About this item
Highlights
- "A shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts.
- Author(s): Molly Gloss
- 304 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
Description
About the Book
With an elegant sweetness and a pitch-perfect sense of western life reminiscent of Annie Dillard, Gloss's breakout novel is a remarkable story about the connections between people and animals and how they touch one another in the most unexpected and profound ways.Book Synopsis
"A shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts." -- Amy Bloom, author of In Love
Award-winning author Molly Gloss' The Hearts of Horses is an elegant, heartwarming story about the profound connections between people and animals.
In the winter of 1917, nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen saddles her horses and heads for a remote county in eastern Oregon, looking for work "gentling" wild horses. She chances on a rancher, George Bliss, who is willing to hire her on. Many of his regular hands are off fighting the war, and he glimpses, beneath her showy rodeo garb, a shy but strong-willed girl with a serious knowledge of horses. So begins the irresistible tale of a young but determined woman trying to make a go of it in a man's world.
Over the course of several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair -- getting miraculous, almost immediate results. It's with this gift that she earns their respect, and a chance to make herself a home.
Review Quotes
"A shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts." -- Amy Bloom, author of In Love
"Gloss has . . . a permanent place on the shelf of American literature [featuring] smart, independent women." -- Kent Haruf, author of Our Souls at Night
"An acutely observed, often lyrical portrayal ... has as much to say about people as about horses." -- Kirkus Reviews
"[Gloss] brings the period during World War I vibrantly alive." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"[An] affecting, timely novel that lays explicit emphasis on empathy as a yardstick of humanity." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Not just a horse story or a tale of the West, Gloss's moving novel . . . is a story not soon forgotten." -- Bookpage
"Gloss's lyrical story follows the mesmerizing journey of 19-year-old Martha Lessen." -- Hallmark Magazine
"The moving story of a . . . strong-willed woman bucking society's norm to gently train horses without breaking their spirit." -- Temple Grandin
"Gorgeous! Pitch-perfect . . . utterly engaging . . . deft." -- Andrea Barrett, author of National Book Award Winner Ship Fever
"Magnificent .. Molly Gloss has brilliantly recreated a bygone time and place." -- Howard Frank Mosher, author of On Kingdom Mountain
"Truly, one of the best books you'll ever read." -- Jane Kirkpatrick, author of All Together in One Place
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