“Theo couldn’t imagine wanting anything in this sadness-infused pile of discards.... There were some old paperbacks slugged into a beer carton. He was always curious about what people read. He reached down to check the titles. And that is when he saw the horse.”
I’m Betty Martin with "Martin’s Must Reads" and those are some lines from the first chapter of Geraldine Brooks’ newest novel Horse. Theo is a Nigerian American art historian struggling to find a topic for his doctoral thesis when he discovers the painting of a horse with a black man. As he begins to research it he meets Jess, a Smithsonian scientist who’s an expert in animal bones. Together they discover that the painting is of Lexington, the most famous stallion in history, famous both for his racing prowess and the five hundred foals he sired, some of whom went on to win the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness.
The story alternates between this present day research and Kentucky in the 1850’s from the time Lexington was born until he died, Jarrett the slave who was his constant companion and trainer and Thomas Scott the artist who painted the piece Theo finds.
Brooks writes in her afterword, “It is important to appreciate its (horse racing in America) immense popularity in antebellum life. This thriving industry was built on the labor and skills of Black horsemen, many of whom were, or had been enslaved. After Reconstruction, the racing industry became segregated and these Black horsemen were pushed aside. As I began to research Lexington’s life, it became clear to me that this novel could not merely be about a racehorse, it would also need to be about race.”
If you’re looking for another well written novel by the author of People of the Book, then you must read Horse by Geraldine Brooks.
