Author: Geraldine Brooks
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa, Putnam Six Bookstore
If the Kentucky Derby – the “Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” – is not long enough for you this May, perhaps a 400-page novel about the greatest race horse of the 19th century could last you a bit longer. Horse, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, is a work of historical fiction that originally came out in 2022 but has just had its paperback release in early 2024. It is, without a doubt, one of my very favorite books.
Horse revolves around the spectacular thoroughbred Lexington, who raced in Kentucky and around the South in the early 1850s, and Jarret, a young enslaved boy, who is Lexington’s caretaker and trainer. The two come to form an inseparable relationship based on trust and understanding and compassion, and what they achieve together is unrivaled at the time. The other two main characters in the book are Jess and Theo, who live in Washington, DC, in 2019. Jess is a scientist at the Smithsonian who discovers the actual skeleton of Lexington, while Theo is an art history student who happens upon a tossed-out painting of Lexington. Together, the two unravel the long-forgotten story of the famed race horse and his gifted groom.
It may take a few chapters to get your bearings with the different characters and time frames, but overall, Horse is such a strong, thought-provoking combination of topics. It has history and race, art and love, science and sport. The writing throughout is smooth, the characters are inspiring, and once the dots start getting connected, once you see how the different strands are woven together, it’s just a masterpiece. Dust off your Derby hat, mix your mint julep, and enjoy a spectacular ride of a book that will stay with you much longer than two minutes.
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