Horse Heaven

Before I read Horse Heaven, I had never read anything by Jane Smiley, but I grew up reading anything I could get my hands on about horses. What made this book such a pleasure to read, aside from the author's wonderful turns of phrase and vivid imagery, was the unorthodox format and ending. I, too, was expecting everyone to meet up at some race or another at the end, but I'm very glad they didn't - that would have been too cliche. I think it was much more realistic that some of the characters crossed paths and others didn't. I've never read another horse book like it. I also loved the scope of the book. I don't think a single character should be removed, as the obvious goal of the author was to present a complete picture of the great variety of characters, human and equine, involved in horse racing. True, the beginning can be a little confusing, and I do need to read it a second time to fully grasp it all, but it gets easier to follow the characters as the story progresses. Don't read this book if you're looking for a plot-heavy book that moves along quickly. This is more of a character piece, or rather a character epic, and the plot serves the characters.

I just finished this book and had to hop on line to see what others said. I enjoy reading Jane Smiley's occasional articles in Practical Horseman and thoroughly enjoyed both A Thousand Acres and Barn Blind - the latter because it also dealt with horses. However, I couldn't finish Liddy Newton or Moo...so! I'm really a fan of any horse-related fiction and truly enjoyed this book and experienced that "Oh No! I Finished It!" feeling when I was done. I'll admit there are a lot of characters, but it's not so hard to keep them straight. Anyone who is interested in horse racing or thoroughbreds in general (hunter jumper people too) will want to read it. Those who are not will still enjoy the characters and the excellence of the writing. I especially liked the team of Farley, Joy and Elizabeth. Give it a try - and to those on-line reviewers who put it aside, take it up again. You really won't be sorry.

This is one of the best horse racing novels I've read! The cast of characters, horses and people, is confusing at first (I needed to keep checking back to the list in the front through the first few chapters), but I soon worked it out becasue each character has such a distinct personality. To really enjoy the book, like I did, though, I think you need to be a true horse lover and an avid racing fan.

Horse heaven is bold. Jane Smiley strives to explore all facets of racing, from the Derby and internationally listed races to minor track sprints to layup farms and killers. She is equally bold to sketch the many characters found in racing, broadly divided among the horse-struck and the rest, but also split among the good, the indiffernt, and the evil. Most excitingly she delves into the minds of the horses and animals, exposing the dialogue we all know goes on behind those eyes.Other comments are well-taken. There are so many characters laced throughout the story you'll need to thumb back to find them. Dostoevsky made me do the same thing.If you love horses and racing, and if you love literature, you will truly love this book.