I’ve been a horse nut all my life and I got my full dose of equine content in Horse: training, anatomy, behavior, and the human-horse bond between Jarret and “Lexington” that underpins the entire multiple-timeline story.
But the overriding message of Horse regards racism, past and present. And the tragic message is clear: We have not come far enough since 1850. A lot is written about white authors (for example Brooks, and me in The Wallace House of Pain) tackling topics we can have no direct, personal experience with. But she proves that a careful, respectful, and well-researched depiction can come from an unlikely source.
Whether your love is historical fiction, horses, inter-generational sagas, art (yes, there’s art too!), or social justice, read this book.
"Brooks' chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling." -The New York Times Book Review
"Horse isn't just an animal story-it's a moving narrative about race and art." -TIME
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history
Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an…
This story asks: What if Jesus had a wife? Kidd has said Ana “symbolizes the missing feminine within religion,” leading to another question: How might our world be different if that wife not only existed but had been openly acknowledged?
Kidd’s Ana is a rebellious, scholarly woman who reflects a very human Jesus through their relationship. This reimagining of Jesus’s life is clever but not cute, daring but not irreverent. Women will relate to Ana’s struggles to be heard; even her generous husband at times discounts her desires.
Equally compelling is Ana’s relationship with her adopted brother, Judas. (Yes, that Judas.) Personally, I crave clear explanations of human behavior, so I welcomed the completely believable explanation of why Judas betrayed Jesus, which I won’t give away here!
"An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling." -Associated Press
"A true masterpiece." -Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed
An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties…
I love this because it’s a stellar example of an intriguing premise that can carry an entire book (as long as it’s well-written, which this is!) When a dirty, bruised girl appears in the yard of Joanna’s rental cabin, Joanna just wants “Ursa” to go home. But Ursa inserts herself into Joanna’s life with abandon and tenacity.
The odd girl insists she is from another planet, sent to Earth to observe and learn. Keeping the reader wondering if Ursa might actually be an alien – will the story veer into science-fiction? – is no easy task and Vanderah nails it. As I read, I continually asked myself, Is she or isn’t she? Best of all, I wasn’t sure which answer I wanted.
An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller, and a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.
In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot…
This story explores troubled family relations, modern social justice issues, and deeply personal choices… Activist Xander Wallace and his straitlaced father do not have an easy relationship. Jim’s views on race, immigration, gender, sexuality, and even Millennials alienate his son no matter how hard Xander tries to find common ground. Toss in Jim’s second marriage ten months after Xander’s mother died and it’s a volatile cocktail. How, against this backdrop, will Xander ever dare to bare his soul and reveal his greatest secret?
