This breakout novel from the author of The Jump-Off Creek tells the heartwarming story of a determined young woman with a gift for s never had befo...
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Apr 15, 2009
Lara
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I met Molly Gloss when I was in high school in Eastern Oregon, the setting for her beautiful novel, The Jump-off Creek. She was a local hero for the simple reason that she wrote about our world, our hills, our familiar tamarack forests and sagebrush, our quiet people and the lives they lead. In a state best known for Portland and the accessibility of natural wonder to the urban I-5 corridor, it was a refreshing bit of acknowledgment to see real - published! - art showing an interest in and sen
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Jan 06, 2010
Donna Jo
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This is an absolutely amazing book. It takes place over a six month period from the fall of 1917 through the spring of 1918 in cattle country in Oregon. It's a wonderful story of a shy young woman, more at home with horses than people, who comes into the valley to offer to break horses for various farmers and ranchers. And, of course, it is the story of those ranchers and farmers that she meets.
Even with the background of the war and of the surfacing of human meanness, this is a gentle More...
Even with the background of the war and of the surfacing of human meanness, this is a gentle More...
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Jul 16, 2008
I never would have looked twice at this book, had I not heard the author speak at MPIBA. Her speech, though it had nothing to do with the book, was impressive enough (and I heard enough people saying they couldn't put the book down) that I had to give it a chance. If the following description doesn't sound like your normal cup of tea, just know that it isn't mine, either. And yet.
The story takes place in the American West at the beginning of the first World War, when the young men w More...
The story takes place in the American West at the beginning of the first World War, when the young men w More...
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Jan 03, 2008
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Nov 27, 2011
Ryan
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Molly Gloss certainly did a lot of research for this book. I have no doubt that she could actually write a fairly in-depth non-fiction work that deals with life in the western US states at this time. The only problem is that she seems unable to incorporate her exhaustive research into this work of fiction. The facts are never really part of the story, the narrator just tells the reader, as though they were reading a text book when the story of a girl breaking horses got a little dull for them. A
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Oct 15, 2007
Chris
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This is the sort of book I normally wouldn't have given a second glance, and I only read it because I saw the author speak and was impressed by her thoughts on the Cowboy as defining American mythos.
In any case, I was sort of taken by surprise. The novel is not, as the back cover declares, about "a woman trying to make it in a man's world." It is about the simple strength and courage of families living in the American West at the beginning of the first World War. The story More...
In any case, I was sort of taken by surprise. The novel is not, as the back cover declares, about "a woman trying to make it in a man's world." It is about the simple strength and courage of families living in the American West at the beginning of the first World War. The story More...
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May 05, 2008
Felicity
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Well, it's been proven: you can still write a novel with an omniscient narrator. I don't pretend that setting it in the historical past (the U.S. homefront during WWI) doesn't help, but it can obviously still be done, and done well.
Apart from settling that debate, The Hearts of Horses is an enjoyable read, more page-turning than its quiet, even-tempered tone would initially give you cause to guess. It may prompt you to chuckle in company, and, when pressed, explain lamely, "Just More...
Apart from settling that debate, The Hearts of Horses is an enjoyable read, more page-turning than its quiet, even-tempered tone would initially give you cause to guess. It may prompt you to chuckle in company, and, when pressed, explain lamely, "Just More...
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Dec 30, 2007
Jenny
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I know it's a cliche to love horses when you're a twelve-year-old girl, but I did. After reading this book, I'm suddenly interested in horseback riding again. It's a beautiful story of independence and the connections that knit together families and communities. The writing is restrained, which fits with the setting nicely. I did skip over some of the description, but this book totally nails that fierce fear of loss that comes right along with love. It may have been more of a constant threat liv
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Dec 03, 2008
Jennifer
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Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com
It is the winter of 1917, and the United States has finally aligned itself with the allies of World War I. Times are hard. Young men are being shipped overseas at an alarming rate. Ranchers and farmers are scrambling to find adequate help. They must settle for older hired hands and young women looking for work.
Nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen has left her family in search of such work; specifically, horses that need "gentling." More...
It is the winter of 1917, and the United States has finally aligned itself with the allies of World War I. Times are hard. Young men are being shipped overseas at an alarming rate. Ranchers and farmers are scrambling to find adequate help. They must settle for older hired hands and young women looking for work.
Nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen has left her family in search of such work; specifically, horses that need "gentling." More...
Apr 18, 2011
Mila
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What a surprise! The cover is so off-putting, along with the title, that if it hadn't been given to me from the library just before I got on a plane with nothing else to read I probably wouldnt have looked at it twice. It's fabulous! There is none of the sappy, over emotionalized nonsense you might expect from a book about a woman who gentles horses in the early years of WWI. Instead, it's very well-written, with deep, extremely real characters in whom humanity truly exists. Molly Gloss takes th
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Jul 24, 2010
Gerri
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It's not often an author takes as much time with a story as Molly Gloss does with this one. Don't let the title fool you, this is not a book about horses, despite the heroine of the story being a horse whisperer of sorts. The horses merely transport the plot the same way they did people out West during the lead-up to American involvement "over there" in WWI (a period I haven't read too much about, so I found it really different).
This story is written in omniscient, wh More...
Jul 14, 2010
Amanda
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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. Many of the regular hands are off fighting the war, and though the ranchers are sceptical of Martha's quiet, unconventional methods, it is clear that she has a serious knowledge of horses. Over the long, hard winter, the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair - and getting miracu
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Feb 17, 2010
It takes place in the earl 1900's and a young gal leaves home to travel and had a gift and love for horses. So, she decided to make her living by breaking horses in her very gentle wise way. She was like the horse whisperer. She was also a very quiet naive gal but she really did become loved by all the members of th town. It was a very difficult way of life and thre was much hard work and struggle for many residents from day to day. I thought a particular scene was very touching. A young f
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Jul 08, 2009
Michaelsean
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I recently finished The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss and have been slow to getting around to reviewing it. The book is set early in the 20th century in the Central Oregon area. The story revolves around Martha Lessen, a female horse whisperer of sorts. While many of the regions are off preparing for war in Europe, Martha plies her trade as a horse gentler in the remote parts of Oregon.
First off, the book is certainly well written. As the plot unfolds Martha establishes a circle ri More...
First off, the book is certainly well written. As the plot unfolds Martha establishes a circle ri More...
Feb 05, 2009
Dana
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I'd call this book almost a sequel to Monte Walsh by Jack Schaefer, and I consider Monte Walsh one of the perfect novels. The writing is superb, in that run-on raconteur style that feels like the easy canter of a horse. It's 1917, and young Martha Leeson leaves home to become an itinerant bronco buster, only she's a horse whisperer instead and she doesn't get that far from home, either.
This book works on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin. It's a book about World War I a More...
This book works on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin. It's a book about World War I a More...
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Feb 05, 2009
Molly Gloss's affecting fourth novel turns the Western genre on its head with a woman as the mysterious stranger appearing on horseback, but Gloss is known for her independent, self-sufficient heroines. The Hearts of Horses is perhaps the most sentimental of all her works. Though the plot is more a collection of linked stories than a single, continuous narrative—a stylistic technique that most reviewers commented on but did not criticize—Gloss's simple, unadorned prose and stark portrayal of t
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Mar 23, 2011
Nancy
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****1/2
I chose this book to read because the theme of a woman horse whisperer intrigued me. What I didn’t expect, was such a thorough history of life in the west during World War One. I was familiar with women’s roles in WW II, Rosie the Riveter, etc., but had never given much thought to how women took over men’s roles during the previous war—girls who substituted for men doing ranch work were called Land Girls. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression that followed these years, was in part caus More...
I chose this book to read because the theme of a woman horse whisperer intrigued me. What I didn’t expect, was such a thorough history of life in the west during World War One. I was familiar with women’s roles in WW II, Rosie the Riveter, etc., but had never given much thought to how women took over men’s roles during the previous war—girls who substituted for men doing ranch work were called Land Girls. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression that followed these years, was in part caus More...
Sep 11, 2011
Mollie
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This is the third novel in The Best Contemporary Women's Fiction: Six Novels (such a steal on the Kindle), and the one I have enjoyed the most, though I wouldn't call it the best of anything. I really, really like the voice - it reads like it was written years ago, by a (very mellow) cowboy. There is quite a lot of horse talk in it, which I have no interest in, and don't really understand, but which, surprisingly, I quite enjoyed in this book. Miss Lessen is a wonderful character; I have a lovel
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Mar 06, 2010
Donna
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I LOVED this book. It is a wonderfully quiet story of life in a remote fictional Oregon county during WWI. This era seems to be greatly overlooked by writers - there's an abundance of WWII stories, but little about WWI.
The main character of the book, Martha Lessen, is a young, gifted horse trainer trying to make the grade in a man's world. Her methods of horse gentling as opposed to bucking a horse out, raises eyebrows, but she wins hearts over when she soon gets amazing results More...
The main character of the book, Martha Lessen, is a young, gifted horse trainer trying to make the grade in a man's world. Her methods of horse gentling as opposed to bucking a horse out, raises eyebrows, but she wins hearts over when she soon gets amazing results More...
Feb 26, 2010
Debbie
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I don't often read "horse" books anymore, but this one captured my attention as it takes place in Oregon...during World War I. 19 year old Martha Leesen is a "horse whisperer" and is trying to earn a living while many of the men are off fighting. She arrives at the ranch of George and Louise Bliss and asks for a job breaking the horses that so far have seemed unbreakable. She does that with soft words and encouragement instead of hobbles.
Martha has her own pr More...
Martha has her own pr More...
May 25, 2009
J
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Martha Lessen is a nineteen year old tomboy escaping the reach of an abusive father and brother in 1917 Northeastern Oregon. The abuses she suffered do not come to the front of the story much, they are not what the book is about, but they frame the decisions that Martha makes, such as wanting to become a 'broncobuster' who does not bust her horses. She believes that she can gentle almost any horse with kindness, firmness, and consistency, and without breaking their will.
Martha co More...
Martha co More...
Sep 18, 2009
Tara
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If you are a horse lover, you will love this book. It has terrific details about horses and the breaking process. I found it truly informative if nothing else. However, the story lacks a plot. It is basically a novel of Martha Lessen, a young cowgirl going ranch to ranch (a circle) in 1917 Oregon and breaking horses and interacting with the horses' owners from time to time. The closest thing to a villain is a guy that beats horses and pigs. I never felt I was getting to know the characters eithe
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Apr 03, 2011
Ruth
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When I was a kid I read every horse story in print and I remember especially Black Beauty (of course) and the books of Will James. Hearts of Horses is the same kind of book. The language is as simple as a pair of leather chaps, and the lead character of Martha is as quiet and soft-spoken, determined and brave, as any character Jimmy Stewart ever played--and almost as tall. It's a Western, but not a bang-bang shoot-em-up Western. It's about a young woman (though she's constantly and a little More...
Feb 07, 2012
Kellie
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Martha sets out from a home she wants to put in her past to a wanderers life that she thinks she wants. She has not had closeness at home and doesn't expect it as she travels looking for work "breaking" horses, or perhaps a better word would be "gentling" horses. The story is not just about a girl with a talent for taming horses, but about a girl who learns what family really is.
The story began with the introductions to the characters in each chapter and you grow to l More...
The story began with the introductions to the characters in each chapter and you grow to l More...
Nov 06, 2011
Robin
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This was a wonderful story that was also an education on the nature of a horses character and their sensitive nature. The tale follows a female horse whisperer-although that's not what they call her-she's just someone who understands horses-as she seeks a new and better life for herself in the early years of the 20th century. WWI is on the edges of the story, but the location is the pacific northwest. Very good almost to the end-either skip the last few pages about her later life, or be prepar
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Dec 19, 2010
Laurie
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This is a sweet, but not sentimental story about life in the Eastern Oregon mountains in 1917. The backdrop to the story is gentling horses, but to me the book was about valuing, nurturing, and cherishing others who come into our lives, both animal and human, and about living in a world that inflicts painful wounds and loss, and helping each other to go forward with grace and dignity. Molly Gloss wrote The Hearts of Horses after losing her husband to cancer. One of the less prominent characte
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Jan 16, 2008
Chalet
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Based on the title and cover, I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been so highly recommended by a trustworthy friend. Don't be put off by the hokey Lonesome Dove cover--this book is completely engrossing.
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Dec 21, 2011
Tracey
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I got this book from our library's Friends sale for $1 or $2 and was pleasantly surprised! I read this book in less than a week (for a book just shy of 300 pages, that's quick for me as a mother of an active toddler) and I really enjoyed the story.
The main character in the book, Martha, is talented in gentling horses with methods which are unconventional for this time period. As she rides the "circle" - going from ranch to ranch each day riding these green horses, I loved s More...
The main character in the book, Martha, is talented in gentling horses with methods which are unconventional for this time period. As she rides the "circle" - going from ranch to ranch each day riding these green horses, I loved s More...
May 26, 2009
Jill
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Much happier than Gloss' Jump Off Creek, the author weaves a story of many families in one valley in Eastern Oregon all tied in together more tightly by the circle ride of one "girl broncobuster" during the start of the United States' involvement in WWI.
What made this book better than Jump Off Creek wasn't that everyone ends up alive at the end - they don't - but rather that it didn't seem as hopeless or cruel. Maybe the times weren't as hopeless or cruel, so it was truer More...
What made this book better than Jump Off Creek wasn't that everyone ends up alive at the end - they don't - but rather that it didn't seem as hopeless or cruel. Maybe the times weren't as hopeless or cruel, so it was truer More...
Aug 29, 2009
Barbara
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The setting was lovely and the war background interesting but the characters seemed flat. I didn't really feel connected to any of them. It was almost like a loosely connected series of short stories rather than a story about one life and the people connected with that one life. The author kept jumping ahead as though she wanted the story to be over already. Death seems to be connected with despair and hopelessness instead of having a greater meaning. It's a very central theme even in periph
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