Horse

I'm a big Geraldine Brooks fan. In the past (pre-dating this blog), I've enjoyed her novels: Year of Wonders, March, People of the Book, and Caleb's Crossing as well as her memoir, Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pals Journey from Down Under to All Over. When her latest, Horse, was released, I was in no rush to read it. Even after I kept seeing recommendation after recommendation. I mean... I don't love horses. Even after I heard it was about so much more than just horses, I wasn't getting my name on library waitlists. Until I finally took the plunge. After waiting about 16 weeks, the book became available.

I had a hard time getting into Horse. There were three timelines told from multiple perspectives. Some chapters were short, some were very long. But the novel did capture my attention early on. I wanted to learn what happened to Jarret, Darley (later Lexington), Jess and Theo. So kept on reading.

The book is too complex for me to give you a synopsis. Check out goodreads or the publisher's website for that. There were so many themes. Art. Thoroughbred breeding and racing. Slavery. Racism. Self-discovery.

Brooks excels at developing all the characters, not just the main characters, so you really do care about each one, even if you don't like them and it's only to care about what happens to them.

After reading two books dealing with serious racism, I think I need a break. Maybe it's time to read a rom-com?