Horse

A Novel

By: Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by: James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, Katherine Littrell, Michael Obiora

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

“Brooks’ chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Horse isn’t just an animal story—it’s a moving narrative about race and art.” —TIME

“A thrilling story about humanity in all its ugliness and beauty . . . the evocative voices create a story so powerful, reading it feels like watching a neck-and-neck horse race, galloping to its conclusion—you just can’t look away.” —Oprah Daily

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award · Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize · A Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse—one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.

Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

©2022 Geraldine Brooks (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Brooks’ chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling . . . [Horse] is really a book about the power and pain of words . . . Lexington is ennobled by art and science, and roars back from obscurity to achieve the high status of metaphor.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[A] sweeping tale . . . fluid, masterful storytelling . . . [Brooks] writes about our present in such a way that the tangled roots of history, just beneath the story, are both subtle and undeniable . . . Horse is a reminder of the simple, primal power an author can summon by creating characters readers care about and telling a story about them—the same power that so terrifies the people so desperately trying to get Toni Morrison banned from their children’s reading lists.”—Maggie Shipstead, The Washington Post

“In her thrilling new novel Horse, Geraldine Brooks moves back and forth between the 19th century and the near present with the same practiced ease she displayed in her 2008 epic People of the Book . . . Brooks [has an] almost clairvoyant ability to conjure up the textures of the past and of each character’s inner life . . . Her felicitous, economical style and flawless pacing carries us briskly yet unhurriedly along. And the novel’s alternating narratives, by suspending time, also intensify suspense.”—Wall Street Journal

Great story but be forewarned about some political slants

This was recommended as the top pick for the season by someone I know and respect. I enjoyed the story. All the main characters in their time periods were interesting, and their stories were good. Talking about race and slavery made sense in the Civil War era story and in the later subplots related to that, but…SPOILER alert (a little) here: it was too orchestrated to insert a BLM-type incident-inspired event into one of the modern-day storylines. So obvious. Not necessary to the story. Also the gratuitous reference to Covid 19 near the end was stale and added nothing. And there were some gratuitous slams of and lectures about American conservatives and Americans in general as racists. The story should make its own point about slavery. We don’t need additional lectures about it or throwaway comments about Americans she characterizes as conspiracy theorists and election deniers. Omg. Hated to have to pause to roll my eyes a few times because the story is otherwise good and engaging. I listened to it in Audible. Excellent performances

Story and writing were great, but….

The ending suddenly turned to formulaic social virtue signaling. The author’s message about race were clear and well told. She didn’t have to hit us over the head with it again. The readers aren’t dummies. And then what the heck with the animal bones having sex and somehow that’s art with a message. Really?!
She’s a great writer. I hope her other books aren’t so heavy handed.

Wonderful!

This book is wonderful! The writing is incredible. Loved how it tries history to today. Great book!

Wonderful book!

As a fan of all things Thoroughbred, this book is simply grand. It is at once beautiful and heartbreaking, a tribute to the magnificient horse Lexington and those cared for him. I love how the author wove his story and the events of his day into the events of today, but it is sad how those events show how little things have really changed in America. Jarret is lovely, and Theo breaks my heart.

a fabulous novel

based and researched on so much history , the author has brought to life the memories, birth good and bad of an historic horse and slavery of the last century. thanks for the enjoyment.

When I wasn’t listening I was thinking about it

I don’t usually read historical fiction but I kept hearing recommendations for this book so I gave in. Immediately captivated by the various voices. Further captivated by the flashbacks. Totally blown away by the story. It is a masterpiece full of love and heartbreak and irony. Best book I’ve listened to OR read in years. And I usually have 2 different books going at once. One Audible and one hard copy. Listen today. I’ll listen to it again.

Wonderful!

Not only a fascinating story of an extraordinary thoroughbred, but the tracing of racing history prior to & following the civil war kept me engaged! Add to that a bit of art history and you’ve got a great listen!

A great read that includes a remarkable history

This book is a remarkable blend of the American history of horse racing which was an obsession of wealthy white men in the antebellum era, and the history of black slaves who were the trainers and jockeys who successfully brought great wealth and acclaim to their slave owners. Geraldine Brooks wove today’s ongoing struggle of racism against blacks into a very powerful ending that a reader can not ignore. She describes a history that is not taught in schools, but is critical for Americans to understand.

... for equine lovers

great story line, moved along, interesting read, informative, historic, perfect for those who love horses, particularly Thoroughbreds

Great Read/listen

Interesting that l was raised on a farm with horses )Tennessee walkers) & now live in New Orleans!