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Coal Black Horse
2023: Other Books
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Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead - 4 stars (Subdue)
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This is one of my favorite books.
Booknblues wrote: "This is one of my favorite books."It reminded me of two others I appreciated: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr in the beauty of the writing and the journey of the main characters.
Joy D wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "This is one of my favorite books."It reminded me of two others I appreciated: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and The Black Flower: A Novel of ..."</i>
Cold Mountain is one of my favorites as well. I haven't read The Black Flower, but read [book:The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War by Bahr and perhaps one other. I remember liking it and wanting to read more by him.
I think you would like The Black Flower. The writing is superb.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Cold Mountain (other topics)The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War (other topics)
Cold Mountain (other topics)
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War (other topics)
Coal Black Horse (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Frazier (other topics)Charles Frazier (other topics)
Howard Bahr (other topics)
Robert Olmstead (other topics)
Coming of age story of fourteen-year-old Robey Childs, whose mother sends him to find his father on the battlefields of the American Civil War. Robey rides the titular coal black horse to attempt to locate his father and bring him home. He travels with a reversible coat of blue and grey to blend in with either side. He faces incredible challenges and dangerous situations. His horse has a sense for upcoming threats, and the two travelers develop a close bond. As they journey through Virginia and Pennsylvania, Robey encounters both the best and worst of human nature. He sees horrible scenes of the outcome of battles, scavengers on the battlefield, and people out to profit from the misfortunes of others, but also finds helpfulness and kindness. Robey learns much about himself in the process. Olmstead employs lush descriptions of the landscape, as well as grisly scenes that depict the horrors of war. The historical context is realistically portrayed. Robey is a sympathetic character, and it is easy to root for him to succeed. I can’t say I “enjoyed” this book, but it is a worthy addition to the canon of fact-based fiction of the American Civil War.