pale Horse, Pale Rider is a collection of three short novels; Old Mortality, Noon Wine, and Pale Horse, Pale Rider. I recommend reading them in order - a character from the first story shows up in the last.
In my own interpretation of these works, they seem to be connected together with a shared theme of characters seeking freedom and the consequences of this desire. In the first story a young girl is burdened with constant comparisons to an older cousin who is no longer alive and the way her family clings to false memories of the past. Later, as a young women she seeks to escape societal expectations. In the second story a man seeks freedom from the consequences of his past and another man tries to escape the judgement of his neighbours after a tragedy. Lastly, in the third story a newspaper columnist desperately waits for the war to end as someone she loves is drafted and will soon have to leave her. Later, she in confined to a hospital as she suffers from influenza.
Not all of these characters reach what I would describe as freedom, but they do try. Some of the characters are held back by physical limitations on their freedom (prison, the draft, illness), while other face intangible limitations (social judgement, emotional torment). Porter has written three compelling works of literary fiction and I have no idea if this review makes sense but I would definitely recommend this book.
Also, completely unrelated but I read Pale Horse, Pale Rider while stuck in bed with Covid for the first time and although Covid-19 was painful for me (jealous of everyone who said it just felt like a cold) this book reminded me that my life could be so much worse.
In my own interpretation of these works, they seem to be connected together with a shared theme of characters seeking freedom and the consequences of this desire. In the first story a young girl is burdened with constant comparisons to an older cousin who is no longer alive and the way her family clings to false memories of the past. Later, as a young women she seeks to escape societal expectations. In the second story a man seeks freedom from the consequences of his past and another man tries to escape the judgement of his neighbours after a tragedy. Lastly, in the third story a newspaper columnist desperately waits for the war to end as someone she loves is drafted and will soon have to leave her. Later, she in confined to a hospital as she suffers from influenza.
Not all of these characters reach what I would describe as freedom, but they do try. Some of the characters are held back by physical limitations on their freedom (prison, the draft, illness), while other face intangible limitations (social judgement, emotional torment). Porter has written three compelling works of literary fiction and I have no idea if this review makes sense but I would definitely recommend this book.
Also, completely unrelated but I read Pale Horse, Pale Rider while stuck in bed with Covid for the first time and although Covid-19 was painful for me (jealous of everyone who said it just felt like a cold) this book reminded me that my life could be so much worse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racism and War
bananafreckles's review against another edition
4.0
"Old Mortality" and "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" were absolutely brilliant. I'll be reading those over and over again. "Noon Wine" was much more difficult for me to get through because of the subject matter and offensive language. I get the reasoning behind it, and I appreciate how it makes the characters so complex and the story compelling; it hits just a little too close to home, though, and I struggled.
Overall, though, this book is fantastic.
Overall, though, this book is fantastic.
shelflife's review against another edition
2.0
I realize this is a beloved author and equally beloved book, but for me, it was pretty dull and uninteresting.
I read it for the 1918 pandemic portion of it, since it is a time in our history where we have very little writings about. The author herself I understand d, is a survivor of influenza and depicts the illness in its truest form.
Pale horse, pale rider was the last of three novellas, for which none were engaging for me.
I read it for the 1918 pandemic portion of it, since it is a time in our history where we have very little writings about. The author herself I understand d, is a survivor of influenza and depicts the illness in its truest form.
Pale horse, pale rider was the last of three novellas, for which none were engaging for me.
delaneyaby's review against another edition
3.0
We were assigned the titular story in a Modern American Literature course, and I loved it. I loved it enough to choose to read the rest of this book outside of class. Unfortunately, the two other short novels within this collection don’t live up to its fantastic finale. I highly recommend reading “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” the story, but might suggest skipping the ones that come before it. It’s really a shame that it’s used as the finale, as I would have never gotten to it if not for having read it first due to how lackluster the previous stories are. I wonder if other readers have never gotten to read its great title story because of this. I give this collection 3 stars based on the strength of its final story, “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” alone.