Horse: A Novel

Written by Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead and 2 more

“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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9780593552933

Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks was born and raised in Australia. After moving to the USA she worked for eleven years on The Wall Street Journal, where she covered crises in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. Her first novel, Year of Wonders, was an international bestseller and she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her second, March. She has written three further bestselling novels, Caleb’s Crossing, People of the Book and The Secret Chord.

Reviews for Horse

[Leslie Charles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A simple title, a complex story, spanning a history deserving to be told. I had no idea what this book was about; a friend recommended that I read it, so I did, and got much more than I expected. The story's unfolding is a surprise. Continuing to read is a reward. This book will stick in my mind for a long time, and probably yours, too. Give it a try.

[jtsolakos · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A painting on a sidewalk pulls together a fascinating story. Horse is a captivating story based on storylines where you learn about horse training, racing, and even what a skeleton can reveal about the living animal. It’s a read that is hard to put down as we follow the story of a great racing horse, from its origins to modern times, and the reclaiming of its greatness.

[mjspear_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An ambitious novel about "the greatest race horse of all time," Lexington. Foaled during the 1860s, the horse's groom is an enslaved youth, occasioning an imagined look at the boy's journey through the south, pre- and post-civil war. Examines the (somewhat corrupt, certainly unseemly) world of horse racing. Brooks also follows two painted portraits of the horse as well as its skeleton. I wanted to like the book but felt it was too pat and in its attempts to be all-encompassing, missed the mark. There was not enough about Lexington to win over true horse lovers, not enough about the paintings to appeal to art historians, not enough about the skeleton for anthropologists and the modern-day romance seemed stilted. I'll search out the nonfiction story behind this incredible horse and cherish all the more Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit.

[romonko · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I waited for this audiobook for many months. I had read great reviews on the book and decided to wait until I finally came up in the rotation. The book is set in three time frames—-1850’s, 1950’s, and 2019. Skipping among these time frames, we uncover the story of the great racehorse Lexington. I found it difficult keeping the time frames separate from each other. It was a bit confusing, and the three timelines each had their own plot. And the plots weren’t really similar. The only thing that connected them all was the horse. Needless to say, I found the book somewhat puzzling and disjointed. It wasn’t a terrible book, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea. It is well written but I didn’t really relate with any of the many characters.

[brenczkowski-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was a book club read and it supports why I love being in a book club. You read something you normally wouldn’t read. The start was a little slow but then I got hooked. I really enjoyed the part of the horse, Lexington, and its caretaker Jarrett. They truly had a very special relationship. It amazes me what he was able to do with the horse and the love between the two of them was something else. The book goes back and forth from the 1800’s to the present with Lexington a part of it all. It goes through the Civil War and even some racism that still exists today. After reading this, it made me want to do more research on the horse. That makes a great book when you want to know more about the subject. This is a great read.

[chucknorton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In her novel Horse, Geraldine Brooks brings her readers into the world of the antebellum Kentucky horse country. Her historical fiction is well informed and rich in detail. In the center of the story is the thoroughbred stallion Lexington, who was a real horse, and his trainer and groom Jarret, who is devoted to the horse. The horse and the young man are both the property of Dr. Warfield and we are introduced to the foal's caretaker by the jarring chapter title of "Warfield's Jarret". He later becomes "Ten Broeck's Jarret" and "Alexander's Jarret" before, finally, after reaching Canada and freedom, he is Jarret Lewis.

Lexington was the greatest racehorse of his age and his image was captured on canvas by the artist Thomas J. Scott. The skeleton of the horse found its way to the Smithsonian, as does one of Scott's portraits of the horse. This brings in the story of Jess and Theo in 2019, and Martha Jackson, an art collector and gallery owner in New York City in the 1950s. Brooks deftly weaves together their connections to the afterlives of Lexington and Jarret.

The novel confronts the original sin of American history, slavery and its enduring ugly legacy. Jarret is sometimes treated with kindness and even respect by white people, but he is never allowed to forget his body is not his own. The African American family was at the mercy of a cruel system which treated enslaved people as livestock.

In Theo's story, Brooks taps into the anguish and rage of Black Lives Matter. He is shot dead by a cop who sees him as a threat, when in fact he is trying to help an injured white woman in a Washington DC park. Jess, an Australian like Brooks herself, cannot continue to live in a country where such atrocities routinely occur. Horse is a beautiful, sad, tale, ending well for Jarret in Canada in the 19th century, ending with a senseless death for Theo in the capital of freedom in the early 21st century,, and with Jess returning to Australia, a very flawed place in its own troubled racial history, but still "home".

[dantarlin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book's title refers to "Lexington", the greatest thoroughbred racing horse of the pre-Civil War era. As I gather Brooks does in all her books (this is the first I have read) she tells the story on multiple time lines, in 2019 following Jess, an Australian-born scientist in Washington DC and Theo, a young art history student of mixed race international background. Jess and Theo uncover the story of Lexington, through surviving art works depicting him and his skeleton, which has been preserved and then forgotten at the Smithsonian. In the earlier time line, she centers on Jarrett, a slave in Kentucky who cares for and trains Lexington in the 1850s and '60s as he is growing up under the thumb of slavery. He crosses paths often with Thomas Scott, the artist responsible for multiple paintings of Lexington.

I love the time-line jumping, as Jess/Theo discover something in the current day, and then we're brought back to the timeline when it happened. There's also a minor subplot involving an art dealer in the 1950s finding one of the paintings.

The afterward informs the reader that much of this history is quite real, and I'm impressed by the author's research and knowledge of horse anatomy, art, and equestrian racing history.

The book is being written during the upheaval of the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests, and the end of the book adds this theme, obviously drawing parallels to slavery and America's repeated history of racism. I'm sympathetic to the theme, but felt that the plot finale was unsubtle and not organic to the story. The treatment of modern-day race relations is a bit cliche, though no doubt sincere.

An easy read, and I will probably read more of Brooks' work. But I found the ending unsatisfying so not getting a higher rating.

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A story of three main ideas, horse racing, slavery and art. Brooks did a great job making the story interesting and complicated. It was well researched with a basis of true history and well developed story.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ms Brooks weaves three different stories, taking the reader back in time and then forward to see how slavery, horse racing, and art all intersect. I especially loved the character development and was frustrated by the situations the black characters found themselves trapped in. Plus there is just such interesting stuff about science and art and the history of horse racing in the American South.

[bereanna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Three strands: art, slavery, and racing intersect smoothly when a current day man discovers a painting of a horse that’s about to be garbage. He meets the Smithsonian woman who happens to be in charge of the very same horses’ skeleton. And we meet the original slave trainer from back in the mid 1800’s who has grown up with the horse. The writing is effortless to read and the story exceptionally well told. Very satisfying. We also discussed this at our new couples book club.

[wilanasmidt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a delightful book, historical fiction at it's best !

[technodiabla · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i listened to this in audiobook format.

This novel tells two intertwined stories. One is in 1850-1860s Kentucky about a slave and a thoroughbred stallion, the other in 2019-2020 Washington DC about a Smithsonian zoologist and an art historian who both develop an interest in horses. I thought the writing was very good-- excellent character development and easy to follow despite the complexity of the storylines. The plot was a little overly foreshadowed, reducing the emotional impact of some scenes (which probably saved me some tears). It was clever the way Brooks draws the parallel between horse and slave and also between black experiences in the two timeframes. I think this book would have very broad appeal and I highly recommend it.

[krazy4katz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a beautifully written book. And I didn't know that it was largely historical until I finished it! Yes! The horse was real! I am not usually a fan of books that go back and forth in time but the way the author used time to explore similar themes at different times in the history of this country and telling different parts of the same story was really excellent. Highly recommended except one part made me really really sad.

[lylee-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this author. Often an historical fiction writer, so much of this was based in great little remembered history. And as is so often true our history informs today, even when it comes to the history of great race horses, artists who painted them, their legacy and folks of today whose lives became connected through historical ties.

[ibkennedy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terrific story well told

[evatkaplan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

written in 3 parts. First from the 1800's. a slave and his love and connection to his race horse. the second is modern times. A researcher sees the bones of this horse and meets a black man who has a picture of a well known race horse. They find that this is the same horse and meanwhile form a relationship. the black man is very conscience of "Race" differences between blacks and whites. the third part is how the picture came to a famous art collector.

[podocyte_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Historical fiction about the Civil War era's greatest racehorse, Lexington. Contains many facts related to horse racing at that time and the racism experienced by the Blacks at that time and today. Amazingly well researched.

[Marta Em · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Why is this unavailable to me? Will it ever become available? It's been "Currently unavailable" for forever

[cindysprocket · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My best book in a long time.

[dorritt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As others have said, Horse is actually several stories blended to create a single narrative.

One major strand tells the true story of Lexington, one of the greatest American racehorses of all time, and the fictionalized story of an enslaved lad (Jarrett) who raises and trains him in the years leading up to and just after the American Civil War. Along the way, Jarrett encounters Thomas Scott, an itinerant but gifted painter who creates several portraits of Lexington before going on to become a medic for the Union in the Civil War.

A second strand, set in early 2020s, tells the tale of Jess, a paleoanatomist, and Theo, and art historian, who become involved in unearthing Lexington’s legacy via (respectively) a skeleton discovered in the attic of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and a neglected portrait of Jarrett and Lexington discovered in a pile of trash.

The obvious link between the subplots is Lexington. The less obvious but equally significant link between the subplots is racial injustice. The portions set in the 1850s/60s recount the important role that enslaved blacks played in supporting the racing industry even as they were themselves treated no better than the animals they husbanded – bred, broken, beaten, exploited, and sold for profit. The plot set in modern times (specifically, the Trump years) explores the extent to which racial injustice continues unabated, manifesting in more subtle but equally deadly ways.

This is my third (fourth?) novel by Brooks, and some patterns are emerging. Her plots and characters are engaging, her prose expressive, and I admire the extent to which her tales incorporate historically accurate characters and events. (Definitely don’t skip the afterwards!) But Brooks also has a tendency to insert modern ideas into her historical texts in ways that can feel anachronistic and forced. In this outing, for instance, there’s a scene where Scott observes of the Confederate prisoners “They were, all of them, lost to a narrative untethered to anything he recognized as true,” which hits as a little too “ripped from the headlines”, and there’s a gay relationship that feels unnecessary and gratuitous. (She’s also interjected Australia into the narrative, for no apparent reason other than that she was born and raised there herself.)

To be clear, however, these lapses weren’t enough to detract from everything here that’s good. Brook’s depiction of the relationship of trust and respect that grows up between Jarrett and Lexington is particularly lovely and could carry the book on its own, even without the thrilling racetrack scenes, the cool “behind the scenes” glimpses of the Smithsonian, and a minor but engaging subplot about the 1950s modern art scene. All in all, a book I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a friend.

[decaturmamaof2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed much of this book. Of the three threads, the Jarrett thread was the most interesting to me, followed by the Martha thread. The contemporary story seemed a bit forced.

Appreciated the insight into the history of American thoroughbred racing and how it intertwined with enslavement of Black people.

[ladycato · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I borrowed this from my local library.

I expected a fictional tale about the esteemed 19th century racehorse, Lexington; I got that, as well as a heartbreaking interlaced depiction of what it means to be Black in America over a 150 year span. Brooks conducted incredible research, and it shows through the myriad small details that make her settings and characters come alive. Since I read a nonfiction book about Lexington earlier this year, I thought I knew what to expect at the end, but no, no. I was not ready to be shattered like that. This is a literary masterpiece.

[secondhandrose_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Close to perfect. Expertly researched and executed. Some truly sad moments. Probably my best book this year.

[booklove2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Race and racehorses.  Historical fiction told in a way I love it best:  flipping between a handful of characters in varying timelines and perspectives.  The most interesting and most historical perspective being Jarret, young Black horse trainer in the American South of the 1850s.  Probably not a coincidence he is the strongest of the book, as Jarret is the closest to the horses -- most importantly the famous horse Lexington.  But then there are more contemporary chapters focusing on art and science.  Sadly, a lot of the book seems directed at a reader who might not otherwise read many books about racism.   It seemed slightly explainy on things that should be relatively common knowledge to most people by the time this book was published in 2022.   Or maybe I have recently read a string of books relating to race?  I know I haven't read most of them, or even the best.  But the ending here is glaring.  The book is very much about art as well, but the paintings of Lexington became a bit of a confusing shell game.  Some interesting bits on how race is related to horse racing, but not delving into those enough and reverting to basic explaining.  I really don't like only complaining when I write these things, so this was an engaging intro to the writing of Brooks for me.  Just that maybe I would have liked some of these topics better from another writer?  Like the question who should own or benefit from the paintings?  Who should tell this story?  But it's better this book exists no matter who the writer may be?  I don't want the problems I have with the book to cloud everything, but it's glaring to this reader. Could be much worse, I guess.

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You don’t have to love, or even have any interest in horses, to appreciate and enjoy this historical fiction, of which Geraldine Brooks is a most skilled practitioner. Here, she has three concurrently running stories - the most admirable racing and stud horse Lexington and his devotee Jarett, enslaved in Kentucky; modern day researchers and lovers Jess and Theo, working to piece together the art and science of Lexington and the artists who painted Jarett with his horse; and art gallery owner Martha Jackson, daughter of a renowned equestrian mother. As the decades fly and then retreat, from the Civil War to the 1950s to our current day, the reader becomes emotionally invested in the fates of all the characters, and a devastating tragedy near the end is just one in a series of injustices perpetrated against men, women, and the most dignified and lovable Lexington. Although book banners may disagree, this novel, for its carefully researched history and heart, belongs on the same shelf as Laura Hillenbrant's beloved Seabiscuit, as a perfect novel for teens and adults.

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story moves between the life of Lexington the horse and Jarrett his enslaved groom and trainer and the present day where Lexington’s skeleton and a discarded painting of the horse and groom are found. Race in the 1850’s and in the present day plays a large role in the story.

[brendart20 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book for what I learned about the history of black men looking after horses and the history of a famous horse and his trainer who had taken care of him from a foal. It was sad to read, once again, about how the black people had been abused during this era in the south and the prejudice, but good to read about a job that gave them a little better life and joy. The art history was interesting too. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because the death of a black man in modern day life didn't fit in the book and was jarring.

[bcrowl399 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ms. Brooks has hit it out of the park again. So far I've loved all of her books.

[mchwest · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was recommended to me by a librarian friend, I ordered it, then passed it to a couple friends who had been waiting to read it. Overall it has gotten rave reviews and I hoped it would be my next "Crawdads" and it didn't disappoint! Wonderfully researched historical fiction. The back and forth movement of timelines didn't have any effect of the pace of the story. Great read and make sure to read it even if you lack the equestrian interest!

[john.cooper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Geraldine Brooks's "Horse" has such great strengths that I can understand those who are not bothered by its great faults. Those strengths include a terrific story — enough in itself for most people, I'm sure — and an incredible wealth of detail on subjects as seemingly disparate as the culture of horse racing in the American South, the lifestyles of itinerant representational painters, the challenges of skeletal articulation, and the contributions of African-Americans (mostly enslaved) to horse breeding and competition. The author's diligence and seriousness of purpose are everywhere obvious. So why did she lose me to the point where I had to force myself to finish the book?

The most serious problem is that Brooks's dialogue is so stiff and unconvincing that listening to it in my head, in this cinematically written novel, broke me right out my absorption in the book. When exposition is necessary, people talk like brochures; even in ordinary conversation, there are none of the ambiguities and hesitations of normal speech. Everything is said outright; nothing is left between the lines. As a result, some of the most important characters in the book never come to life. Jess and Theo, young working professionals in modern Washington D.C., are little more than sketches. Brooks attempts to give them depth by giving them unusual back stories and occupations, but they just don't move and talk like real people. As a result, I never found myself as curious about them as I would be about people in real life.

This willingness of the author to let her characters lecture the reader also affects her attempt to educate her (white) readers about race. Periodically her black characters try to tell her white characters about their lived experience, but their words always sound like an earnest white person's idea of what a black person might say: they're puppets through which Brooks speaks about what she's learned. Further, Brooks poorly manages the modern author's dilemma in writing about race in the 19th century by having her characters discreetly step around the "N word" in a very modern way. The truth, as any reader of 19th century literature knows, is that while the word was mostly regarded by educated whites as uncouth, it was dropped frequently and thoughtlessly in ordinary speech, especially (but by no means exclusively) in the South. This was, after all, an era in which a justice of the Supreme Court could write that a black person had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect," and by extension, no dignity that a white person was obliged to honor through careful speech. Brooks could have, and probably should have, avoided the use of the word as 19th century authors avoided the use of offensive words they needed to record, with an initial followed by dashes. Instead, by distorting the true nature of historical speech, she breaks trust with the reader. Or at least, certainly, with me.

The story is fascinating and its events, in the hands of a more skillful writer, could be very moving. But Brooks's ability to write real characters doesn't match her obvious talent for research and plot. A big disappointment.