Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Horse

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Horse by Geraldine Brooks

29 reviews

chelsl's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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astoriareader's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

SYNOPSIS:

Lexington, a remarkable horse, is the thread binding all the characters and timelines together.
Jarrett, a talented groom/trainer that was enslaved, is in charge of Lexington’s care during the time before the Civil War & during it. With his story, there’s several others intertwined, such as an equestrian artist that paints Lexington on different occasions.
Martha Jackson is an art dealer in NYC in the 1950s.
In 2019, Jess, an Australian white woman who runs the Smithsonian Institution's Osteology Prep Lab, and Theo, a Black man getting his PhD from Georgetown & working on a thesis about the portrayal of Black folks in American equestrian art.
The stories are intertwined by Lexington, the equestrian paintings, and racism/the legacy of slavery.

MY THOUGHTS

I am going to preface my review by saying that I don’t like that a white author being the voice of an enslaved Black man & the voice of a Black man in contemporary society facing racial injustices. Since I’m also white, I am curious to get others takes on this point.
Despite my caveat above, decided to still round up to give 5 stars because the writing is top-notch.
Historical fiction / literary fiction
Generational saga
Multiple POVs + multiple timelines
Brooks meticulously researched the book, and she expertly plotted the novel to weave together a beautiful, emotional story.
My favorite sections were Jarrett’s story. The connection between Jarrett and Lexington is palpable and endearing. The bond between Jarrett & the horse is the cornerstone of the book. I found myself rooting for them, and I kept wanting to get through the book to find out their fates.
Since the book spans over many years, we also get to see Jarrett’s character development. Over time, Jarrett becomes more aware of the world around him, and he offers astute observations.
I also really enjoyed the incorporation of the horse’s preserved bones. I was fascinated to learn about scientific aspect & work done by the Smithsonian.
On paper, I should have hated this book. I have never been a fan of horse racing, and I don’t gravitate toward Civil Era stories. To my surprise, I loved it.
I wasn’t familiar with the world of antebellum racing. The story educated me on another way white folks made money off of Black folks’ unpaid (or underpaid) labor and skills.
I love learning new words, and I looked up so many words while reading this one.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Historical fiction + generational saga. Many stories intertwined by a common thread: Lexington, a remarkable horse.

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flowerrunner's review against another edition

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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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fifteenthjessica's review against another edition

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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.

Spoiler

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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matttlitke's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Overall, Horse tells a compelling story with the right mix of historical accuracy and modern embellishment. I appreciated the interwoven characters and timelines, all brought together by their shared connection to history’s greatest racehorse. Horses are the centrepiece of both the plot and the emotional setting - there are some really lovely descriptions, and the bond between the humans and animals feels strong and natural. It’s clear that Geraldine Brooks knows and loves horses. I also enjoyed the stylistic narrative switch with Thomas J Scott’s chapters, which help with the pacing and provide a different perspective.
The main themes that Horse explores are historic slavery and modern ingrained racism. The book illustrates how difficult and frustrating it must be for people of colour in America, both in the past and the present. An element that I appreciated was the reduction of ‘white saviour-ism”; that the rich and powerful men who opposed slavery weren’t painted as heroic or noble, but reflected as self-serving and manipulative. Often, media set in this time will heroize these characters who, although progressive for their time, are still guilty of upholding and benefitting from a cruel and inhumane system. Although I’m not familiar with her personality or other works, I’d hope that the same sentiment applies to the author, who has penned multiple books in settings featuring real-life oppression and injustice. I think she tried to find a balance between glamorizing the history of horse racing that she clearly loves and admires while considering the humans affected and the related structures which exist to this day.

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