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shannonxo 's review for:
The Scorpio Races
by Maggie Stiefvater
In the year of our Lord 2020, the dumpster fire era, I have read my first Maggie Stiefvater book. And in keeping with the theme of this year, I am tragic fool for not having read it sooner.
Why did no one tell me this was a horse racing book?! Albeit a fantastical water horse race, but still! Growing up I was obsessed with horses and for a while I harboured a dream of being a race jockey. Seriously. At age 11 I read the Seabiscuit autobiography twice, so this was a perfect read for me. In my limited experience, I found this to be a great representation of horse racing, especially for the time it appears to be set in.
This world was so easy to settle into. I found myself imagining Thisby as a small island off the coast of England or Ireland, set in the 1920's or so. The lore of this island was such a delight. Every October, the sea throws onto shore the fierce and feared capaill uisce, carnivorous water horses that will sooner eat you than let you touch them. But touch them the residents do, because they need to race them. Men across the island capture these horses, train them to eat butchered meat instead of fresh, and ride them every year on November 1 in the Scorpio Races.
The whole thing seemed so far-fetched and ridiculous when I first picked it up, but Stiefvater has an absolute winner here. It is captivating, dangerous, at times devastating, and not without its own sense of high-stakes whimsy. The characters are engaging and vivid, the plot strong and well-paced, the stakes real and believable, and the romance a perfectly swoony slow-burn. In fact, the book is told from the alternating POVs of those two lovebirds.
Why did no one tell me this was a horse racing book?! Albeit a fantastical water horse race, but still! Growing up I was obsessed with horses and for a while I harboured a dream of being a race jockey. Seriously. At age 11 I read the Seabiscuit autobiography twice, so this was a perfect read for me. In my limited experience, I found this to be a great representation of horse racing, especially for the time it appears to be set in.
This world was so easy to settle into. I found myself imagining Thisby as a small island off the coast of England or Ireland, set in the 1920's or so. The lore of this island was such a delight. Every October, the sea throws onto shore the fierce and feared capaill uisce, carnivorous water horses that will sooner eat you than let you touch them. But touch them the residents do, because they need to race them. Men across the island capture these horses, train them to eat butchered meat instead of fresh, and ride them every year on November 1 in the Scorpio Races.
The whole thing seemed so far-fetched and ridiculous when I first picked it up, but Stiefvater has an absolute winner here. It is captivating, dangerous, at times devastating, and not without its own sense of high-stakes whimsy. The characters are engaging and vivid, the plot strong and well-paced, the stakes real and believable, and the romance a perfectly swoony slow-burn. In fact, the book is told from the alternating POVs of those two lovebirds.