A review by bwluvs2read
The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan

4.0

Sport of Kings has all the pieces of a great American novel, but it has yet to be recognized as such. What is most poignant and relevant about this book is its discussion of the racism that persisted (and still persists) through the 1950's and onward. I was at first put off by the first few chapters because they are centered on the wealthy, white, Forge family, and the patriarch's violent racism and racial "purity" that he philosophizes to his son, Henry. Philosophies which he puts into physical action in his house and home. Much to my relief, the book switched emphases and showed the other side of the coin: Henry's foil, Allmon. Allmon, a troubled African American man, who, very much rightly, believes that the world is set against him and his brethren. The story that follows is an unlikely pairing that leads to acts of uncanny karma and justice in Henry's perfect world. In an epic mode of novelization, C.E. Morgan also manages to bring to light the inequity of poverty and wealth, the curse of untreated chronic disease, the abuses of thoroughbred racing, and the injustices of the justice system. This is a book about a horse... but this book is not just for the horse-lover but a lover of people and life. Morgan also sheds light on the fact that American society has difficulty with women who refuse to sit cleanly in one place as seen by the fate of Henry's daughter whom he sexually abuses and then, ultimately, loses. Overall a slow read, but it was worth it. The resolution of the novel is fantastically poignant and moving, suggesting that, in the end, the two hated characters who fought against their respective worlds found final rest in one another's arms.