The Hearts of Horses | Molly Gloss

The Hearts of Horses | Molly Gloss | A time, a place, a life lived...

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The Hearts of Horses

	The Hearts of Horses Molly Gloss Houghton Mifflin, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

All Heart

I chose this book because of the plurality in the title, I thought I would learn about the character and soul of non-verbal beings, and the cover photo, clearly female, riding swiftly, freely with purpose, accomplishment and joy. These are superficial reasons for choosing a book and what a splendid surprise I had in the world of this book. I am an urban woman, no country or wide open spaces or large animals in my life but I loved the language of this book, how it made a place, a time, and its people live for me. Thank you Molly Gloss for a read so engrossing I reached the end of the line and the bus driver did not shoo me out; waited until I came back to my world and hopped off! I apologized, he said he noticed me reading through the week, watched me intent, smiling, weeping, frowning. That day he knew I was at the end, and could not bear to disturb me.

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A time, a place, a life lived...

I had never heard of Ms. Gloss or her work before but stumbled across this book at the book store the other day and decided to give it a try after thumbing through a few pages and liking the style. I also love books about the REAL west (not genre westerns). Well, I am happy I gave this book a try! It is my favorite so far of 2008. It's the story of 19 year old Martha Lessen who has left home in search of work breaking horses. The story is set during WWI and the men are off fighting in Europe, and Martha figures this is an opportunity to live her dream of working with horses, a job woman were normally not allowed to do at that time. Martha ends up spending the winter on the farm of George and Louise Bliss in the small Oregon town of Shelby. Martha is becoming quite a hand at taming broncos, but not by breaking them, but with soothing words and song, she gains the trust of the horses she works with. Martha also meets the young farmhand Henry who works for two old ladies who run their own ranch, Henry is as socially awkward as Martha and a very slow but sweet romance builds. The pace of this story maybe too slow for some but Gloss gives life to a time and a place and the people who inhabit that time and place. Don't think this is a school girls horse book as there is much more going on here. If you enjoy realistic fiction about the west then I highly recommend this book.

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Heart's Desire

A dear friend recommended this to me. I put everything else in my life on the backburner while I ate this book alive. Having lived with horses on a high desert ranch, I cherished the noble and individual personalities of Martha's circle of horses as well as the stark and stern nature of that country. What most warmed my heart most, however, was the humanity, humor and fortitude of the young "horse whisperer". Upon closing the book, I promptly ordered a copy to send to my son and daughter-in-law, both equine vets in Idaho.

A great story

This is the kind of book you want on a cold day with a cup of hot tea and a fireplace. A wonderful simple story with enough spark to keep your interest. The characters are well developed but in all it is a shorter book. I enjoyed it and wished it was a bit longer. This is a must read for us girls who love our horses and enjoy a bit of history.

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The hearts of people, not horses

As a horse lover, I was expecting more of a horse book -- the way Jack London's "Call of the Wild" is a dog book, or the way Jean Auel's "Valley of the Horses" vividly depicts the relationship between a heroine and a horse. Instead, we get whole chapters on neighbor men dying of cancer or causing trouble with their drinking. Too much of the people, not enough of the horses, I thought. The title should have tipped me off that this would be a romance. Auel's Ice Age books were ruined by her use of every cheap trick of the romance genre, but I read them anyway for the Ice Age history and the animals. As romances go, "The Hearts of Horses" is much better than that -- a well written, historically significant book, with real and likeable characters. The accounts of animal abuse are heart rending, and the heroine's courage in condemning it made the book worthwhile.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7

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