This month, Page Turners Book Club members are reading author Geraldine Brooks’ latest novel Horse. A review from the Boston Globe follows:
“Geraldine Brooks is one of our most gifted historical novelists … Her pellucid prose, quiet yet compelling style, and facility with both nuanced historical detail and vibrant characterization have brought her critical acclaim … Brooks is herself an ardent horsewoman, and her knowledge of and personal investment in the topic shine through Horse … Anyone who grew up loving horses, anyone who dearly loves an animal, will find a cornucopia of riches in this novel …
“One must admire the good intentions of Brooks’s novel: its commitment to laying bare the horrors of racism, its insistence on animal intelligence, its anger at climate change and man’s desire to control and exploit nature and animals. But
the messaging feels at times heavy-handed … The present-day story is satisfying in parts but unfortunately proportioned. The thrill of historical discovery, the painstaking way that animals are articulated, the detective work Jess and Theo do to uncover what happened to Lexington and the artist who captured him on canvas — Brooks brings all this to vivid and fascinating life …
“By contrast, every scene and section with Jarrett is uncannily beautiful, wise, and true. His story, and the relationship between him and Lexington, are the heart of this novel and should have been its clear focus. Ambitious, well-meaning, beautifully written in stretches, while labored or overwrought in others, Horse is an uneven offering by a great novelist.”
Page Turners consists of three groups of approximately ten members each. One group meets the fourth Monday afternoon of the month and the other two groups meet, separately, the fourth Thursday afternoon. If you are thinking about joining a book club, please feel free to contact me at fozimec@cox.net.
—Frances Ozimec
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