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A review by natalia
The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan
2.0
I used to think I liked purple prose. Or at the very least, I felt like I could tolerate it.
Until I read this book. It seemed as though it would whiplash from normal, semi-prose-y chapters into these cringey passages written in second person. Toward the end of the book I found these interludes extremely tiring and hard to remember who we were even talking about if I'd set the book down and come back to it the next day. Part of this challenge, I think, was that I was reading this on a kindle as an ARC (very late, I know) and not a physical book. I might have done better with a real book, but it is what it is.
I went into this novel with very high hopes- I love broad-reaching family stories and have been borderline obsessed (though less so in the last five or so years) with the thoroughbred racing industry. It seemed like it had been written for me!
The story starts off very slowly, introducing a slew of unlikable characters from the get go. Henry's father was awful, and you get to see him blossom into the same kind of terrible as time goes on. Maryleen was an extremely underused character, in my opinion. She seemed to be the most interesting only to be written off by the author for the majority of the book. For that reason it almost made her return seem less than satisfactory (but don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to see her again).
Then we meet Henrietta (really, Henry?) and I'm a little bit charmed because it seems like she's got potential. But then she turns out to be... extremely boring as well. She read as very flat, to me, or as if the author chose certain qualities of her personality almost at random instead of allowing her to develop on her own. Which, now that I look back on it, is basically essentially how her father wanted to handle his daughter.
Oh yeah- incest warning (low blow at Kentucky, Morgan). One of my most hated topics in writing. This wasn't at all graphic, but it still was mentioned enough to give me the shudders.
But Allmon. God BLESS Allmon. His appearance in the second half (?) of the book was like a breath of fresh air. Despite being an ex-con, he was easily one of the most relatable characters because he was written like a human being. I kind of rolled my eyes a little at his appearance though, because it was so obvious. Oh, the father of this prestigious farm has a daughter and also hates black people? Enter young black male who will undoubtedly hook up with the daughter and ""sully"" the Forge family line. Yawn. His entire arc was just explosive, though, and I found it the most entertaining of the entire book.
Overall I feel like this novel was very overwritten and I would not call it 'the next great American Novel'. That's not to say that the author isn't talented, because she is. I just think that this needed to be edited a bit more- or maybe I didn't appreciate it in its true format. Either way, I was disappointed because I expected to like it a lot more than I did. 2-2.5/5 stars
Until I read this book. It seemed as though it would whiplash from normal, semi-prose-y chapters into these cringey passages written in second person. Toward the end of the book I found these interludes extremely tiring and hard to remember who we were even talking about if I'd set the book down and come back to it the next day. Part of this challenge, I think, was that I was reading this on a kindle as an ARC (very late, I know) and not a physical book. I might have done better with a real book, but it is what it is.
I went into this novel with very high hopes- I love broad-reaching family stories and have been borderline obsessed (though less so in the last five or so years) with the thoroughbred racing industry. It seemed like it had been written for me!
The story starts off very slowly, introducing a slew of unlikable characters from the get go. Henry's father was awful, and you get to see him blossom into the same kind of terrible as time goes on. Maryleen was an extremely underused character, in my opinion. She seemed to be the most interesting only to be written off by the author for the majority of the book. For that reason it almost made her return seem less than satisfactory (but don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to see her again).
Then we meet Henrietta (really, Henry?) and I'm a little bit charmed because it seems like she's got potential. But then she turns out to be... extremely boring as well. She read as very flat, to me, or as if the author chose certain qualities of her personality almost at random instead of allowing her to develop on her own. Which, now that I look back on it, is basically essentially how her father wanted to handle his daughter.
Oh yeah- incest warning (low blow at Kentucky, Morgan). One of my most hated topics in writing. This wasn't at all graphic, but it still was mentioned enough to give me the shudders.
But Allmon. God BLESS Allmon. His appearance in the second half (?) of the book was like a breath of fresh air. Despite being an ex-con, he was easily one of the most relatable characters because he was written like a human being. I kind of rolled my eyes a little at his appearance though, because it was so obvious. Oh, the father of this prestigious farm has a daughter and also hates black people? Enter young black male who will undoubtedly hook up with the daughter and ""sully"" the Forge family line. Yawn. His entire arc was just explosive, though, and I found it the most entertaining of the entire book.
Overall I feel like this novel was very overwritten and I would not call it 'the next great American Novel'. That's not to say that the author isn't talented, because she is. I just think that this needed to be edited a bit more- or maybe I didn't appreciate it in its true format. Either way, I was disappointed because I expected to like it a lot more than I did. 2-2.5/5 stars