false 479415 49 <i>The Horse Whisperer</i> is a story made in Hollywood heaven. The novel was written by a first-time author, and the film option was snapped up by aging heartthrob Robert Redford for 3 million smackers. Why take such risks on a brand-spanking-new author? The answer becomes clear upon reading the touching tale.<p> One morning while teenage Grace Maclean is riding Pilgrim, her goofy, loveable pony, she has a horrendous glass-shattering, bone-splintering, ligament-lynching meeting with a megaton truck that leaves her and her four-legged friend damaged in mind, body, and spirit. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, her jaded, brilliant, bitchy mom, Annie Graves (Kristin Scott Thomas in the 1998 film) is working out a wrinkle in her self-absorbed existence when she gets a call at her plush, Manhattan office about Grace's accident. Racked with guilt, Graves makes it her calling to find the mythical horse whisperer, an equine Zen master who has the ability to heal horses (and broken souls) with soothing words and a gentle touch. Just when it seems he can't be found, what do you know, she finds him. He arrives in the form of Tom Booker-- a rugged, sensitive, dreamy cowboy who helps Pilgrim and Grace repair their fractured selves. To add more mesquite to fire, Booker has a way with not-so-injured, attractive, married women--like Annie. As the plot thickens, so does the familial strife, which threatens to undo Booker's healing work.<p> Like an expert cinematographer, Evans deftly crafts each scene with precision and clarity, sprinkling in ominous signs and foreboding images. For example, in the opening paragraphs, as Annie starts out on the tragic ride, she comes across a bloody bird wing that seems to have fallen out of nowhere. The weight of impending doom is further strengthened by the truck driver's bad luck--he has a run-in with the highway patrol just moments before his meeting with Grace and Pilgrim. These not-so-subtle subliminal messages are masterfully stitched in throughout the story and may compel readers to act as if they were watching a B-grade horror movie, shouting aloud, "Don't go there!" However sentimental, <i>The Horse Whisperer</i> is an engaging read, sort of like a finely tuned, well-edited film. <i>--Rebekah Warren</i> 467825 1995 The Horse Whisperer total:5467|5:1187|4:1851|3:1641|2:590|1:198| 5467 19640 6346 407 1 5 false true Tue Mar 18 14:07:55 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 14:22:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 3 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Mar 15 10:49:14 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 06 21:07:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Aug 09 08:28:49 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 17:58:34 -0700 2007 5 2 false false Fri Oct 17 16:42:47 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 31 13:39:03 -0700 2009 It was assume.
Loved the movie too!]]> 2 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Sun Mar 30 15:18:53 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 12 08:00:47 -0700 2009
The Horse Whisperer, for instance, was not even my kind of movie, let alone book, but its three stars made a date in the movie theatre a must.

I have ...more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 19 15:21:03 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 12:16:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Oct 06 08:39:16 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 28 03:54:57 -0800 2008 The Horse Whisperer has proved to be immensely difficult. What I'm writing here is a review about a book that couldn't have been written any better.
Nicholas Evans spins a heart wrenching epic love story that thrives and dies amid s...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 08:08:59 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 08:14:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Wed Jan 07 10:34:56 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 10:48:20 -0800 2009
So . . . how to write a book review for this book? First of all, the beginning was reminiscent of A Time to Kill (to me). Obviously, it's different, but to have an opener be so violent and horrifying is upsetting. It's interesting to me that I don't even like animals, bu...more...]]> 2 1 false true Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 21:24:02 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 16:48:42 -0800 2009 1
I did enjoy the 'meeting-of-two-worlds' aspect of the story. It was heartwarming to read about two East Coasters trying to fit in at a Montana ranch. Annie and Grace do eventually become near-family to the Booker clan who own and operate the ranch. It...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 23 13:27:13 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 13:36:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 13:35:40 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 05:59:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sun Oct 11 21:09:17 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 11:00:18 -0800 2009 I have seen the movie as well and feel like the movie represented the book well. I shy away from anything to do with animals getting hurt, in movies, books and other ways o...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 16:55:22 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 04:32:08 -0700 2009 I will say it was better than expected. An enjoyable weekend read - as long as I didn't think about it too much. Bu...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Sep 09 10:42:52 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 10:46:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Sat Aug 23 18:29:07 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 18:29:58 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Sat May 17 19:57:36 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 20:06:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 15:40:43 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 18:11:06 -0700 2009 The Loop and The Divide. This book starts out really great. There is a situation that arises which tests the strength of the central characters. However by the middle of the book the focus has shifted to a love/lust story. I did enjoy reading the...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 18:01:31 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 18:01:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 14 09:16:19 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 09:18:31 -0700 2009 more...]]>