Horse

by Talley English

Overview

When Teagan’s father abruptly abandons his family and his farm, Teagan finds herself wading through the wreckage of what was once an idyllic life, searching for something—or someone—to hold on to. What she finds is Ian, short for Obsidian: the magnificent but dangerously headstrong horse her father left behind. But even as she grows close to Ian, patiently training him, trying to overcome her fear of him, Teagan is learning that life and love are fragile. With an unflinching eye and remarkable restraint, Talley English tells a piercing story about how families hold together and fall apart; about loss and grief; about friendship; about the blunt cruelty of chance; and, finally, about forgiveness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101872734
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/16/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Talley English received the Academy of American Poets’ Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Reading Group Guide

The discussion questions and suggested reading that follow are designed to enhance your group’s discussion of Horse, a novel by Talley English.

1. From the first section of the novel Found, what do we know about the French family? What is their life like? Do they seem close?

2. What might we be able to understand about Teagan’s personality based on her interactions with animals?

3. What does it say about Teagan that she is more interested in adult barn cats than she is in newborn kittens?

4. How do the various responses to Robert’s new BMW differ among members of the French family? How would you describe the overall feeling of the situation?

5. What does Teagan’s acceptance to the Hunting Hill School mean for her? What impact might it have on Susanna and Charlie?

6. Reflect on and discuss the similarities and differences between Teagan and her new friends at Hunting Hill. Do they seem to get along? Why or why not?

7. How might you describe Robert and Teagan’s relationship at the time when Robert picks Teagan up for lunch? How do they interact with each another?

8. Midway through Horse, how do Teagan and Ian respond to each another? How does this differ from their early interactions? Why would they behave this way, in your view?

9. Consider Susanna and Teagan’s decision to burn the wedding invitation. Why is this an emotional scene? What are the implications for Susanna and Teagan?

10. Why does Teagan not seem to thrive at Hunting Hill? How would you characterize her friendships there?

11. How do Teagan and Charlie differ in their interactions with Robert? Do you find one approach more relatable than the other?

12. Note any key similarities and differences between the French family and the Garrett family. Would you describe one as happier than the other?

13. Reflect on Teagan’s reaction to Ian’s death. Would you say that Teagan’s response is more internal or external? Discuss the various ways that people respond to grief.

14. Would you say that Robert’s death comes as a surprise? How does Teagan react to the news? Does this response align with our understanding of Teagan as a character? How does this situation compare with the death of Ian?

15. Describe the scenes that are presented to us in the epilogues. What might the future hold for Teagan? How has she developed over the course of the novel?

16. Consider the title of the book. In what ways is the title fitting, and in what ways is it surprising?

Editorial Reviews

English evokes a vibrant world with grit, patience, and insight.”
—Emily Culliton, author of The Misfortune of Marion Palm

“A sharp yet spare debut . . . English’s writing, which is hauntingly ascetic, mirrors the many things left unsaid in the French family.”
—Booklist

“Quiet, restrained . . . much like Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street.”
—School Library Journal

“Insightful yet free of sentimentality, English’s book reaches a surprising and resonant conclusion.” 
—The National Book Review

“Horse might look like another story about a girl and her horse, which it is and is more: an unflinching examination of what it is to be an animal, what it is to be human, the difference and overlap between the two, and how to manage that intersection. Brilliantly written, and ruthlessly felt.”
—Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising

“Talley English is a writer of power and perception. . . . This is a nuanced portrayal of the world we might remember wandering once, a memoir of a novel that gives us a language for our grief over the world we miss, the one in which animals were our brothers and sisters, when the world was big enough to hold all of us at once.”
—Cathryn Hankla, author of Lost Places

“Very well written. . . . English’s stripped-down prose works well to convey Teagan’s increasing alienation.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“I am stunned by [this] book. . . . Horse gets at some murky, painful, and honest stuff.”
—Philip Martin, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

“Unmistakably a novel by a poet . . . [with] the quality of serious poetry, words chosen and sentences made for clarity that surprises. . . . Full of feeling.”
—Shawangunk Journal

“An original portrait of family disruption, the relationship of horse and rider, and ongoing grief.”
—Library Journal

“An accomplished debut novel. . . . Plays out with sensitivity and the graceful prose of a poet.”
—Shelf Awareness

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