Horse

 

Horse

Geraldine Brooks

Publication date: June 14, 2022 by Viking

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 👢👢👢👢👢

Summary: 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. 

My thoughts: This was a gorgeously written book. The story will appeal to horse enthusiasts, museum/art lovers, researchers, activists, and lovers of literature. Brooks made a bold move in combining and comparing the lives and treatment of racehorses to slavery. The subtlety by which it was done was truly spectacular as it allowed the reader come to their own conclusions. 

Several main characters made various contributions to the telling. Jarret was the slave who trained and cared for the racehorse Lexington from the day of the horse's birth. Jarret's life represented so much of the good and the bad of 1850s society. The painter, Thomas Scott, committed to canvas images that immortalized Lexington and his trainer. Ten Broeck whose desire for success redefined horseracing. Martha Jackson who understood the value of a long forgotten horse painting. Jess and Theo combined underscored the continued undercurrent of racism in American society. Jess and Theo also gave the modern timeline a tie in to the 1850s timeline. The mystery behind Lexington and his skeleton were fascinating to read about. Brooks added painstaking details about the skeleton and the science used to learn more about it. 

This book will surely be another prize winner for Brooks.