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171st out of 664 books
—
1,059 voters
The God of Animals
by
Aryn Kyle (Goodreads Author)
From an award-winning and talented young novelist comes one of the most exciting fiction debuts in years: a breathtaking and beautiful novel set on a horse ranch in small-town Colorado.When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family's troubles -- a depressed, bedridden mother; a reticent, overworked father; and...more
Hardcover, 305 pages
Published
March 1st 2007
by Scribner Book Company
(first published 2007)
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This book surprised me. I'm not into horse books, and be warned: this is a horse book. However, it's also really good. Aryn Kyle is an amazing writer. I think she's younger than me too, so I'm pretty jealous.
What I really appreciate about this book is how complex the characters are. The protagonist is not always kind or honest, but she is strong and brave without being too much of a plucky Heidi type. She feels sorry for herself, which I think the heroines of young adult books have an annoying...more
What I really appreciate about this book is how complex the characters are. The protagonist is not always kind or honest, but she is strong and brave without being too much of a plucky Heidi type. She feels sorry for herself, which I think the heroines of young adult books have an annoying...more
despite its bold, college-sports-team cover colors, i would probably never have picked this book up if i hadn't needed to read a recent spur-award-winner for my beloved readers' advisory class. but, dammit, if it wasn't the most enjoyable thing i have read in a while. and i know that lately i have been slapping a ton of reviews up here, and y'all are sick of my stupid opinions, but heed me one more time: this book is crazy-good. greg, fonso, mfso - feel free to ignore me here, but ladies, come a...more
Sep 06, 2007
Michelle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who want an engaging and bittersweet read
Shelves:
fiction
When I started to list the themes in this book, they were an awful dismal lot: abandonment, betrayal, secrecy and yearning. However, somehow there was this sense of hope and beauty throughout this book as well. Alice, a seventh grader opens her eyes to the world set against the backdrop of her family's ranch. This isn't a "Lassie" view of a ranch either. The harsh realities of trying to make a go of it persist as Alice's mother has permanently retired to her room, her sister has run off and Alic...more
This is a realistic coming-of-age story set in death valley. Alice and her family make a living off their horse ranch. There is a lot of work for Alice and her dad when her sister leaves with a boyfriend. THIS BOOK ISN'T REALLY ABOUT HORSES, even though Alice's relationship with these animals is one of the wonderful things about this story. This beautifully written tale is about hard work, man vs. nature, taking chances, and compassion. There is a lot of involvement with horses, because the fami...more
Alice Winston is a 12 year-old girl whose dysfunctional and isolated family life has left her unable to cope when a classmate of her dies. Her father, Joe Winston, a horseman with too many of his own problems to worry about his daughter's, leaves her emotionally starved and physically overburdened. He doesn't notice as her clothes become too small and too tight and expects her to muck the horse stalls, take care of the horses and help out with her clinically depressed mother who hasn't left her...more
Ayrn Kyle's book came into my hands at the right time, and I simply could not put it down. It stirred heartbreak deep within me, and I wept for Alice, the young narrator of this lovely book. The sadness is imbedded deep inside the story, subtle and graphic at the same time. The story is so rich and compelling that it threw me into its fast, rhythmic pace. Yet I wanted to slow down, practically begged Kyle to give me a break in the action to let her soulful and beautiful prose seep in to me.
"Ups...more
"Ups...more
The Winston family is falling apart. The mother handed over baby Alice to her older sister and retreated to her bedroom where she has stayed for twelve years and Alice’s father is a harsh and distant man, choosing to fill his life with his livelihood, training horses and giving riding lesssons.. Alice is set adrift when her sister runs away to marry a rodeo rider and she seeks to fill the void by trying to gain the attention of her father, classmates and a teacher, with unexpected results. This...more
Written from the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl, The God of Animals tells the story of Alice Winston, who is dealing with her older sister and role model running off and getting married, the growing distance between herself and her parents and the death of a classmate she never knew.
Positives:
+ A quick read. It definitely made the time go by faster on a long road trip.
+ The final scene was heartbreaking.
+ I've been a horse lover my whole life, so the subject matter was definitely right u...more
Positives:
+ A quick read. It definitely made the time go by faster on a long road trip.
+ The final scene was heartbreaking.
+ I've been a horse lover my whole life, so the subject matter was definitely right u...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
Critics raised a few concerns about this debut novel (based on the award-winning short story "Foaling Season"), but Aryn Kyle's talent astounded everyone. She takes a clich_
I couldn't put this book down - loved the raw perspective of the 12 yr old girl combined with farm life.
Has anyone else started it?
Has anyone else started it?
It's like The Lovely Bones all over again. Same bland tone, lack of direction...just feels pointless.
May 13, 2008
Visha Burkart
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sarah Messer, Hillary, Erin, Susan
Reasons why Aryn Kyle and I will one day braid each others' hair:
1. I am currently growing my hair out and she already (judging from her ultra-adorable author photo) has long hair.
2. We both like horseys and place is important in our writing (for me, the South; for her, the West)
3. Our work has so many resonantingly similar themes that when I finished The G of A, I put the book down and sobbed - because the end of the book is sad, sure, but also because I suddenly wondered why the hell I was wor...more
1. I am currently growing my hair out and she already (judging from her ultra-adorable author photo) has long hair.
2. We both like horseys and place is important in our writing (for me, the South; for her, the West)
3. Our work has so many resonantingly similar themes that when I finished The G of A, I put the book down and sobbed - because the end of the book is sad, sure, but also because I suddenly wondered why the hell I was wor...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
And here it is - the fiftieth book I read on my commute. Started the new job mid-June of '07, and by the end of March '08, nine and a half months later, I have fifty more books taking up mental shelf space. Most of them pretty good, too.
The word that kept recurring to me over and over again as I read The God of Animals was "sad". It is a book about sad things - the economic problems of the hard-working lower class, the awkwardness of early adolescence, the devastation of failed marriages, both t...more
The word that kept recurring to me over and over again as I read The God of Animals was "sad". It is a book about sad things - the economic problems of the hard-working lower class, the awkwardness of early adolescence, the devastation of failed marriages, both t...more
The setting, at least for an East Coast habitue, is what saves this book. The author takes us into the world of horse ranches with all of its pressures. There are many kinds of competitions that riders prepare for; many do not simply have horse to ride on occasion.
As a coming of age story, it doesn't break new ground, and, in fact, reifies many gender stereotypes. Girls are fascinated with horses in their pre-teen years; girls have secret crushes on male teachers;girls have petty struggles with...more
As a coming of age story, it doesn't break new ground, and, in fact, reifies many gender stereotypes. Girls are fascinated with horses in their pre-teen years; girls have secret crushes on male teachers;girls have petty struggles with...more
The back of the book says that Alice, the narrator, stands in the company of the girls from To Kill a Mockingbird and Member of the Wedding, and while this is true, it makes the book overall sound more Bildungsroman than is maybe the case. I thought it was more like a combination of The Lovely Bones and The Red Pony -- which my sister said sounds like as much fun as a slipper full of tacks. She maybe has a point, but despite the sorrow left behind by the roller coaster of a plot, not to mention...more
I've never liked a book so much at the beginning and been so disappointed in it in the end. The first 100 pages of this novel are amazing. But in the end, the author falters. I understand that it originally started out as a short story, and Kyle is simply not able to maintain the narrative when expanding it to novel length. The story becomes repetitive, as does the language. The descriptions of character emotions become strained and overwrought while the characters themselves simultaneously beco...more
I enjoyed this book a lot; however, it may not be for everyone. It can be somewhat graphic in its descriptions of harm to animals, so keep that in mind.
This is a beautiful story that draws you in. You experience the novel as if you were the main character: a young teenage girl struggling to understand the world around her and find her place within it.
This is a beautiful story that draws you in. You experience the novel as if you were the main character: a young teenage girl struggling to understand the world around her and find her place within it.
This novel started as a short-story. The characters and the landscape are so compelling. The main character, Alice Winston, is a lonely 12-year old girl living with her family in Desert Valley, Colorado. Her mother is clinically depressed and rarely leaves her room, her 16-year old sister eloped and her father is emotionally unavailable as he works to keep the family's ranch operating. The novel opens with, "Six months before Polly Cain drowned in the canal, my sister, Nona, ran off and married...more
This book was beautiful. The characters were so perfectly constructed, wonderfully flawed and totally 3 dimensional. Alice, the star of this book, is a young girl with a very difficult home and school life, absolutely pining for affection and a connection to humanity. Her older sister has run off, her mum sits locked away in a dark room, deeply depressed and cut off from the world whilst her dad is a horse trainer with dubious methods learnt from his father. The farm is struggling as is he, and...more
I've had this on my 'to read' list for many months and the library was always out so I figured, 'wow, must be great' and yes... overall the story held my attention and the writing was really above par, but I didn't close the book and spend anytime contemplating it. I think the characters were well thought out and the story was interesting. It is told from the point of view of a pretty mature 12 year old whose family owns a horse farm that is slowly burning out and how this affects her and the pe...more
The God of Animals is a coming-of-age story about a girl, Alice, who lives on a ranch in Colorado. Basically I picked up this book for one reason: horses. Yes, that's right, I dig horse stories. But I found myself pleasantly surprised by the story and the development of the characters, especially Alice. Life on a ranch is often romantized in literature... Yet this story told some gruesome truths about what happens when you can't pay the bills, the animals become sick or wounded, and people lose...more
Aug 03, 2012
Jan Priddy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
love and failure and finding your way, coming of age, horses, bittersweet, authentic, West
Recommended to Jan by:
Matt Johnson
THE GOD OF ANIMALS by Aryn Kyle (2007) was lent to me by a co-worker. I brought it home for the summer and came across it just the other day, not expecting to love it, to carry it around with me for two days, to laugh and cry, and to lose myself in the story of “dreams that never come true” and the terrible truth of what does. Alice Winston is twelve, living on a horse ranch in Colorado, and trying to understand everything. The book begins: “Six months before Polly Cain drowned in the canal, my...more
The family of twelve-year old Alice Winston has always scraped by on modest earnings from their small horse ranch located in the rural town of Desert Valley, Colorado. The success of the ranch has depended largely on the talents of Alice’s sister, Nona, a natural rider and whimsically free spirit. Nona’s winnings at horse shows have been the one reliable constant for attracting new clients to the ranch, where they take training lessons from the sisters’ father, Joe, a backbreaking worker and aus...more
Not too long ago, I wrote a blog post about e-book readers, citing my love for used books as the number one reason that I didn't want such a reader. The God of Animals is a perfect example of why I love used books. I wouldn't have picked up this book on my own - I had never heard of it, and horses, like the one on its cover, aren't among my favorite animals - but I came across this book in a book exchange at a library in Honduras, and it was the only English language book that wasn't a thick gen...more
Is there a litmus test for whether or not we like a book? At book club last night, where we discussed our first book of 2009, The God Of Animals by Aryn Kyle, we asked the question: would you recommend this book to a friend? The answers were varied and that’s even after we had a very lively discussion of the book’s merits (and there were a few.)
The God of Animals begins with the death of 12 year old Polly Cain. It’s a riveting scene in which we learn not only of Polly’s death but also several ot...more
The God of Animals begins with the death of 12 year old Polly Cain. It’s a riveting scene in which we learn not only of Polly’s death but also several ot...more
Honestly, don't know if it's timing, or the profound connection to the West and its particular culture that I've been cultivating through my change in and commitment to my new home in Santa Fe and my new job at an all-girls middle school, but I couldn't put it down! Kyle's writing is smoothly eloquent and perfectly precise, capturing her young protagonist effortlessly and painting her world through her own honest eyes and heart. Twelve-year-old Alice is struggling with so much, and so much of th...more
In this debut novel, Aryn Kyle creates a memorable story about a lonely twelve-year-old girl, Alice Winston, and her struggle to make sense of the world around her. Alice’s sister Nona runs off with a rodeo star while her father tries to keep the horse ranch solvent and her mother sinks into a deeper depression. Alice suddenly must become her father’s assistant while trying to maintain good grades at school and figure out the many roles she must play in her mixed up world. Other stories weave in...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I don't recall how I heard of this young author. She was born four years after I graduated from college. This is her first novel, although the first chapter was drawn from a short story published, I believe, in 2004.
Although I occasionally felt as if I were reading a story about horses meant for girls, I could not overlook the remarkable craftsmanship of the author's writing. I find that as I grow older, my attention slips with some written work that requires more than a modicum of concentratio...more
Although I occasionally felt as if I were reading a story about horses meant for girls, I could not overlook the remarkable craftsmanship of the author's writing. I find that as I grow older, my attention slips with some written work that requires more than a modicum of concentratio...more
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| NPR Book Club Reads God of Animals | 3 | 67 | Jul 04, 2011 09:22pm |
Aryn Kyle graduated from the University of Montana writing program. In 2004 her short story Foaling Season, now the first chapter of this novel, won a National Magazine Award for Fiction for The Atlantic Monthly. Kyle spent most of her childhood in Grand Junction, Colorado, and now lives in New York City.
More about Aryn Kyle...
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“Marriage is the most expensive ticket to nowhere”
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