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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 starts out with promise, I thought it would be maybe about a boy unlearning everything his abusive, racist father taught him and then also probably about horse racing. But in reality, it's just a mediocre story about Henry, a white southern man who grows up to learn the error of his ways. If you've seen American History X you know what type of redemption story I mean. There's a few problems with this. One, it's just a boring story. Henry is awful, he learned his awfulness from his dad and goes on to be somehow even more awful, obsessed with interbreeding, he ends up raping his daughter and is thrilled when she becomes pregnant, thinking the baby is his. The baby is not his, his daughter, Henrietta, has been having sex with a black groom, Allmon.
Allmon's life feels very stereotypical to me. It's just uncomfortable to read a white author putting in every negative stereotype about Black Americans into the sole Black character, and then having his life end in tragedy. And the way Henrietta thinks about Allmon is really gross, she looks at his body and describes it the way she would a horse. And we're supposed to think she loves him, which is interesting, because even though CE Morgan writes like she's getting paid by the word, there's no real chemistry between Allmon and Henrietta.
After reading this, it seems like most of the book is just descriptions of like, a bush. And then Henry thinking about being racist. Fun. Morgan can write some beautiful sentences, but eventually I was just finishing the book out of rage so I can write this review. The plot is just so banal. A virulent racist and rapist has a mixed grandchild and then he lives happily ever after. Along with a derivative plot we get the purplest prose that ever purpled. Also there's barely any horse racing, and I have no idea what Morgan was thinking when she wrote the jockey.
Edit: Okay, I'm wrong, there's one more Black character who is only in the story for a few pages. Maryleen, a Black woman who gets a scholarship to college but gives it up in order to cook for rich white people. Really. Oh, and she's written entirely sexless, obviously asexual people exist BUT historically one of the few characters Black women have played in fiction is the "Mammy" character, so yeah, more stereotypes.
Allmon's life feels very stereotypical to me. It's just uncomfortable to read a white author putting in every negative stereotype about Black Americans into the sole Black character, and then having his life end in tragedy. And the way Henrietta thinks about Allmon is really gross, she looks at his body and describes it the way she would a horse. And we're supposed to think she loves him, which is interesting, because even though CE Morgan writes like she's getting paid by the word, there's no real chemistry between Allmon and Henrietta.
After reading this, it seems like most of the book is just descriptions of like, a bush. And then Henry thinking about being racist. Fun. Morgan can write some beautiful sentences, but eventually I was just finishing the book out of rage so I can write this review. The plot is just so banal. A virulent racist and rapist has a mixed grandchild and then he lives happily ever after. Along with a derivative plot we get the purplest prose that ever purpled. Also there's barely any horse racing, and I have no idea what Morgan was thinking when she wrote the jockey.
Edit: Okay, I'm wrong, there's one more Black character who is only in the story for a few pages. Maryleen, a Black woman who gets a scholarship to college but gives it up in order to cook for rich white people. Really. Oh, and she's written entirely sexless, obviously asexual people exist BUT historically one of the few characters Black women have played in fiction is the "Mammy" character, so yeah, more stereotypes.
Summary
The Sport of Kings is an immense novel. It traverses America throughout its recent history and into the modern day, revolving around on family but exploring the lives of other people. Its driving force are the horses – Henry Forge’s aspiration to make a name for himself in the world of horse races (The Sport of Kings, the books title is referring to), but it goes much deeper than that, exploring difficult themes such as racism, rape and incest. Evolution also gets more than a passing glance as Henry strives to breed the perfect race-horse.
Plot
The main plot of this book is both frustrating and fascinating. It’s fascinating because of the rich world it conjures up yet frustrating because of the characters and darker themes. It also doesn’t actually take up much of the book. There is a lot of extra detail in many forms, such as interludes, diaries, thoughts, which I felt slowed the book down a bit. However, part of me thinks those sections are needed in order to prevent the reader from getting too bogged down in the darker themes of the book.
Characters
A book with as many themes and concepts as this cannot tread lightly where the characters are concerned, and the characters in The Sport of Kings certainly live up to the weight cast down upon them. Henry Forge plays the central figure – the book follows him throughout his life, but also explores the lives of all those he as affected from his daughter to the stable hand to the chef. No character in this book is perfect, indeed all of them appear broken in some way, and Morgan does not shy away from making their lives as difficult and heart-breaking as possible. It is their individual story-lines and troubles which I found the most interesting part of this read and the part which kept drawing me in again and again.
World/Setting
This book is set deep in the heart of South America. It’s centrally based in Forge Run Farm, but reaches out to the cities and races to provide an intricate picture of the world. I don’t know much about horse-racing, but according to some other reviews there are a couple of errors relating to that in this book, as a word of warning to those who are interested in it out there. That being said, it does feel very well research and a couple of errors in a 600 page book of this depth isn’t bad.
Final thoughts
This is a captivating read with writing that is both lyrical and profound. It is, at its centre, a truly American novel, but the themes could translate anywhere. It is, however, a book which cannot be read when you cannot provide it with your full attention – the lyrical writing style makes for difficult, focused reading and the interlude can leave the track altogether, delving into history and evolution. Despite this, I found myself being drawn into the book every time I read it, especially when author focused on the principle characters and their personal battles. The Sport of Kings is well worth the read, and it will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.
The Sport of Kings is an immense novel. It traverses America throughout its recent history and into the modern day, revolving around on family but exploring the lives of other people. Its driving force are the horses – Henry Forge’s aspiration to make a name for himself in the world of horse races (The Sport of Kings, the books title is referring to), but it goes much deeper than that, exploring difficult themes such as racism, rape and incest. Evolution also gets more than a passing glance as Henry strives to breed the perfect race-horse.
Plot
The main plot of this book is both frustrating and fascinating. It’s fascinating because of the rich world it conjures up yet frustrating because of the characters and darker themes. It also doesn’t actually take up much of the book. There is a lot of extra detail in many forms, such as interludes, diaries, thoughts, which I felt slowed the book down a bit. However, part of me thinks those sections are needed in order to prevent the reader from getting too bogged down in the darker themes of the book.
Characters
A book with as many themes and concepts as this cannot tread lightly where the characters are concerned, and the characters in The Sport of Kings certainly live up to the weight cast down upon them. Henry Forge plays the central figure – the book follows him throughout his life, but also explores the lives of all those he as affected from his daughter to the stable hand to the chef. No character in this book is perfect, indeed all of them appear broken in some way, and Morgan does not shy away from making their lives as difficult and heart-breaking as possible. It is their individual story-lines and troubles which I found the most interesting part of this read and the part which kept drawing me in again and again.
World/Setting
This book is set deep in the heart of South America. It’s centrally based in Forge Run Farm, but reaches out to the cities and races to provide an intricate picture of the world. I don’t know much about horse-racing, but according to some other reviews there are a couple of errors relating to that in this book, as a word of warning to those who are interested in it out there. That being said, it does feel very well research and a couple of errors in a 600 page book of this depth isn’t bad.
Final thoughts
This is a captivating read with writing that is both lyrical and profound. It is, at its centre, a truly American novel, but the themes could translate anywhere. It is, however, a book which cannot be read when you cannot provide it with your full attention – the lyrical writing style makes for difficult, focused reading and the interlude can leave the track altogether, delving into history and evolution. Despite this, I found myself being drawn into the book every time I read it, especially when author focused on the principle characters and their personal battles. The Sport of Kings is well worth the read, and it will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Racehorse breeding and racism in Kentucky
I loved parts of this heartbreaking book but other parts were inconsistent. The story woven throughout is very compelling which is why I've given an OK rating but the narrative style kept changing and I found some bits long-winded and confusing so I can't give a higher rating.
Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction 10/16
Without any doubt The Sport of Kings is EPIC; A tale that spans 60 years and focuses on the Forbes, a family who have enough lies and secrets to fill a couple of closets.
Although horse racing is one of the central themes, the book is really about racism. The Forbes are racists and yet Afro-American dominate their life, be it during the slave years or the post emancipation ones. Really I have the feeling that Morgan is trying to tell us the Afro American is never free from white oppression, even when in the right and clearly the horse racing sub plot reflects this message.
Morgan also stresses on the role of the female in society. In the novel all the women, with the exception of one find ways of breaking free from the Forbes tyrannical rule, even the mare, Hellmouth, who is a catalyst of the explosive conclusion has her ways of undoing the shackles of society, albeit with assisted help.
So why three stars? Although I appreciated the sheer scope of this novel, I felt some bits were stronger than others and the consistency levels flagged a bit. The horse racing scenes did not interest me but the sections on racism, evolution and the chapter on Allmon's (the Forbes groom, as in horse attendant) past life were amazing. Not to mention that conclusion and epilogue. But if it was shorter, and I did feel that it was flabby in places, I think The Sport of King would have received a higher rating.
Without any doubt The Sport of Kings is EPIC; A tale that spans 60 years and focuses on the Forbes, a family who have enough lies and secrets to fill a couple of closets.
Although horse racing is one of the central themes, the book is really about racism. The Forbes are racists and yet Afro-American dominate their life, be it during the slave years or the post emancipation ones. Really I have the feeling that Morgan is trying to tell us the Afro American is never free from white oppression, even when in the right and clearly the horse racing sub plot reflects this message.
Morgan also stresses on the role of the female in society. In the novel all the women, with the exception of one find ways of breaking free from the Forbes tyrannical rule, even the mare, Hellmouth, who is a catalyst of the explosive conclusion has her ways of undoing the shackles of society, albeit with assisted help.
So why three stars? Although I appreciated the sheer scope of this novel, I felt some bits were stronger than others and the consistency levels flagged a bit. The horse racing scenes did not interest me but the sections on racism, evolution and the chapter on Allmon's (the Forbes groom, as in horse attendant) past life were amazing. Not to mention that conclusion and epilogue. But if it was shorter, and I did feel that it was flabby in places, I think The Sport of King would have received a higher rating.
This story of racism and power and the desire to be the best at horse racing really pulls at the heart and makes one thinks what is more important, love or money.
"We can snatch from the air the abstractness of numbers, adding and subtracting and making logic from magic, and because we can, we do, and we must. ... We can, from the chaos of existence, extract meanings, which do not exist. We can make ourselves philosophers and scientists and priests. We can construct our unnatural civilizations--we can, and therefore we must."
"A short time ago he'd admired northing better than the old picker he'd chased alongside. But he could see now that all these machines ran out of an obligation that was man-made; a thing without a will could run, but never race."
"What she was coming to realize, but what no woman was allowed to utter aloud, was that there was no guarantee your child would be adequate compensation for the life you gave up to have it. More and more, life looked an awful lot like a hoax perpetuated on women and designed to further men's lives at the expense of their own."
"She thought soon all the land would sound like nothing, and no one would know it had once made sounds, that small civilizations had thrived in the grass. It would never register with life again. And what was coming? Concrete. Glassed fronts and sale signs and cash registers. And with it all, people in a torrential surge, carnivorous men and women looking to smear their skin with colors and creams, to bleach their hair, to shave their hides, to cinch themselves breathless in order to think themselves beautiful."
"Nobody talks about a suicide; it grinds generations into the soil of time. That kind of dying tells a tale bigger than one man, and people ought to talk about the how and the why."
" '. . . We live in a consumptive world, where we consume more food than we need, where animals are forced to consume our cast-off poisons and the bodies of their own species, where we use more of the world's resources than is right, where we empower corporations, which consume the lives of their workers with all the blessings of our government, which grants them the same rights and recognitions historically reserved for humans by the Fourteenth Amendment--the amendment designed to guarantee slaves their status as human beings! This, my friends is consumption."
"Time is a horse you never have to whip."
" 'Listen to me, if you got the fire, then you burn! You don't throw fucking ashes on it! You don't tamp it out! ... It's better to be great and break down than to never be great at all. She knows it, I know it, and anybody with any goddamn courage knows it.' "
"The flora and the simple fauna, they had no fathers, only genetic predecessors, and because they had no fathers, they had no stories, and because they had no stories, they didn't suffer any notion of themselves. In the landscape behind his eye, Henry fashioned a prairie of purple coneflowers, lovely and indistinguishable. He imagined the absurdity of one flower asserting its singularity, its glory, yearning to stand a hard-won inch above its nearest neighbors, straining on its flimsy stalk, flailing its petals, whispering in a hoarse, pollen-choked voice, 'Me! Me! Me!' "
"He wouldn't ever forget that bleak and confusing time, when the world began to see a colored man in the body where a child still resided."
"A short time ago he'd admired northing better than the old picker he'd chased alongside. But he could see now that all these machines ran out of an obligation that was man-made; a thing without a will could run, but never race."
"What she was coming to realize, but what no woman was allowed to utter aloud, was that there was no guarantee your child would be adequate compensation for the life you gave up to have it. More and more, life looked an awful lot like a hoax perpetuated on women and designed to further men's lives at the expense of their own."
"She thought soon all the land would sound like nothing, and no one would know it had once made sounds, that small civilizations had thrived in the grass. It would never register with life again. And what was coming? Concrete. Glassed fronts and sale signs and cash registers. And with it all, people in a torrential surge, carnivorous men and women looking to smear their skin with colors and creams, to bleach their hair, to shave their hides, to cinch themselves breathless in order to think themselves beautiful."
"Nobody talks about a suicide; it grinds generations into the soil of time. That kind of dying tells a tale bigger than one man, and people ought to talk about the how and the why."
" '. . . We live in a consumptive world, where we consume more food than we need, where animals are forced to consume our cast-off poisons and the bodies of their own species, where we use more of the world's resources than is right, where we empower corporations, which consume the lives of their workers with all the blessings of our government, which grants them the same rights and recognitions historically reserved for humans by the Fourteenth Amendment--the amendment designed to guarantee slaves their status as human beings! This, my friends is consumption."
"Time is a horse you never have to whip."
" 'Listen to me, if you got the fire, then you burn! You don't throw fucking ashes on it! You don't tamp it out! ... It's better to be great and break down than to never be great at all. She knows it, I know it, and anybody with any goddamn courage knows it.' "
"The flora and the simple fauna, they had no fathers, only genetic predecessors, and because they had no fathers, they had no stories, and because they had no stories, they didn't suffer any notion of themselves. In the landscape behind his eye, Henry fashioned a prairie of purple coneflowers, lovely and indistinguishable. He imagined the absurdity of one flower asserting its singularity, its glory, yearning to stand a hard-won inch above its nearest neighbors, straining on its flimsy stalk, flailing its petals, whispering in a hoarse, pollen-choked voice, 'Me! Me! Me!' "
"He wouldn't ever forget that bleak and confusing time, when the world began to see a colored man in the body where a child still resided."
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book felt like a sumptuous seven course dinner, you were drawn through each course, some (episodes / chapters) were mind blowing, some left me a little unstirred, but overall I couldn't stop, couldn't drag my mind out of the characters, the epic scale of the story. A very very clever book.
A story about horse racing, racial conflict and family histories in Kentucky. Beautiful writing, a downer, compelling at times but drags a bit at others - I am real torn between giving this one a 3 or a 4, because it's very ambitious and almost pulls it off.