Horse by Geraldine Brooks – Audio  

ARC from Viking and PRH Audio for an honest review

Book Blurb:

Horse by Geraldine Brooks: 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.

My Review: 4.5 stars

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Horse by Geraldine Brooks was a tale of epic proportion that spanned 170 years. The immense research for this book was evident and the truths inside these pages are nothing short of staggering. Brooks is a gifted author, giving us People of the Book and Year of Wonders. I can openly admit that the subject matter wasn’t what brought me to this book, instead, it’s the authors past work that urged me to read a book simply called Horse. I’ve never been a rider or was a girl who dreamed of owning a pony, but the excellent storytelling in this book had me hooked from start to finish.

Told in distinct voices from the characters who worked with, studied or drew him, we learn the fate of this famous racehorse and the affect he had on those around him, emotionally, physically and for years thereafter. We see racism through the years and learn about horse racing as a sport. There is romance and love short-lived. The capturing of history through an artist’s hand is shown through a new lens. There’s so much packed into this gem of a book. Thank you, Geraldine Brooks, for sharing this incredible story with the world at large. 

Quotes I liked:

Words could be snares. Less of them you laid out there, less likely they could trap you up.”

“A white woman, white womaning.”