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A review by ncrabb
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara
4.0
Durability. That’s certainly one way to look at this American young-adult classic. It has been around since 1941, and it’s been on my hard drive almost that long. Ok, May of 2011, but close.
Ken McLaughlin is 10 the summer his world changed. He’s a daydreamer who can transport himself into pictures in his mind or ride raindrops to the ground. His dreaming creates a lot of trouble for him. He fails to complete an English composition at the end of the school year, and he’ll be forced to repeat fourth grade as a result. Ken and his dad, Rob, are frequently at odds. Indeed, one of the things that will initially hit you hard is the strained and damaged relationship Ken has with his austere father.
All Ken wants is a colt of his own to train and tame. Rob initially says no, but his wife prevails, and Rob reluctantly lets Ken pick out a colt.
The horse he picks comes from bad untamable stock. Rob is sure the horse is intractable, and he worries that, by spending so much time with the horse, Ken will both neglect his other chores and unnecessarily expose himself to a nearby mountain lion that is devouring cattle and horses on the McLaughlin ranch and those of their neighbors.
But things are far from idyllic for Ken and his new horse. It nearly destroys itself attempting to escape being caught by Ken and his dad, and the infection that sets in as a result of its exposure to the barb wire looks like it will kill the horse.
I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read this book nor seen the movie. Better late than never, as the old cliché has it. But I’m so glad I read this. O’Hara brings Wyoming to life so vividly here I felt that I was there back in early-20th-century rural Wyoming. This was a memorable way to explore the nature of the relationship between practical no-nonsense dads and their more creative more academic-oriented sons. I read this quickly today and relished the experience.
Ken McLaughlin is 10 the summer his world changed. He’s a daydreamer who can transport himself into pictures in his mind or ride raindrops to the ground. His dreaming creates a lot of trouble for him. He fails to complete an English composition at the end of the school year, and he’ll be forced to repeat fourth grade as a result. Ken and his dad, Rob, are frequently at odds. Indeed, one of the things that will initially hit you hard is the strained and damaged relationship Ken has with his austere father.
All Ken wants is a colt of his own to train and tame. Rob initially says no, but his wife prevails, and Rob reluctantly lets Ken pick out a colt.
The horse he picks comes from bad untamable stock. Rob is sure the horse is intractable, and he worries that, by spending so much time with the horse, Ken will both neglect his other chores and unnecessarily expose himself to a nearby mountain lion that is devouring cattle and horses on the McLaughlin ranch and those of their neighbors.
But things are far from idyllic for Ken and his new horse. It nearly destroys itself attempting to escape being caught by Ken and his dad, and the infection that sets in as a result of its exposure to the barb wire looks like it will kill the horse.
I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read this book nor seen the movie. Better late than never, as the old cliché has it. But I’m so glad I read this. O’Hara brings Wyoming to life so vividly here I felt that I was there back in early-20th-century rural Wyoming. This was a memorable way to explore the nature of the relationship between practical no-nonsense dads and their more creative more academic-oriented sons. I read this quickly today and relished the experience.