creek photo

Up the Creek Book Club


Home Page
Current Book List
Prior Book Lists
King County Library
Barnes & Noble
Amazon.com


© 2000 Kathy Craig
Site designed by Rainy Day Studios

Horse Heaven

by Jane Smiley

June 2000

Synopsis

Horse Heaven"Spanning two years on the circuit, from Kentucky and California to New York and Paris, Horse Heaven puts us among trainers and track brats, horse-obsessed girls, nervy jockeys, billionaire owners and restless wives. Here is the trainer of dazzling integrity and his opposite: a wicked prince of the tract, headed for still another swindle; here are the gamblers and hangers-on. And in an amazing feat of imagination, here are the magnificent Thoroughbreds themselves, from the filly orphaned at birth to the brown horse who always wins by a nose, a lovable "claimer" who passes from owner to owner on a heartwrenching journey down from the winner's circle.

All the constant excitement of racing courses through a novel that opens up a fascinating world even as it moves us with its exploration of wanting, loving, and striving; of our mysterious bond with animals; and, above all, of our profound desire to connect-emotionally, sexually, spiritually-with each other." (Publisher)

Reviews

  • "The tension and frustration of the racing life can be wearing in Horse Heaven, and yet Ms. Smiley dispenses happiness at the novel's conclusion. Her skill at psychological probing is splendid; her images...a colt's nostrils round and open like the blossoms of a fox glove are even better. Ms. Jane Smiley's chunky book Horse Heaven resembles a bale of hay. Chewable, fragrant and thick, this is the good stuff, the first cutting." (Sally Eckhoff - Wall Street Journal)
  • "A wordy, interesting journey through the universe of horse racing is revealed in this novel that spans two years on the circuit, from Kentucky to California to New York and Paris. The wide range of characters sucked readers in fast out of the gate. While it raced to the finish, other reviewers said it was predictable and in the final stretch, a good filly, but not great." (Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction)
  • "What's remarkable about Smiley's handling of horses as characters is that she manages to bring it off at all -- and more, she does it brilliantly. It's deeply satisfying to read a work of fiction so informed about its subject and so alive to every nuance and detail. Smart, warmhearted, winning." (Bill Barich - The New York Times Book Review)

Book Club Rating and Comments

If you or your book club has read this book and would like to share your comments, please email us at upthecreekbc@yahoo.com.

Other Books by Jane Smiley

  • 'A Thousand Acres'
  • 'The Age of Grieff'
  • 'The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton'
  • 'Barn Blind'
  • 'Duplicate Keys'
  • 'The Greenlanders'
  • 'Moo'
  • 'Ordinary Love and Good Will'
  • 'The Sagas of Icelanders'