Horse

A Novel

By: Geraldine Brooks

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

“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

Love Geraldine Brooks

I waited a few days after finishing this to write a review because I wanted to see how I felt with a little distance. This story is formatted similarly to People of The Book (maybe my favorite Brooks novel. but Year of Wonders is right up there), but in place of the book, is a horse.
This isn't a joyous listen. Slavery and modern racism, make it painful.
Some of the Horse stuff left me bored. I remember reading Seabiscuit, by Hillenbrand years ago and being pulled into the story in spite of my lack of interest in horse racing. This didn't do that as well.
The history of the painting was interesting, however.
Definitely worth the credit and your time.

My Sympathies to Ms Brooks on the loss of her husband.

The man behind the great race horse Lexington

The story dates back to racing society in the 1850s onward through the civil war. Lexington and his trainer Jaret share a bond that propels the horse to become a champion on the race track and through his progeny. A parallel story of a young art doctoral student in 2019 who discovers paintings of Jaret and Lexington weaves a thread of racial injustice through both stories. I loved the story of Jaret and Lexington because Jaret's character was so well developed. The character of Theo the grad student was harder to understand because he was angry about racial inequality, aloof socially and somehow oblivious to racial issues in America. Lots of conflicting emotions. I liked the book but Theos story left me with too many questions. It was too predictable.

Love the history of the 1800s

The horse and painting plots were enjoyable. The modern story rushed at the end seemed unnecessary and took away from the message of the history so rich with detail.
Otherwise a strong recommendation.

Should win all the prizes

This is a beautifully written story of a horse, horse racing and the courage required of so many to simply survive. These imagined lives will not be forgotten.

Loved it!

I’m not into the horse racing discipline myself (I do the cow horse) but I love horses. This is a lovely book about relationships between humans and their horses, or horses and their humans. The depth and complexity of the characters, the clear look at slavery and the heart break
of the Civil War make this a very good listen. Excellent narration.

Excellent story hampered by awkward and annoying reader accents

A wonderful Historical novel weaving facts and fiction in a compelling way—until we get to Theo who is a completely cardboard character contrived to make a statement not enlighten the reader. Brooks did the hard things well but the producer didn’t live up to the prose

Excellent

I can’t remember the last time I listened to a novel almost non stop. Two of my loves: horses & history

Very satisfying listen

Geraldine Brooks is one of my favorite authors, and "Horse" is a wonderful listen. The braided structure works well, though the Martha Jackson thread is less well-developed and memorable. Learning about Lexington, and the imagined story of Jarret, was my favorite part of the book, and I gasped at some of the plot developments. The modern-day narrative was good, but in some ways a little too on-the-nose for my taste. Taken altogether, it's great fiction, and also a scorching critique of race relations in modern America.

Fabulous, superb!

A friend recommended the book and now I’m reading all of her books. Thumbs up for Horse!

Highly recommend

Entire book wonderful on so many levels loved it
Great on aubible and it’s true