What We Thought: The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

The Hearts of Horses

by Molly Gloss

 

Book group members met Tuesday afternoon, July 22, to discuss a life very different from 2014 Southeastern Massachusetts. The Hearts of Horses is set during the winter of 1917 in eastern Oregon when America has entered World War I.  The author deals with young Martha Lessing new to Elwha County finding her way and creating a place in the community for herself. She finds work breaking horses to the saddle and gentling them for riding. She has unconventional methods but impresses all those who see the results of her work. She gains their respect and friendship as well.

Riding the circle; riding horses and dropping them off on farms and ranches in turn serve the purpose of finishing their training. The circle not only works for the horses but for Martha as well. She is able to become attuned to the people of the valley and the rhythms of their lives. The farmers and ranchers accept her as well. She finds a comfortable place with the older established citizens and the younger generation too. Martha is introduced as a loner but soon her love of horses and hard work changes her life. She matures from a young girl to an adult and gathers an extended family and a marriage for herself.

One recurring story line was about Native American tribes and how different the land was before it was settled by white people. Martha often thought about the life that came before and imagined herself as an Indian boy riding horses throughout the wild country.

Homesteading and women’s place in that harsh and often lonely setting is vividly described. Electricity and indoor plumbing were not generally installed in the outlying farms and ranches until the mid to late 1940’s. People had to depend upon each other for help and companionship, no matter what they thought about each other. Not all of the people lived happily ever after but they made their way as best they could.

The characters were believable and held the interest of readers, who were captivated by the cowboy life depicted. Although the story takes place nearly one hundred years ago, readers commented about parallels in modern life. The author has written an authentic story about a young girl who could easily be a twenty-first-century woman.

Molly Gloss has written a great story that book club members thoroughly enjoyed and will long remember. She lives in Portland and is a fourth-generation Oregonian.

Please share your comments about this book to join the discussion!

This Month's Selection: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

Combined Book Club Potluck

Evening and Afternoon Readers

Tuesday, August 19, 6:00 p.m. 

Bring a dish to share!

The Art Forger

New York Times Bestseller and #1 IndieNext Pick!

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist with her own scandalous past, is about to discover that that there's more to this crime than meets the eye.

"The Art Forger is clever and gripping story. Just like a fine painting, this is a many layered literary thriller about love, betrayal and authenticity. Shapiro builds the story with pitch perfect suspense and twists in plot you don't see coming. The Art Forger is a masterpiece." — IndieNext

This Month's Selection: The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

Afternoon Readers Book Club

The Hearts of Horses
by Molly Gloss

Tuesday, July15
1:00 p.m.

From the publisher:

Set in eastern Oregon in the winter of 1917, The Hearts of Horses tells the story of nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen, a tall, big-boned young woman whose shyness around other people is in sharp contrast to her tender yet confident manner with horses—and her fierce advocacy on their behalf.

There’s not a cliché to be found in Gloss’s lyric, literary prose, which sets Martha’s story in an unvarnished, un-romanticized World War I–era American West. This West isn’t filled with brave, uncomplicated cowboys; rather, it’s peopled with individuals whose everyday lives are fraught with the stark realities of war, cancer, death, alcoholism, and the agony of unrealized dreams. But Gloss’s writing is realistic, not pessimistic, and she weaves the elements of The Hearts of Horses together to form a one-of-a-kind story about the connections between people and animals that is moving and heartfelt, with an abundance of historical detail.

Sound good?

Read along with the Afternoon Readers Book Club and post your comments here any time, or on the discussion post after July 22nd!

What We Thought: Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

Christopher Buckley has written a political satire about the United States Supreme Court and the influence of reality television on popular culture. The author shows respect for the political process and the judicial system. His knowledge of the subjects is demonstrated in the complex descriptions of the Constitution and election laws. This is not just another goofy story, but a realistic depiction of a "what if" situation.

Book group members agreed that the book provided a fascinating insight into the world of the Supreme Court and the Washington political scene. Although the characters and much of the plot are ridiculous, there was enough factual information to engage the reader’s interest and move the story along. The characters of President Donald Vanderdamp and Judge Pepper Cartwright were likeable and added realistic touches to the story. Other characters were so comical that perhaps they were on the verge of revealing something that could have actually happened in real life.

The discussion continued with comments about the character of those who aspire to political office. What kind of a person would subject themselves to the intense personal scrutiny of a campaign and what would be the effect? Is it the desire for power, public service or something else?

New York Times Book Review contributor Blake Wilson wrote in his review: “At a time of high political absurdity, Buckley remains our sharpest guide to the capital, and a more serious one than we may suppose.”

Have you read Supreme Courtship or any other books by Christopher Buckley? Share your thoughts in the comments. You don't have to be a member of the Afternoon Readers book group to comment!

This Month's Selection: Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

Afternoon Readers
Tuesday, June 17, 1:00 p.m.

Supreme Courtship
Christopher Buckley
Hachette/Twelve, 2008

President of the United States Donald Vanderdamp is having a hell of a time getting his nominees appointed to the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating To Kill A Mockingbird, the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won't have the guts to reject her -- Judge Pepper Cartwright, the star of the nation's most popular reality show, Courtroom Six.

Will Pepper, a straight-talking Texan, survive a confirmation battle in the Senate? Will becoming one of the most powerful women in the world ruin her love life? And even if she can make it to the Supreme Court, how will she get along with her eight highly skeptical colleagues, including a floundering Chief Justice who, after legalizing gay marriage, learns that his wife has left him for another woman?

Soon, Pepper finds herself in the middle of a constitutional crisis, a presidential reelection campaign that the president is determined to lose, and oral arguments of a romantic nature. Supreme Courtship is another classic Christopher Buckley comedy about the Washington institutions most deserving of ridicule. 

Have you read Supreme Courtship? Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or on the discussion post to come!