Scan barcode
A review by sherwoodreads
Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal by Sarah Maslin Nir
This book is part memoir, part information, with some travel reminiscence, science, and history added in.
At first I found it difficult to get into, as more of the book appeared to be about the author and her family than about horses. She came off as a very privileged rich girl despite her self-deprecation, which I found off-putting, but I got drawn into the story via her anecdotes illustrating the complexity of her Holocaust-survivor father. I began to think that this was two books fighting for the same space, and where were the horses?
They came, slowly at first. Another bump in the road for me was the chapter on competition over horse models. I have little interest in any type of competition, especially over plastic models, but Nir drew me in by recounting anecdotes of those passionate about it. Model horses were for those who can’t have horses—that much I understood, as I grew up in a community where the closest the “horse girls” in my classes could get was watching MY FRIEND FLICKA on TV—and collecting, and endlessly talking about, their plastic horse models. Through this chapter I got more insight into this passion, without ever feeling that Nir was condescending or finger-pointing.
And then came the horses themselves, and I was hooked. Each horse came with a story, sometimes with scientific info, sometimes historical, with quotes from experts. These chapters were often interwoven with bits about Nir’s father—the payoff being the result of a riding competition.
Then on to all kinds of horses, from the Chincoteague swim, to dressage horses to stables in the heart of New York City, horses in opera and at parties, racing. Then there are the heavy horses, such as Samson, who she rode as a teen park ranger. Ranch horses, and posh riding schools. Horses all over the world, and what they mean in different cultures. How horses communicate, and a glimpse at their thinking.
Finally it all tied back to Nir’s father, forming altogether a lovely, insightful, informative and richly storied read.
Copy provided by NetGalley
At first I found it difficult to get into, as more of the book appeared to be about the author and her family than about horses. She came off as a very privileged rich girl despite her self-deprecation, which I found off-putting, but I got drawn into the story via her anecdotes illustrating the complexity of her Holocaust-survivor father. I began to think that this was two books fighting for the same space, and where were the horses?
They came, slowly at first. Another bump in the road for me was the chapter on competition over horse models. I have little interest in any type of competition, especially over plastic models, but Nir drew me in by recounting anecdotes of those passionate about it. Model horses were for those who can’t have horses—that much I understood, as I grew up in a community where the closest the “horse girls” in my classes could get was watching MY FRIEND FLICKA on TV—and collecting, and endlessly talking about, their plastic horse models. Through this chapter I got more insight into this passion, without ever feeling that Nir was condescending or finger-pointing.
And then came the horses themselves, and I was hooked. Each horse came with a story, sometimes with scientific info, sometimes historical, with quotes from experts. These chapters were often interwoven with bits about Nir’s father—the payoff being the result of a riding competition.
Then on to all kinds of horses, from the Chincoteague swim, to dressage horses to stables in the heart of New York City, horses in opera and at parties, racing. Then there are the heavy horses, such as Samson, who she rode as a teen park ranger. Ranch horses, and posh riding schools. Horses all over the world, and what they mean in different cultures. How horses communicate, and a glimpse at their thinking.
Finally it all tied back to Nir’s father, forming altogether a lovely, insightful, informative and richly storied read.
Copy provided by NetGalley