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A review by cjcurtis
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss
4.0
This is the sort of book I normally wouldn't have given a second glance, and I only read it because I saw the author speak and was impressed by her thoughts on the Cowboy as defining American mythos.
In any case, I was sort of taken by surprise. The novel is not, as the back cover declares, about "a woman trying to make it in a man's world." It is about the simple strength and courage of families living in the American West at the beginning of the first World War. The story is quiet and unassuming, no fireworks, just people trying to get by. It's like a less melodramatic John Steinbeck. Sort of. (No offense to Steinbeck, whom I love.)
I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but anyway I was compelled to read the entirety of this book that is completely outside of my normal reading habits, and that, I think, says a good deal for the story, the characters, and the author.
In any case, I was sort of taken by surprise. The novel is not, as the back cover declares, about "a woman trying to make it in a man's world." It is about the simple strength and courage of families living in the American West at the beginning of the first World War. The story is quiet and unassuming, no fireworks, just people trying to get by. It's like a less melodramatic John Steinbeck. Sort of. (No offense to Steinbeck, whom I love.)
I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but anyway I was compelled to read the entirety of this book that is completely outside of my normal reading habits, and that, I think, says a good deal for the story, the characters, and the author.