A review by triscuit807
The Horsecatcher by Mari Sandoz

5.0

5 stars. While this book is not going to be to everyone's taste, I enjoyed it. It made me happy on several levels: it had horse and it was totally immersive in a nearly unknown culture. Sandoz was a white author who wrote accurately and fairly extensively about the Plains Indians; she is the author of a biography of Crazy Horse. Here, her focus is on a young Cheyenne man (mid-late teens) as he comes of age in a warrior society. Except young Elk has no desire to be a warrior; while he'll kill for food and in self-defense of himself (and his "clan") if he absolutely must, he wants to be a horsecatcher. This isn't an easy path since it's the warriors who are acclaimed and with whom the young women flirt. There isn't much dialogue, the book is mostly description of journeys, Cheyenne life, and, of course, horse catching and taming. This is horse-whispering Cheyenne style. It is a brutal life filled with violence and danger, and not all of the horse catching is gentle. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (PopSugar "bildungsroman") and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1958). I want to read more of her books.