I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to all readers - it's about history, horses, people, art, etc, etc. Lexington is a horse I had never heard of, but he clearly was an impressive thoroughbred. It is well written, with moments of heightened tension especially during the Civil War scenes. The 21st century scenes - involving academics working on Lexington's skeleton at the Smithsonian, and an art historian researching paintings of the horse - are also engaging and readable, especially when revealing how current race relations in the US are often not so different to the 1860s.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

This has been sitting on my shelf for a while as I’m not particularly into horses or horse racing but I should’ve known this book would be about more than just horses. A well researched and very readable historical novel, it follows Jarrett who as a slave boy was there at the birth of Lexington and all through his life. There’s also many other viewpoints including some modern storylines that follow where Lexington’s skeleton ended up and the various portraits of the horse. It’s certainly an interesting and entertaining read.

'Horse' is a magnificent work of historical fiction which combines the exhilaration of horse racing with a sobering exploration of race in America both in the 19th Century and today.

Brooks constructs her novel around the real-life horse Lexington who was the most famous horse in American history. In the present day, art historian Theo discovers a 19th century painting of a thoroughbred horse by chance, while osteologist Jess is asked to examine the articulated skeleton of a horse at the Smithsonian. Back in 1850, we are introduced to Jarret, an enslaved horse trainer who becomes attached to a foal sired by a legendary stud.

This is a meticulously researched novel and Brooks's afterword enables to understand the history behind this story. The narrative is gloriously propulsive and it is impossible not to share in the excitement of the races which Lexington runs as his reputation spreads across America and the thrill of academic discovery as Theo and Jess's research converges - but Brooks uses Lexington to tell a story about racism through the experiences of Jarret in the antebellum South and Theo in America today. In many ways, both men are privileged in comparison with other Black men: Jarret's skill as a horse trainer means that he is generally treated better than other slaves while Theo has enjoyed the benefits of growing up in a diplomatic family with his expensive overseas education. However, in many ways this serves to drive home further the inequality they still experience as Brooks continuously reminds us of the precarity of their daily existence. Jarret is never able to forget that he is the possession of his various masters who is only treated well because of the financial return he is able to bring them, while Theo constantly has to contend with the ignorant prejudices and assumptions of those around him.

This is a brilliant, unforgettable read - many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

What an important, essential and compelling story. Brooks' prose was a delight from start to finish, the book emotional and clearly painstakingly researched. A vivid picture is painted by Brooks of the horse racing scene.

“Jarret wondered how it could be possible to have so much, just from gambling on cards and horses. If a man could win all this, then maybe he could lose it. What if he decided to wager Lexington away, or the two of them? They were his property, just like the barn.”

Horse is the sixth novel by Pulitzer prize-winning Australian author, Geraldine Brooks. In 1850, in Lexington, Kentucky, Warfield’s Jarret, son of talented Black horse trainer Harry Lewis, is present for the birth of a foal destined to become the nineteenth Century’s most remarkable racehorse and the greatest thoroughbred stud sire in racing history: Lexington.

In 1852, freelance journalist and artist, Thomas J. Scott witnesses the closeness of the pair when he is there to capture the horse in oils.

In 2019, aspiring art historian and freelance writer Theo Northam is in Washington DC working on a thesis about the representation of black people in nineteenth Century art when he stumbles on a dingy painting of a bay colt in a junk pile. He takes advantage of a Smithsonian contact to have the painting identified and evaluated at their Conservation Institute.

Australian manager of the vertebrate Osteology Prep Lab at the Smithsonian Museum Support Centre, Jess encounters Theo when she tries to find out more about the nineteenth Century equine skeleton kept for many years in a dusty museum attic, located at the request of a British researcher studying equine anatomy.

In 1954, Manhattan gallery owner Martha Jackson is offered a painting that markedly departs from the usual style of her acquisitions, but her generally quiescent sentimental bone twinges, and she adds the painting to her private collection.

How these characters are linked is the basis of an enthralling tale that serves as a tribute to horses and art, and those who love and care for both. But the reader doesn’t have to be a fan of horses or racing or art to be utterly captivated.

Told over three timelines by five main narrators, this story gives the reader a wholly credible collision of reality and imagination, interweaving fact with fiction, all of it rich in historical detail. a marvellously diverse cast of real people and fictional characters. Brooks gives them depth and appeal, wise words and insightful observations. And she does it all with some gorgeous descriptive prose.

“Jarret learned the unfamiliar names: the burnt sienna that he’d thought of as mere brown, the French ultramarine that he’d known simply as blue. But blue wasn’t so simple to Scott. He had Prussian blue, cerulean, cobalt, teal, navy. So many complicated words for a simple thing. Jarret knew the names for horse colors— bay, blood bay, buckskin, dun, roan— but now it seemed like every other thing was just as various if you troubled to look at it closely.”

“It wasn’t a good idea to speak without putting a deal of thought into it. Words could be snares. Less of them you laid out there, less likely they could trap you up.”

While the focus is on the horse and the people around him, Brooks also touches on racism in all its extremes: slavery, the shooting of unarmed black people, and the insidious everyday racism that occurs due to privilege or ignorance. The ingrained cruelty of modern-day horseracing, especially to those horses that fail to make the grade, is also touched on.

Her meticulous research into horses, art, and racism is apparent on every page and it is heartening to see that she has incorporated her late husband’s love of Civil War history into the story. A wonderful novel that is probably her best yet.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks
I love Geraldine Brooks writing and so was thrilled to read this novel. It did not diasappoint! As always the author meticulously researched her subject and the result is a fascinating and informative book. I found out so much about horse racing, the study of bones and also increased my understanding of the terrible trials slaves underwent in America.
I was immersed in the fascinating story of Horse Racing in the South of America and the wealthy men who made their fortune from owning racehorses. This story is told from the viewpoint of Jarret who is the son of an enslaved horse trainer. Jarret forges a bond with a foal who is to go on to become the greatest American racehorse of his time.
A storyline linked to horse racing also threads through the novel which tells of Theo Northam a PHD student in art history who is researching equine art. He comes across a discarded painting which he takes into the Smithsonian Museum for them to authenticate. He meets there Jess who is articulating a skeleton of the horse, Lexington.
The story goes back and forwards in time and we see events from the viewpoint of Thomas Scott, the artist, Jess the osteologist, and Theo. We see the horrors of the racism in the 1800’s where Jarret is his master’s property and also the racism still prevalent in America where the black man is automatically perceived to be involved in wrongdoing.
It is a fascinating, well written and gripping story and one which I would thoroughly recommend. Many thanks to Geraldine Brooks, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

I had heard nothing but good things about Horse prior to reading it, but knowing nothing other than that Brooks had won the Pulitzer Prize for a previous work, and so expected good things. The premise of this undiscovered prize painting of a racehorse really interested me, but unfortunately I would've preferred if this was the sole subject of the novel. The chapters focusing on the origins of the horse and its carers, and of Martha, the gallery owner who owns the painting of the horse, weren't my favourite. I understand that they provided great amounts of context to the story behind the painting, but I did find myself looking forward to Theo and Jess and their individual relationships to the painting and the horse. The brutal twist towards the end did provide the novel with a deeper layer to the story, and I will try more of Brooks' works in the future.

This is a book set over different times and different countries, it is a story about American Horse-racing and it is about slavery. There are numerous characters in this book and they are all very interesting. It is quite a full on book and there is a lot happening in this story. It changes timelines, tells different stories but they all come together over time.

This is quite a long book and one which I read over numerous weeks rather than in a short sitting. It has been well research which adds the historical element. It is a good read and one that does need a bit of concentration. I enjoyed it but there were aspects that just didn't gel with me.

An okay book and one that will be either loved or just liked. I am the just liked!

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Horse, the latest novel from the Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks, takes as its subject the last few hundred years of American history, and in its brilliant way finds connections between then and now, connections which show how much has changed but nothing has changed at all.

There are a number of stories running parallel to each other here - and dependent upon your interests, one will likely hold more interest than another. However, all together they form quite a beautiful patchwork. I found most fascination with the antebellum history, so meticulously researched by Brooks and bought to vivid life. In the present we have a Nigerian-American art historian and the story of a painting which, by its end, held great significance and bound the various threads of this fine novel together.

This is another monumental achievement from Brooks, and is well worth reading. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is my first novel by Geraldine Brooks and I was attracted to it partly by the description but also by the fact that she is a prize winning author. Horse is told across three timelines. During the 1800s the story of Black Jarrett and his association with the racing horse Lexington is told. In the 1950s there is the story of Martha Jackson and her art collection. And in 2019 there is the story of Jess, working with the bones in the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. These timelines appear unconnected but through brilliant storytelling, the connections are gradually revealed.

Like all good historical fiction the roots of this novel are firmly entwined with real historical fact. In the afterward the author explains who the real people are and where she has embellished history with fiction. As a reader rather than a writer, it blows my mind that authors can come up with an idea like this for a novel and then the research undertaken must be staggering.

I have no interest in horse racing or horses particularly. But I loved this book. The writing is fabulous. The storytelling and characterisation are excellent. The timelines lend a complexity and yet there are themes which run throughout the entire novel. It would make an excellent book club choice as there is so much in here to discuss. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys being absorbed in great historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so well written that I did not want to finish it. Each of the main characters in the different time periods is described beautifully and I cared about them.

The way Geraldine builds the settings of the different time periods is exquisite: i felt transported there by the descriptions of people, sights and sounds. I chose this book because the plot intrigued me. I am so glad I did. Now I’ve read the book I want to reread it because I liked how it made me think.

Beautifully written and moving. I was particularly invested in Jarrett's story and thought it was written sensitively and thoughtfully. The descriptions of the horses were particularly masterful - Brooks clearly did a huge amount of research and has trickled it brilliantly into the novel.

This covers different timelines and different POVs, switching back and forth. At the centre of it is the Horse. It was superbly researched and I learnt a lot from the book - always a good thing.

Some criticism that only people of clout should write from the POV of people of colour. I don’t subscribe to the “you can only write from what you have experienced” perspective. How much of fiction would be missing - don’t think rabbits have learnt to type, hence no Watership Down

Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC

My first experience of Geraldine Brook's writing is on the whole a positive one. Lexington's story is told with affection, his relationship with Jarrett is touching and moving. Jarrett's own story moved me too, even it if did keep mentioning the fact that, despite his skills and qualities and his rise to a position of relative importance, he was not his own man but the property of another. The link to the present day is enacted through the discovery of a painting of Lexington, discovered in a pile of junk and I did like the way that the artist Thomas Scott was introduced to the historical narrative, chronicling Lexington's rise to fame through his paintings. It seemed a bit unnecessary to bridge the gap between past and present by the inclusion of Martha Jackson's connection to the story which introduced characters like Jackson Pollock who was not relevant at all to the rest of the story. I enjoyed the process of discovery through science and research that comprised the modern day thread but the burgeoning relationship between Jess and Theo seemed a bit contrived to emphasise a point and the point was made rather clumsily in the closing chapters and closed the book on a rather sour note which was a shame.
I really enjoyed reading the book though and this is an author that I will look out for in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

With her meticulous research, Geraldine Brooks immerses the reader in the fascinating world of American Horseracing and race in the antebellum South from 1850 to 1861, where for wealthy white men, racehorse ownership is a matter of great prestige and profit. It highlights the often unaknowledged integral roles played by enslaved black groomsmen and trainers, such as Harry Lewis and his sensitive son, Jarret, who forms a soul level connection of affection and trust from birth to death with the greatest American horse, Lexington, known too for being the greatest stud sire in horseracing history. In the present, Nigerian-American art historian Theo Northam rescues a discarded painting of a horse that fires his interest in equine art. At the Smithsonian, the neglected skeleton of Lexington is found in an attic by Aussie osteologist, Jess, who articulates Lexington's skeleton.

In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, we are given the perspectives of numerous individuals, this includes Thomas Scott, a horse artist who paints Lexington several times through time, and Martha Jackson a New York gallery owner with a gift for recognising artistic talent, in the 1950s she swaps her convertible for 2 of Jackson Pollack's paintings and becomes drawn to a painting of a horse. We follow Jarret's life, having his dreams dashed when he and Lexington are sold to Richard Ten Broek, subject to his whims and desires, with Lexington not always the first priority, where making money and reputation take precedence. However, he is able to be with Lexington and see that he receives the best care as the horse demolishes the competition in races. Jarret's growing awareness of the horrors of the oppression experienced by slaves and his own sufferings contracts the world but expands and opens up his heart to let in others.

Jarret shows great courage when it comes his beloved horses and Thomas Scott amidst the carnage and terrors of the Civil War but will he ever be a free man? Brooks draws parallels between the two periods when it comes to race, positing that in many ways, racism remains a ubiquitous and pernicious feature of contemporary America. I had little knowledge of American horseracing history, equine art, Lexington, or the part played by enslaved black horsemen, so found this to be an informative, eye opening, heartbreaking and poignant read in which centre stage is the moving relationship between a man and a horse. A stellar novel that I recommend highly. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Whilst I didnt really have a problem with Jess and Theo, I did feel they kept coming in the way of Jarret and Darley's story.
The historical setting was by far my favourite.
Add Thomas into that, and it's a pretty good foundation for a book.
Interesting and informative, it didn't quite capture me the way some of her other books have, but Brooks is still an auto read author for me.