The Hearts of Horses

I've loaned this so many times. . .

. . .the cover is about to fall off. What a great read! Marvelous characters, wonderful story, timeless. I bought it because of the cover, began reading nearly immediately, and then couldn't put the book down.

I've loaned it to a variety of friends of both genders (my husband liked it nearly as much as I did) and in ages ranging from 17 to nearly 90. The reviews are unanimously positive.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

My second favortie book of all time

Molly Gloss has captured the essence of America in 1917 with memorable characters and a truly great story. My grandmother was born on a farm in California in 1902. This wonderful book showed me why my grandmother was the sturdy, hard-working, plain and simple woman I still love. Anyone who has ever held dear someone from that era should read this book. Anyone who wants to understand how very much America has changed (sadly) should also read this book.

Second only to Lonesome Dove.........

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A GENTEEL STORY WITH GRIT

The writing's elegant and sweet. A memoir with lots of nostalgia. Enjoyed the healing ambiance of horse whisperer and making sense of the world too. A profound and unexpected delight.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Title Caught My Eye

As the headline says the title of this book caught my eye. I had never read anything by this author before and will now be looking to compare other books she has written.
I found it to be a wholesome but somewhat redundant book.
I liked the characters and especially enjoyed learning traits of the different types of horses. This book created different emotions for me such as feeling of injustice,compassion, and humor.
I would liked to have had the characters fleshed out a bit more.
I have passed this book on to my granddaughter to now enjoy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good story interesting period

I picked this up because my favorite authors were between books but was pleasantly surprised at the unique glimpse of life in the rural west. This is set during an interesting period of transition between the automobile age and the horse age. While automobiles and trucks were around they were not as a dependable source of transportation as the horse in all circumstances. The main character makes her living by training horses and riding from farm to farm on a daily circuit. The story centers around the lives of herself and her clients and the family she stays with. It provides discrete looks at the relationships within families and societies expectations at the time. It deals with hard issues like alcoholism 'not a major theme in this book but just an example' in the mater of fact pragmatism of the era without drama and with out moral commentary. Things are not bad or good they just are. I read this book in one sitting as did my 93 year old mother in law, by sister's in law and my daughter. It is well worth the read and it absolutely transports you back to the time period. This is a grossly under valued book and an extremely satisfying read. Take it from someone who prefers mysteries and dislikes the the general slice of life books this book is terrific at giving you a vacation in your chair.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Heart warming

A well written story, first intended for my daughter, but fortunately ended up in my hands after she read it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the western life with horses and wildlife as the mainstay. A very good book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I found this novel by accident. What a fortunate accident for me! The historical perspective gives the reader a peek into a past few of us would have known. Even more satisfying is the story itself, as the author created such interesting pictures in my head with creatures and characters to care about and even love.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend, really good book!

This is a different kind of "horse book." It not only gets into the horse training (which seems to be a lot like "The Horse Whisperer type of training), it is also a book about the area and way of life during the mid 1900's. I really enjoyed the book and passed it on to two "non-horse" friends, not knowing if they would enjoy it, since they are not horse people, but they both really liked it, also. This is a good read for anyone.

Great read!!

Loved the characters in this book.

This book not good at all

This book moves around a lot and the main person is hardly in the book it was not a good book i would not read it again

awesome

this was an amazing book!i love horses and i love this book just as much!

Don't Let the Title Deceive You

Finally, a novel about women from the early 1900s doing, what was considered to be then, a man's job - "gentling" wild horses. Set in Eastern Oregon, the American West, readers get a glimpse into life during World War I that many are unaware about. This novel hints at the history of the times and locale, reminding us that any of us can overcome obstacles, regardless of who or what created them.

This is a wonderful story.

My husband and I both read and enjoyed this book immensely. My daughter has it now and it is being passed on to all of our horse loving friends but I would recommend it for anyone, young, old, horse person or not. I hope that teenage girls come away with the belief that women are strong and can do whatever they set their mind to whether it's considered a proper profession for a woman or not.

We own horses and could relate to some of the training methods used. It also gave us some ideas to try with our horses. I found that I could really identify with a lot of the qualities of the main character especially her shyness at the age of 17 and being more comfortable with her animals than with people. I also know today some people who resemble some of the less likable ones from the book!

The book was like a window into what life was like in that era. Her perseverance and strong belief that her methods were right and how she kept at it until people saw the truth made me wish I was living at that time and could have been her friend. She was way ahead of her time with her training methods and even though they are commonly used now there are some people who still believe the old way of "breaking" a horse is better.

Again, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Good read

Especially interesting given our current world situation.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

misleading title

I bought this book because the cover and especially the title caught my eye. The story, however, disappointed me because of the overall lack of deep insight into the psyche and character of the horse, both with and without its human connection. The "horse training" part of the plot remains formulaic, static and shallow. If you are interested in stories revealing the horse-human ethos and the deep soul and uniqueness of each horse, you should not read this book.
It does, however, carry a plot with some momentum, supported by characters with realistic, if not dramatic, experiences.

Right Up the Horse-lover's Alley

I was completely engrossed in this story. My husband enjoyed it also, so it's not just a "chic" book. Gloss's way of weaving the horse "whispering" in with the lives and characters of her circle ride was outstanding. I thought this was a very novel concept. I liked the mystery around the main character's relationship with the characters on the circle ride. You were never quite sure how she would react to any situration which added to the drama. Hearts of Horses was an excellant read.

The Hearts of Horses is really about the heart of a young, brave woman.

This was a lovely story. The characters were beautifully developed and I missed them all when the book was over. The ending was anti-climactic and hurried, not at all like the rest of the book which had had a measured pace. For those into women's stories of our country's west, I would definitely recommend it.

Quiet and memorable

Great story that is quiet, graceful and memorable. All the characters will stay with you long after the story ends.

Great book to read and relax with.

I enjoyed the writing style of Molly Gloss. I became totally involved with the characters and did not want to put the book down. I would recommend this book highly and I plan on reading other books written by this author.

Very good

I found this book to be very good, while lacking a huge climax it is a good story and I loved the characters.