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16th out of 415 books
—
284 voters
Horse Heaven
by
Jane Smiley
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
"A WISE, SPIRITED NOVEL . . . [IN WHICH] SMILEY PLUMBS THE WONDROUSLY
STRANGE WORLD OF HORSE RACING." --People
"ONE OF THE PREMIER NOVELISTS OF HER GENERATION, possessed of a mastery
of craft and an uncompromising vision that grow more powerful with each
book . . . Racing's eclectic mix of classes and personalities provides
Sm...more
"A WISE, SPIRITED NOVEL . . . [IN WHICH] SMILEY PLUMBS THE WONDROUSLY
STRANGE WORLD OF HORSE RACING." --People
"ONE OF THE PREMIER NOVELISTS OF HER GENERATION, possessed of a mastery
of craft and an uncompromising vision that grow more powerful with each
book . . . Racing's eclectic mix of classes and personalities provides
Sm...more
Mass Market Paperback, 640 pages
Published
August 26th 2003
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1999)
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Jun 25, 2012
Jennifer (aka EM)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Jennifer (aka EM) by:
jo
Shelves:
for-diane
Just loved how Smiley contrasted thoroughbred racing horses - who are born to know what they love and what they are meant to do - with a whole gaggle of self-doubting, identity-conflicted humans. Funny, "sprawling" but controlled, lotsa anthropomorphism but no saccharine sentimentality. Smiley has an insider's knowledge of her milieu, but also respects and trusts her reader enough not to bog the story down in definition or description. Even though they are frequent, her race scenes are never bor...more
Fascinating portrayal of the thoroughbred horseracing world.
How does Jane Smiley do it? Her books are all completely unique. There is no formula; no predictability (you could say she is an anti-Ian McEwan). The story is set in the thoroughbred racing world of Southern California. The story, and the human beings involved are involving. But what set this book apart for me? Two of the main characters are animals. One of the racehorses, and, a dog. A Jack Russell Terrier to be more precise. And let...more
How does Jane Smiley do it? Her books are all completely unique. There is no formula; no predictability (you could say she is an anti-Ian McEwan). The story is set in the thoroughbred racing world of Southern California. The story, and the human beings involved are involving. But what set this book apart for me? Two of the main characters are animals. One of the racehorses, and, a dog. A Jack Russell Terrier to be more precise. And let...more
A rambling book with many evocative characters, human and equine, that will stick with me. I haven't cried over a book in a while but one particular scene was so wrenching that it had me sobbing as I read.
Review originally and more completely published at http://www.epinions.com/review/Horse_...
I found Horse Heaven to be entirely too disjointed, jumping from unconnected event to unconnected character every few pages. Smiley did give all her animals very human qualities, making them as integral to the story as the actual human characters. At one point, we even ride around in Eileen the scrappy terrier’s mind, hearing her thoughts.
The novel jumps from character to character. Some of these characte...more
I found Horse Heaven to be entirely too disjointed, jumping from unconnected event to unconnected character every few pages. Smiley did give all her animals very human qualities, making them as integral to the story as the actual human characters. At one point, we even ride around in Eileen the scrappy terrier’s mind, hearing her thoughts.
The novel jumps from character to character. Some of these characte...more
Fine novel by Jane Smiley, a favorite author. She gets inside the minds of the horses in a surprisingly believable way. Really enjoyed it.
an epic poem in prose . . . about horse racing.
4 likes · like · see review
I love the Dicken-esque structure of this novel. This is the first novel I have read by Smiley. I read her small bio of Dickens and thought it was a wonderful distillation of the man and his work; she had the fine sense to recognize Our Mutual Friend as perhaps his best work. With Horse Heaven she goes back her forebearers, Dickens, Fielding and Thackery and creates a novel that is worthy homage.
One of the things I loved best about her book is the sly humor. There is one episode of quiet sly hum...more
One of the things I loved best about her book is the sly humor. There is one episode of quiet sly hum...more
I think I would really give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the many, many different characters, all of whose lives revolve around horses and thoroughbred racing. And I learned a lot about horses.
The only thing keeping the book from receiving a higher rating was that it was a little too long. I loved the characters and all that happened with them, but there was generally not much in the way of plot, so I did not feel the book needed to be as long as it was.
Still, I did enjoy it and ended up readi...more
The only thing keeping the book from receiving a higher rating was that it was a little too long. I loved the characters and all that happened with them, but there was generally not much in the way of plot, so I did not feel the book needed to be as long as it was.
Still, I did enjoy it and ended up readi...more
Smiley has written a sprawling, vivacious novel about the world of thoroughbred racehorses, their trainers, their owners, and their fans. The novel is a delight for anyone who's ever loved horses, although racing fans may find its pace a little slow. Smiley follows the fortunes of five different horses as they change owners, win and lose races, and otherwise fulfill their various destinies. The horses are often more compelling than the novel's human characters, but this is probably intentional o...more
For the average human not acquainted with the horse (or, for that matter, horse racing) world, this book might seem a bit intimidating. It's over 500 pages long, which was only slightly less in length than Justin Cronin's 'The Passage', which I read prior to embarking on Ms Smiley's impressive tome. However, despite both books having an expansive cast of characters, the stories could not be more different.
There is an excellent review prior to mine that gives a terrific description of storyline,...more
There is an excellent review prior to mine that gives a terrific description of storyline,...more
I really loved this book.
I started it on a vacation and despite a return to my work routine: picking it up, putting it down, I felt completely enmeshed in her character's lives. She kept all of her numerous threads going, twisting here and there and despite that, I had no difficulty remembering about people and horses, their nuances and quirky natures. She really created all of her characters magically and I loved how the horses were as alive as the people, maybe even more so.
She remarks in the...more
I started it on a vacation and despite a return to my work routine: picking it up, putting it down, I felt completely enmeshed in her character's lives. She kept all of her numerous threads going, twisting here and there and despite that, I had no difficulty remembering about people and horses, their nuances and quirky natures. She really created all of her characters magically and I loved how the horses were as alive as the people, maybe even more so.
She remarks in the...more
I found the whole book a rather clinical, and extremely unenjoyable read. . .
The animal cruelty was horrific, it was dealt with in a clinical way and didn't stimulate the depth of emotion that such abuse should have.
I found the characters (both human and animal alike) lacking any feel, they seemed so emotionless, cold and lacking in depth.
Books very rarely leave me so disappointed. Horse Heaven didn't stimulate any feeling for the human characters, I would not have been even remotely sad if the...more
The animal cruelty was horrific, it was dealt with in a clinical way and didn't stimulate the depth of emotion that such abuse should have.
I found the characters (both human and animal alike) lacking any feel, they seemed so emotionless, cold and lacking in depth.
Books very rarely leave me so disappointed. Horse Heaven didn't stimulate any feeling for the human characters, I would not have been even remotely sad if the...more
I'm not really sure how I feel about the book overall. It was excellent in many ways, but sort of pointless overall. It's a soap opera about horses & the people working with them on the track with a sort of beginning & a kind of end, but there was a lot of history & certainly life goes on after the book ends.
The writing was good, engaging & yet there wasn't a single defined plot, so I got a bit lost at times. Toward the middle of the book, I almost gave it up due to characters m...more
The writing was good, engaging & yet there wasn't a single defined plot, so I got a bit lost at times. Toward the middle of the book, I almost gave it up due to characters m...more
AN ADULT VERSION OF THE SADDLE CLUB, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I cannot believe it's taken me this long to discover Jane Smiley. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't actually recommend this book to anyone besides myself, my mom, and maybe this one friend I had in college who came from Bakersfield, CA and used to ride her horse to school and also had never seen a crosswalk before moving to Berkeley and whose mother killed her exotic cat, Gizmo, by accidentally baking it in the dryer. WE ARE AMERICA AND WE...more
In the helpful "bookclub" section at the back of my copy, Smiley advises the confused reader of this complex novel to "follow the horses". But that's the problem, Jane! Wonderfully as you depict each horse, they remain four legs and a mane, with believably consistent horsey thoughts so it's difficult to tell one from the other. Plus you keep changing their names! And there's no cast list or helpful chart at the front of the book! I tried in desperation to follow the people, but there were just t...more
Jane Smiley's novel about horse racing is one of the best books I have read this summer. It was loaned to me by my sister-in-law, a horse woman herself and daughter of a horse woman. Jane Smiley owns a race horse or two and clearly knows plenty about the subject. A big part of the book's success is the way she makes the horses characters in the story as much as she does the humans.
I knew nothing about the world of horse racing, except that people like to go to the races and bet money. I learned...more
3 likes · like · see review
I bought his book in a thrift store more than ten years ago for about 3 bucks and since then I've lost and purchased it several more times. In fact, I've read this book dozens of times and I love everything about it. I love the long rambling descriptions, the settings, the tracks, the horses, the barns, and the people. I've been a horse-lover from day one and have an undergraduate degree in equine science, so obviously I love the horse part a lot. Justa Bob is SO freaking cool I can't even get o...more
"If you were a certain kind of little girl, a pony of your very own was the world's finest treasure."
And I was totally that kind of little girl. I never got the pony but I retained a love and interest in things horsey that has endured to this day.
Because of that, I suppose its not surprising if I admit that I liked this book a lot. But am honestly not sure I can really say it was a good book.
The format is a bit. . . problematic. Smiley tries to give us a taste of what life is like around the thr...more
And I was totally that kind of little girl. I never got the pony but I retained a love and interest in things horsey that has endured to this day.
Because of that, I suppose its not surprising if I admit that I liked this book a lot. But am honestly not sure I can really say it was a good book.
The format is a bit. . . problematic. Smiley tries to give us a taste of what life is like around the thr...more
There are sub-cultures all around our country like "Civil-War re-enactors” “Karaoke singers” “NASCAR fans” “Independent Film Buffs” etc. and unless you are part of this particular sub-cultural you never know much about them Jane Smiley captures “horse people” from the jockey to owners to vets to trainers to breeder to fans to actual horses perfectly. She tells a wonderful tale of multiple human and horse lives all at once while working her way to the crown jewel of horse racing “The Breeder’s Cu...more
After reading the first third of this book, I was pretty confused about which horse was which and who was who - there is a vast cast of characters in this book, and it takes a while before any person/horse emerges as being more important to the story than another. I kept at it, and towards the end, couldn't put it down. The stories of the race horses and the people who own/train/ride/bet on them finally start to come together and reach a conclusion. Knowing nothing about horses, I can't comment...more
On one hand there is so much horse knowledge packed into this book it is unbelievable. On the other hand the story rambles and jumps from character to character and story line to story line. All the characters are either horses, or the people who own horses, ride horses, train horses or otherwise interact with horses (one person even reads horse's minds....amazing). And the snippets of stories are all really quite fascinating and very different. It gets a bit overcomplicated with the horse linea...more
I liked this book. Smiley's writing style is excellent and fluid and engaging. She shares a wealth of information about horses and the horse racing industry from owners to trainers. I serendipitously read an article about the horrible things that can happen to race horses when their short careers end. Smiley's book was completely accurate compared with the facts in the article.
I want to give the book more stars but I found I didn't get lost in it. It is one of those books that reads like a biog...more
I want to give the book more stars but I found I didn't get lost in it. It is one of those books that reads like a biog...more
I really enjoyed how Smiley gave both humans and animals very in depth personalities. I felt like I got to know each and every character. However, there are some characters I would have liked to seen more of. The jumping around from character was a unique way of writing I thoroughly enjoyed, however, it did get confusing remebering which character was which. I used the character intro in the beginning quite a bit! I really enjoyed this book overall. Warning, you may have to read twice to fully u...more
Despite the fact that I'm not a 14-year-old girl anymore, I'm reading a horse book. And I enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to getting a (very) in-depth look into the world of horse racing - a world that I believe is very, very limited nowadays. (Who ever hears about it except on the first Saturday in May?) I love being taken inside worlds that are so far outside my normal sphere that I forget they even exist. I watched Seabiscuit and the other popular racing horse movie recently, so I think...more
The cover says this is book heaven, and that is the truth. I held off about a year from reading this thick novel, 560 pages or so with very little white space on the page. Once I cracked it, though, the story took me away. Always interesting, informative, insightful, funny, it flowed to the very end.
I love this book and can't say enough good about it. For me, it is one of those very satisfying reads that comes along every so many years.
You don't have to love horses or know about horses or horse...more
I love this book and can't say enough good about it. For me, it is one of those very satisfying reads that comes along every so many years.
You don't have to love horses or know about horses or horse...more
This one is an all time favorite. I really like Smiley's writing style and this is a subject so close to my heart. Having worked in the racing industry for over ten years I thoroughly enjoyed her familiarity with racing, the people and the horses.
What a great cast of characters, both human, equine and canine. There are several female characters I could just morph into; Rosalind Maybrick, Joy, Marvelous Martha, Deirdre, Krista, Audrey. I adore Sir Michael and plan to become a bloodstock agent mys...more
What a great cast of characters, both human, equine and canine. There are several female characters I could just morph into; Rosalind Maybrick, Joy, Marvelous Martha, Deirdre, Krista, Audrey. I adore Sir Michael and plan to become a bloodstock agent mys...more
I adore this book: it is officially my favorite book of all time. I seriously felt like it was made especially for me. The book is so gorgeously detail oriented and Smiley did an especially beautiful job of weaving a complex and connected tapestry of human emotion and relationships. It was in a word, gorgeous. I was so engrossed by the writing, the style and the impeccable attention Smiley paid to the intense world of horse racing.
Not a book I would recommend to the casual reader, but for a hors...more
Not a book I would recommend to the casual reader, but for a hors...more
Sep 09, 2012
Brittany
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
anthrozoology
This is a lovely fat book, populated with well-drawn characters both human and equine. (And in one glorious case, canine.) What it is not, is a plot-driven book. There isn’t much of what one would call “action.” However, that is fine with me. I much prefer story to plot, and there’s more than enough of that to keep the book moving forward. This is a very organic book. It chronicles the lives of a handful of people as they intersect, weave, meander, and move through one another. It’s also an hone...more
I don't remember why I first picked up this book years ago, but it's been one that I look forward to re-reading ever since.
I am not a fan of horses, but while the book's characters are centered around horses and horse racing (indeed, a couple of the characters ARE horses), Smiley writes about them in such an engaging manner that you want to know more about them as people (and, as horses). One of the best characters in this book is Eileen, a Jack Russell terrier. I say that not to downplay how we...more
I am not a fan of horses, but while the book's characters are centered around horses and horse racing (indeed, a couple of the characters ARE horses), Smiley writes about them in such an engaging manner that you want to know more about them as people (and, as horses). One of the best characters in this book is Eileen, a Jack Russell terrier. I say that not to downplay how we...more
I went back and forth with this book. There is a wealth of inside information regarding the care of, abuse of, superstitions about, and shady dealings that surround professional horse racing—Smiley obviously did her research. I liked the numerous anecdotes about horses and race tracks and enjoyed the funny ‘horse’ jokes. However, this information is woven around a cast of 50+ characters including the main protagonists—six thoroughbred horses, and I think therein lies the difficulty. There was ju...more
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Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar...more
More about Jane Smiley...
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar...more
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May 15, 2009 09:25pm