The Hearts of Horses

Front Cover
Pan Macmillan, 2009 - Historical fiction - 289 pages
43 Reviews

In the winter of 1917, a big-boned young woman shows up at George Bliss's doorstep. She's looking for a job breaking horses, and he hires her. Many of his regular hands are off fighting the war in Europe, and he glimpses beneath her showy rodeo garb, a shy but determined girl with a serious knowledge of horses.

So begins the irresistable tale of Martha Lessen, a female horse whisperer trying to make a go of it in a man's world. Along the way, Martha helps a German family, ostracised by the community, to save their horses, gentles another horse for a dying man - a last gift to his young son - and gradually earns the respect and admiration of her new neighbours.

With elegant sweetness and a pitch-perfect sense of western life, "The Hearts of Horses" is a remarkable a story about how people and animals make connections and touch each other's lives in the most unexpected and profound ways.

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The ending is neat but not tidy. - LibraryThing
The pace is slow, measured, and deliberate. - LibraryThing
The writing is luminous. - LibraryThing

Review: The Hearts of Horses

User Review  - Megargee - Goodreads

This story of a young woman from an abusive family who becomes a horse tamer in rural Oregon is reminiscent of Willa Cather (O Pioneers; My Antonia) and Kent Haruf (Plainsong, Eventide) blended with ... Read full review

Review: The Hearts of Horses

User Review  - Susanne - Goodreads

I had heard Molly Gloss read from this book at a WLA conference, so was pleased when I found it at the library as an audio book. I loved the historical time period of World War I, and the topic of ... Read full review

About the author (2009)

Molly Gloss is the author of The Dazzle of the Day, a New York Times Notable Book; The Jump-Off Creek, a finalist in the PEN/Faulkner Award; and Wild Life, a winner of the James Tiptree Award.

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