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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
Not for me, I'm afraid. Too much violence and I couldn't feel any warmth towards any of the characters. Although it's well written, it seems overly wordy.
A little sprawl can do a literary novel a world of good, if it can pull it off. A four-generation family tree is a fine place to start sprawling, the bloodline of horses better still. The engine takes a while to rev all the way up, but once it does, there's moral clarity, heartbreak, brutality and gorgeous prose here. A strong recommend to anyone who thinks fondly of eastern Kentucky.
I like quiet, subtle character studies as much as the next reader, but sometimes it's nice to just dig into a big fat epic doorstopper with lots of stuff happening. And that's what The Sport of Kings has to offer. Don't get me wrong -- the writing is also great, and Morgan also has a lot to say about race and family and history, but there's a lot of pleasure in just watching the plot unwind. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
I started The Sport of Kings and was amazed at the fine writing; in the beginning I loved it. The wealthy son of a Kentucky farmer turns to raising thoroughbred horses and dreams of winning the Kentucky Derby. He marries and has a daughter, Henrietta, who thinks of nothing but horses as she grows up. One of their horses is bred to Seabiscuit and the filly that is born is their chance at winning. Everything seems fine, but one day, Allmon, son of a black mother and white father, shows up looking for a job as groom. Henrietta hires him and from that point the book founders. Morgan throws in Allmon's terrible history, the history of Kentucky, the history of slavery in Kentucky, a sort of song of songs to Kentucky and its people. Too much, too long, a little disappointing. Still Morgan is a very good writer and I recommend the book for that alone.
Took me almost a month to finish this beast. It's just LONG. 545 pages, not unbearable, but it's dense and descriptive and LONG. I'm pretty impressed though, despite not finding the story itself that compelling, I genuinely really enjoyed reading this. I think the author's writing style is brilliant, I just wish it hadn't been as long.
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Spring comes as a reconnoitering scout, a first slip of green peeking from the very bough tips of the oaks, barely there at all, just weighted abeyance”. If this type of writing appeals to you, then The Sport of Kings may be the book for you. Because it is full, brimming over in “weighted abeyance” with what I consider to be ornate, florid, overwriting.
Unfortunately for me, this kind of writing is above my paygrade; I don’t want to take the time to parse the meaning over almost 600 pages of what is often just ornamental anyway. Strip that fecundity away and you have a pretty simple plot like something out of a Greek tragedy: a white, old-moneyed Southerner who breeds racehorses, his sheltered daughter and a black groom who comes to work on the horse farm.
I can understand where this book will be absolutely a five star read for many. It has an amazing historical sweep, an admirable attention to detail, references to classical literature and it tackles some heavy subjects of race, institutionalized racism, privilege, eugenics, etc. But it just wasn’t for me. Read for TOB 2017
Unfortunately for me, this kind of writing is above my paygrade; I don’t want to take the time to parse the meaning over almost 600 pages of what is often just ornamental anyway. Strip that fecundity away and you have a pretty simple plot like something out of a Greek tragedy: a white, old-moneyed Southerner who breeds racehorses, his sheltered daughter and a black groom who comes to work on the horse farm.
I can understand where this book will be absolutely a five star read for many. It has an amazing historical sweep, an admirable attention to detail, references to classical literature and it tackles some heavy subjects of race, institutionalized racism, privilege, eugenics, etc. But it just wasn’t for me. Read for TOB 2017
Even though I closed the cover of this book over a month ago, I'm still wrestling with it. I don't know if I love it or hate it for packing so much into it. I enjoyed reading the story and yet I was annoyed by the sudden and unnecessary shifts in voice. I found the conclusions the characters reached unlikely and yet they all had moments where they seemed to speak from the page in a clear, true voice.
This kept making me want to know more about things that aren't in the book. As a springboard, it's very springy. As a novel, it didn't quite hold my attention.
4.5 stars. Brilliant. Review to follow. Right now I just want to go back and start reading it over again to truly appreciate its greatness.