From the Bookshelf of Retro Chapter Chicks …

Horse

Geraldine Brooks

Start date: September 1, 2022

Finish date: September 30, 2022

Discussion: Chapter Chick Reading

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 1 of -1 topics — 44 comments total

Chapter Chick Reading

September-October 2025: The River Knows Your Name
By Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴… , Founding Retro Chick · 1 post · 9 views

last updated Aug 23, 2025 07:26PM

showing 10 of 14 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Sep 30, 2022 Maureen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Horse is a very well written novel about a famous race horse that I knew nothing about. Lexington was the race horse, known for speed and agility.
This story reflects the bond that Jarret, a young black slave had with this wonderful horse. It portrays the racial injustices of then and now.
It is set in three different time periods, all woven together from Lexington, KY to Washington DC to NY.
Epic story.

22 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2023 Celia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2023-kindle-counted, historical-fiction-read, kindle-list, 2023-read, book-club, vero-book-club, ten-year-challenge, animals, 52-2023

From supersummary.com:

Horse is structured to encompass three separate storylines, set in the 1850s, 1950s, and 2019. Jarret’s story spans 25 years, Martha Jackson’s story encompasses two years, and Theo and Jess’s story takes place over the course of a single year.

In 1850, Jarret Lewis, an enslaved Black teenager, attends the birth of the foal who will one day become known as Lexington, the most famous racehorse in American turf racing history.

In 1954, art gallerist and former horse enthusiast ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2023 Book Concierge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: concierge, strong-women, horses, library, social-commentary, audio, book-club, racism, animals, historical-fiction

Digital audiobook performed by James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, Katherine Littrell and Michael Obiora

A chance encounter at a luncheon put Geraldine Brooks next to Harold A Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations. He has just supervised the movement and installation of a horse skeleton that had long been in on of the Smithsonian “attics” and was now on permanent loan to the Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky. Brooks is an avid horsewoman and soaked up as much informatio Digital audiobook performed by James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, Katherine Littrell and Michael Obiora

A chance encounter at a luncheon put Geraldine Brooks next to Harold A Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations. He has just supervised the movement and installation of a horse skeleton that had long been in on of the Smithsonian “attics” and was now on permanent loan to the Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky. Brooks is an avid horsewoman and soaked up as much information at that luncheon as she could. And so her next novel was born.

The novel is based on the real story of the horse known as Lexington, his extraordinary racing career, and even more extraordinary career as a stud. Brooks could not find much information about Lexington’s Black groom, so she based the character of Jarrett on the few details she could glean from the histories of other people involved in the stallion’s career, embellished by what she knew was true about treatment of slaves during the era.

In the author note she writes that while doing this research it became clear that the book could not just be about racing, it also had to be about race. And she made the decision to not only involve the historical era of slavery in America, but also the continued issue of racism in the present. To do this she used the ubiquitous dual timeline so popular in historical fiction these days.

I have to say that Brooks does a marvelous job of this device. She has a contemporary story line that parallels how Lexington’s skeleton eventually came out of mothballs to be the center of the exhibit in Kentucky. She also changes point of view between the various central characters. Moving back and forth between the contemporary discoveries of the skeleton and painted portrait, to the events in antebellum Kentucky, she weaves a story that I found compelling, fascinating and moving.

I’ve read several of Brooks’s novels. This one is now my favorite.

The audio is performed by a cast of very talented voice artists, who each take on one or more of the narrators: James Fouhey as Jarret; Katherine Littrell as Jess; Michael Obiora as Theo; Graham Halstead as Thomas J Scott; and Lisa Flanagan as Martha and Mary Ball Clay. ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2022 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction-read

I have a "hit or miss" relationship with Brooks and so I was torn about reading this. I am glad I fought off my doubts and plunged into it. I loved it. Whether or not I like some of her books, Brooks research is impeccable and I respect that so much in an author.

Although duel time-lines have worn thin with me, this one was done so well that I was able to overlook that. I did however get a bit peeved when a 3rd time-line was thrown in, but again, done well and so I moved passed my agitated state ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2022 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: animals, historical-fiction, race

Geraldine Brook's Horse will not disappoint, there are so many reasons why I enjoyed this work of fiction. First, Brook's impeccable research on the topics of horse anatomy, the history of horseracing, racism in equine husbandry and African American jockeys, and Thomas G Scott's "Lexington" leaves very few stones unturned. Brook's storytelling is seamless and her characters are thoroughly developed. I enjoyed reading the dual timelines as they connect well and provide parallels to racism in the ...more

4 likes · Like · see review