Sun horse, moon horse

Even though Rosemary Sutcliff is known for her young adult fiction, adults shouldn't pass this one up. This is the story of Lubrin Dhu, the youngest son of the chieftain of the Iceni of the Chalk Hills - a horse tribe. When the Iceni are conquered by another horse tribe, the Attrabates, young Lubrin Dhu is left in charge of what remains of his people. How Lubrin, through responsibility, self-sacrifice, and joining together art and spirit, manages to win the freedom of his people, is the very heart of this story. Sutcliff brings to life through her imagination the Iron Age people of Britain and how the famous White Horse of Uffington may have been created, still seen today carved into the chalk hills of Great Britain. Loved it, loved the ending, though not your typical happy one.

How much of himself must an artist put into his work, to validate it and give it his blessing, a life of its own? Warrior-youth Lubrien Dhu is the third son of the Chieftain in prehistoric Britain. Dark of skin and features in this nordic-looking clan, he feels stirrings in his mind to represent the natural world around him in two-dimensional form, but few admire dainty fingers or artistic insight in the Bronze Age. We watch the dark one grow to young manhood, when his clan is viciously invaded from the south. We learn the special ideas and secret dreams, both of his own and shared with his best friend, Dara. Gradually the daring plan evolves--a dream of a great migration. His people, the Iceni, count their wealth by herds of horses; a matriarch system is in place. We witness curious customs and "barbaric" rites in this prehistoric world. Who is to say that Sutcliff's fictionalized anthropology is not true. Things Could have happened even as she described them. Inspired by an ancient chalk depiction of a galloping horse, this stark story gains momentum until the ultimate, grim denouement, which makes for a powerful tale of sacrifice and isolation, in order to complete the picture magic. Thousands of years ago an unknown artist presented his world with a wild, windswept white horse on the High Chalk-- a gift that has been preserved through the millenia, which still speaks to contemporary man. Who was this ancient master and why did he choose such a huge and chalky canvas, instead of a cave? What was its purpose: statement of ego, hunting omen, religious symbol? We will never be able to answer those questions, so I'd like to think that the artist was Sutcliff's Lubrien Dhu. His pictorial sacrifice to save his people from the invaders earned him the respect of his sister, the Woman of the Clan, even though he was physically shunned. His dream/vision has been preserved for generations up to the presest. This is a daring tale about honor, courage and human motivation. Are we moderns worthy descendants of such a man?