Gritty, dark, and surprisingly poignant. It's fitting that Gordon's novel was a surprise winner of the National Book Award given that the book is about a bunch of underdogs working at a low-stakes horse racetrack, each trying to survive in this sinister underworld. The pivotal character of the book, Maggie, is a frizzy-haired misfit who attracts the attention, most of it unwanted, of the racetrack's men. She also has an unconventional way of treating horses, harnessing their powers through affection rather than a trainer's experienced touch, which seems to provoke just about everyone. The plot of the book is structured by the horses themselves, leading to the climactic race between the track's regulars (each a distinctive loser) and a visiting horse, Lord of Misrule. The name of the horse is as ominous as the race itself.

Don't expect this book to be light or happy. Violence and sexuality (usually combined) appear suddenly. But Gordon's beautiful writing hooked me early on and kept me interested until the very end.