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128 reviews for:
The Sport of Kings: Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2017
C.E. Morgan
3.52 AVERAGE
128 reviews for:
The Sport of Kings: Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2017
C.E. Morgan
3.52 AVERAGE
This book had a lot of potential to be good... but the story goes nowhere and the deep and intense subjects that the author brings to the table are never developed or resolved in any way, just lumped on top of one another until the whole book resembles an overzealous attempt at deriving meaning solely by compiling tragedy upon tragedy.
challenging
dark
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Before I start this review I'd like to mention, that I only read this book because I wanted to try out the recommendation feature of this website/app. I chose 10 books at random and this was the first one that I read. As you can see I didn't really like the recommendation.
I was actually really interested in this book. Racism, racehorses and following one family over multiple generations are usually topics that interest me. Sadly I had to figure out quite early, that the summary on the back of the book isn't exactly what is IN the book. The summary says, that the book is about Henrietta and Allmon who fall in love and then something happens blablabla. The thing is... it takes 3 chapters (the book consists of 6) until they even start to interact. The first three chapters are just tragic backstory. And, quite frankly, it wasn't interesting enough to last that long. My German copy is 900 pages long, 400 or more was just backstory. Not only was it too long, it also had absolutely no point to it. nd that leads me to the things that I actually hated about the book.
Quick disclaimer: I added very trigger that I could find in this book to the list on content warnings, just so you can be prepared. There is so much unnecessary racism, sexism, violence and abuse in tis book that straight up isn't justified. The author didn't even make the characters question it. This might count as a spoiler, but I'll say it anyway: ever single women in this book dies a tragic death (besides one that gets thrown out of her house and later has a one page long revenge plot. congrats.). If I wouldn't know that C.E. Morgan was female I would have thought that this book was written by a 50 year old men. The amount of internalized misogyny that this woman must have is INSANE. Not only do they all die but they also reduce themselves or get reduced to their body, noting more nothing else. Henrietta is described as having no sex appeal and therefore being strong and "not like other women". Allmons mom is deeply depressed and constantly gets blamed by her father because she can't keep a man. Actually, let's talk about her dad a little more. He's a priest (or something like that) and instead of, you know, doing priest things he constantly blames the people coming to him for their problems. Have I mentioned that C.E. Morgan has studied theology? Well, you can tell, have of the book is about god, the other half about sex. Sex also equals becoming an adult in this book, which a) is incredibly acephobic and ableist and b) super sexist. Last thing, that was really annoying to me: Storygraph recommend this as a book about race. It is written by a white woman and you can TELL omg. Literally every white character in this book is racist but no one ever directly calls them out for it. Instead in the end there's a "revenge" arc where a black character gets extremely violent. I don't know what Morgan wanted to happen when she wrote this, but I'd say it literally just further enforces racism because according to tis story "black people stupid and dangerous".
Now that we got the worst part out of the way, let's talk about the writing. Especially towards the end there are so many passages of nothing but meaningless "philosophical" or scientific gibberish. It adds NOTHING to the story, I've skim-read all of it. The descriptions of places where also so long but you could still not picture any of them. Morgan is also apparently not able to write in chronological order. On one page a character is 12, five pages later he says he's 5. What now? If your writing in a different order than chronological then atleast make it make sense.
Conclusion: Book that is way too long, filled with sexist and racist stereotypes, cliches and awful writing was somehow a finalist for the Pulitzer Price. Storygraph tried to give me a good recommendation and it sounded great in theory but the actual book was a desaster :/
I was actually really interested in this book. Racism, racehorses and following one family over multiple generations are usually topics that interest me. Sadly I had to figure out quite early, that the summary on the back of the book isn't exactly what is IN the book. The summary says, that the book is about Henrietta and Allmon who fall in love and then something happens blablabla. The thing is... it takes 3 chapters (the book consists of 6) until they even start to interact. The first three chapters are just tragic backstory. And, quite frankly, it wasn't interesting enough to last that long. My German copy is 900 pages long, 400 or more was just backstory. Not only was it too long, it also had absolutely no point to it. nd that leads me to the things that I actually hated about the book.
Quick disclaimer: I added very trigger that I could find in this book to the list on content warnings, just so you can be prepared. There is so much unnecessary racism, sexism, violence and abuse in tis book that straight up isn't justified. The author didn't even make the characters question it. This might count as a spoiler, but I'll say it anyway: ever single women in this book dies a tragic death (besides one that gets thrown out of her house and later has a one page long revenge plot. congrats.). If I wouldn't know that C.E. Morgan was female I would have thought that this book was written by a 50 year old men. The amount of internalized misogyny that this woman must have is INSANE. Not only do they all die but they also reduce themselves or get reduced to their body, noting more nothing else. Henrietta is described as having no sex appeal and therefore being strong and "not like other women". Allmons mom is deeply depressed and constantly gets blamed by her father because she can't keep a man. Actually, let's talk about her dad a little more. He's a priest (or something like that) and instead of, you know, doing priest things he constantly blames the people coming to him for their problems. Have I mentioned that C.E. Morgan has studied theology? Well, you can tell, have of the book is about god, the other half about sex. Sex also equals becoming an adult in this book, which a) is incredibly acephobic and ableist and b) super sexist. Last thing, that was really annoying to me: Storygraph recommend this as a book about race. It is written by a white woman and you can TELL omg. Literally every white character in this book is racist but no one ever directly calls them out for it. Instead in the end there's a "revenge" arc where a black character gets extremely violent. I don't know what Morgan wanted to happen when she wrote this, but I'd say it literally just further enforces racism because according to tis story "black people stupid and dangerous".
Now that we got the worst part out of the way, let's talk about the writing. Especially towards the end there are so many passages of nothing but meaningless "philosophical" or scientific gibberish. It adds NOTHING to the story, I've skim-read all of it. The descriptions of places where also so long but you could still not picture any of them. Morgan is also apparently not able to write in chronological order. On one page a character is 12, five pages later he says he's 5. What now? If your writing in a different order than chronological then atleast make it make sense.
Conclusion: Book that is way too long, filled with sexist and racist stereotypes, cliches and awful writing was somehow a finalist for the Pulitzer Price. Storygraph tried to give me a good recommendation and it sounded great in theory but the actual book was a desaster :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy
3.5 stars.
I finished this probably about 2 weeks ago, but I have been super lazy about reviews lately.
Anyway, The Sports of Kings tells the story of Henry Forge and his attempts to breed a successful racehorse, but it's also more than that. It tells briefly the story of the family settling in the area. The history of their servants (once slaves) and employees. It is about Henry's daughter and their relationship. Henry's father. The sport of horse racing. The science of breeding. It's also about Allmon Shaugnessy. His mother. Her illness. Black poverty. The health care system. The criminal justice system.
C. E. Morgan can write, but not all of the book worked for me, and I have absolutely no idea what was going on with that ending. Can we just all agree not to do epilogues or whatever that was?
I finished this probably about 2 weeks ago, but I have been super lazy about reviews lately.
Anyway, The Sports of Kings tells the story of Henry Forge and his attempts to breed a successful racehorse, but it's also more than that. It tells briefly the story of the family settling in the area. The history of their servants (once slaves) and employees. It is about Henry's daughter and their relationship. Henry's father. The sport of horse racing. The science of breeding. It's also about Allmon Shaugnessy. His mother. Her illness. Black poverty. The health care system. The criminal justice system.
C. E. Morgan can write, but not all of the book worked for me, and I have absolutely no idea what was going on with that ending. Can we just all agree not to do epilogues or whatever that was?
The saga of a family. A family whose life is linked to the soil on which they live and to the horses they breed. John Henry Forge raises his son Henry in the tradition of the white settlers of Kentucky. The supremacy of the white race is never questioned and on the family farm, the roles are clearly ascribed. Young Henry has a dream, already when he is just a small boy, he sees their land as the perfect place for breeding horses, but his father will hear nothing of this. When he takes over the farm, his chance arises and he becomes one of the best in the business. Yet, not only in horses is it important to take care of the blood line, he also chooses his wife with care and thus can produce the perfect white child: Henrietta. Like father like daughter does she grow up learning about the white race’s authority and rule. But times are a changing in the 20th century and creating the perfect race horse and the perfect daughter might not be enough anymore.
C.E. Morgan’s novel has been nominated for most of the important prizes for literature in 2016 and 2017: It has been shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2017, for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2017, for the James Tait Black Fiction Prize 2016; it was finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2017 and won the Kirkus fiction prize 2017 and the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize 2016. It made the second place on the BBC books of the year 2016 list. Coming with so much glory, the expectations were high and the author easily matched them.
To say what the novel is actually about, is not that easy. Quite logically considering its length, there is a lot in it. First of all, the Forge family. The way the children are raised, the relationships between the generations but also between the spouses are interesting to observe in the way not only they are at a fixed moment in time – I really pitied young Henry when he wanted to share his dreams and visions with his stubborn father – but also how they develop over the time, here Henrietta plays the most important role. Even though she is a woman and as such by nature inferior to men, she can take over the male role and successfully lead the dynasty. But there is not much affection between the characters. It is especially Henrietta who realizes that she is lacking love and warmth and since she has never learnt how to express her feelings, she seriously struggles in getting involved with somebody. It is the women who struggle most with society’s expectations and their inner feelings – not only at the beginning, but also after the year 2000:
“The irony was bare and bitter and unavoidable: she was a woman, so she was a slave to life. Never before had she understood the brutal actuality of life in a body she didn’t choose. (...) Women invited death when they let men inside their bodies! Why did they do it? Love couldn’t possibly be worth it.”
Apart from the humans, the breeding of the horses plays a major role in the plot. I am not into horses at all and know almost nothing about these animals. But it is fascinating to see how close the characters get with them, how they observe details and can communicate with and understand them Also the idea of breeding the perfect race horse is quite appealing and interesting. Admittedly, would I have been asked before if I was interested in the description of a horse race, I certainly would have disagreed, but I was wrong.
Last but not least, a major topic is also slavery, resp. the formal abolition of it but the remaining prejudices in the heads – of the whites as well as the blacks. Even in the year 2006, equally has not been established. There have been improvements, but due to inheritance, a family name and the like - unfortunately not only in literature.
Apart from the plot, it is also C. E. Morgan’s masterly writing which makes reading the novel a pleasure. To tell the stories of the different family members, she finds an individual tone for them. John Henry is reserved, unkind and rather factual. Young Henry is full of childish amazement and effervescent until he becomes the head of the family. Strongest are the women, first of all Henrietta, but also her mother Judith and the housekeeper Maryleen and Allmon’s mother. She gives them a voice and especially thoughts they share with the readers which make them really come to life. She finds metaphors as well as comments by the narrator which sometimes even addresses you directly. The tone is serious at times, funny at others, sometimes sad, rarely joyful – just as life can be.
C.E. Morgan’s novel has been nominated for most of the important prizes for literature in 2016 and 2017: It has been shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2017, for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2017, for the James Tait Black Fiction Prize 2016; it was finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2017 and won the Kirkus fiction prize 2017 and the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize 2016. It made the second place on the BBC books of the year 2016 list. Coming with so much glory, the expectations were high and the author easily matched them.
To say what the novel is actually about, is not that easy. Quite logically considering its length, there is a lot in it. First of all, the Forge family. The way the children are raised, the relationships between the generations but also between the spouses are interesting to observe in the way not only they are at a fixed moment in time – I really pitied young Henry when he wanted to share his dreams and visions with his stubborn father – but also how they develop over the time, here Henrietta plays the most important role. Even though she is a woman and as such by nature inferior to men, she can take over the male role and successfully lead the dynasty. But there is not much affection between the characters. It is especially Henrietta who realizes that she is lacking love and warmth and since she has never learnt how to express her feelings, she seriously struggles in getting involved with somebody. It is the women who struggle most with society’s expectations and their inner feelings – not only at the beginning, but also after the year 2000:
“The irony was bare and bitter and unavoidable: she was a woman, so she was a slave to life. Never before had she understood the brutal actuality of life in a body she didn’t choose. (...) Women invited death when they let men inside their bodies! Why did they do it? Love couldn’t possibly be worth it.”
Apart from the humans, the breeding of the horses plays a major role in the plot. I am not into horses at all and know almost nothing about these animals. But it is fascinating to see how close the characters get with them, how they observe details and can communicate with and understand them Also the idea of breeding the perfect race horse is quite appealing and interesting. Admittedly, would I have been asked before if I was interested in the description of a horse race, I certainly would have disagreed, but I was wrong.
Last but not least, a major topic is also slavery, resp. the formal abolition of it but the remaining prejudices in the heads – of the whites as well as the blacks. Even in the year 2006, equally has not been established. There have been improvements, but due to inheritance, a family name and the like - unfortunately not only in literature.
Apart from the plot, it is also C. E. Morgan’s masterly writing which makes reading the novel a pleasure. To tell the stories of the different family members, she finds an individual tone for them. John Henry is reserved, unkind and rather factual. Young Henry is full of childish amazement and effervescent until he becomes the head of the family. Strongest are the women, first of all Henrietta, but also her mother Judith and the housekeeper Maryleen and Allmon’s mother. She gives them a voice and especially thoughts they share with the readers which make them really come to life. She finds metaphors as well as comments by the narrator which sometimes even addresses you directly. The tone is serious at times, funny at others, sometimes sad, rarely joyful – just as life can be.
Fills into the Reading Women Challenge 2020 (16) A book featuring a woman with a disability.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Goodness me. This was really disappointing. I knew about some of the critiques of this book before starting but it was worse than I could've imagined. I thought the problem was going to be that it was unnecessarily long, or that she spoon-fed you exposition, and whilst these things did add up to make the bonfire that is this book, the worst sin was the actual writing. This book lured me in during the first third with languishing prose and then turned into try-hard garble and dialogue that was perfectly cringe-worthy. Who actually speaks like these people outside of theatre costumes? The author inserts herself in every now and then, and its completely unnecessary and executed poorly. There are storylines that make no sense, pretty much nothing had meaning, unless a story about a racist trying to preserve his racist family legacy, without any sort of redemption I don't consider stealing and caring for a black baby redemption of racism a meaningful story. It boggles my brain that this is considered some of the greatest American writing. It is absolutely poor writing and was a struggle to get through. My anger was propelling me through the lengthy chapters. I wish there had been more about the actual horses. This book tried to deal with race and it was so cringey. Not offensive (I don't think) but not well done.
Enjoyed this epic family saga, particularly Allmon's story and the twisted dynamic between Henry and Henrietta. I did feel this was overly long (maybe double the length it needed to be) and while some of the writing was beautiful, some was overly flowery and pretentiously philosophical.
The Sport of Kings will be on reading lists for quite a while. Honestly, it reminds me in many ways of Moby Dick by Melville structurally and semiotically, but the powerful characters, one after the other, just keep on coming (and going, but I won't add a spoiler). The essence of the novel is metaphor, and it's all about slavery of various kinds. Ultimately, we're all slaves to evolution, and we're all slaves to the local "optimum" that produces each person and their context, feeding us into the next branch on the tree or not, or crossing the river, whichever metaphor works for you. Every person is a monad that contains everything that produced that person.
The language of the novel could be considered overdone, especially the last third of the book, but it's all relevant if you slow down and really read it. I particularly enjoyed the jockey, Reuben, so over the top but so direct and to the point. The ending was great in a modern, let's-all-guess-what-really-happened-and-why kind of way, but I suspect a lot of readers will find it disappointing. I think you'll need to read the book several times to really understand it.
The language of the novel could be considered overdone, especially the last third of the book, but it's all relevant if you slow down and really read it. I particularly enjoyed the jockey, Reuben, so over the top but so direct and to the point. The ending was great in a modern, let's-all-guess-what-really-happened-and-why kind of way, but I suspect a lot of readers will find it disappointing. I think you'll need to read the book several times to really understand it.