Every year I evaluate the books I read and come up with my top two or three books for the year. I have to confess I was getting a bit worried about what I would put on that list this year because there were so few that really stood out from the rest. But just in time, my hold on Horse by Geraldine Brooks came through from the library, and I knew by just reading the first chapter that I had hit the jackpot! Well researched, moving, with wonderful characters, one of whom is the greatest race horse who ever lived, Brooks give us wonderful insights into the world of racing as well as the worlds of art history and forensic biology.  She also touches on important issues like racism, misogony, slavery, and the treatment of animals, by laying bare our current world and opening our eyes to the destructive power these wrongs have had on individuals and society throughout our history.

Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian finds a painting of a horse in a pile of junk outside his neighbor’s house. What attracted him to the painting, was not only the fine detail of the horse, but the fact that a Black man was holding the reins of the horse and you could sense the bond between them.

Jess, an Australian who works at the Smithsonian, specializes in bones. Mostly she specializes in bones of animals, from dinosaurs to small little birds. Her specialty is putting them together and so that you can see how they walked, how they moved, and how they might have lived. When she is unexpectedly asked to find the skeleton of an object in the Smithsonian catalogue identified only as “Horse” she becomes intrigued. When the skeleton is finally found in the attic of the Smithsonian, Jess can see that although it is strung together and displayed three dimensionally it is has been done incorrectly, and the power of this horse, his stride and form are all diminished.

In 1954, Martha Jackson, a trendy contemporary art gallery owner who made Pollock famous, is offered a 19th century painting of a race horse. Although the artist is unknown, Martha  becomes obsessed with the painting, which reminds her of the horse she once rode before her mother died in a tragic horse riding accident.

In Kentucky in 1850, a small bay foal is born and Jarrett, an enslaved groomsman, is tasked with taking care of him. They form an incredible bond and the horse goes on to be one of the fastest thoroughbreds, breaking race track records throughout the South. An itinerant artist captures the bond between the horse and Jarrett, several times over the course of the horses’ career, even as the horse and Jarrett are sold to different owners and the Civil War tears the county apart.

Brooks is masterful in telling this story based on a real horse called Lexington, one of the fastest race horses who ever lived. She tells it by using different character’s voices and weaving them back and forth as the truth of Lexington and Jarrett’s lives are revealed. Probing and insightful, Brooks lifts up the tragedy of slavery and explores how its malign influence still has power over our lives even now. This was a powerful and important book one that not only tops my “Best of the Year” list, but also needs to be added on to my “Best Ever” book list!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Lauren Keith, Ken and Sharon.

Book Study Worthy? Yes!

Read in e-library format.