Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks is a master storyteller and literary crafts-person. Her novels, heavily and meticulously researched, give the reader an insight into time, place, and events of an historical nature. Horse is no exception. On the surface, it seems to be the saga of Lexington, the most exceptional horse in American history. Lexington was not acclaimed as a race horse, but the greatest stud whose progeny have ruled the race tracks since the late 1800s. 

In what seems to be the latest literary vogue, Brooks uses a combination of time periods to tell her story. As the novel opens, the reader meets Theo, a black graduate student in Washington, D.C. who discovers a painting of Lexington in the trash that a neighbor has discarded. He is taken by the photo and begins to research its provenance. On this journey he meets Jess, a white osteologist who is working on articulating the bones of a horse at the Smithsonian, soon to be identified as Lexington.

Flashback to 1850 and the readers is introduced to enslaved Jarrett who assumes the last name of his master throughout the book. Jarrett is present at the birth of Darly (Lexington's original name) and stays with him throughout the novel. Theo's father has bought his own freedom, but could not afford Theo's. It is that goal to which the young lad works. Although Theo, Jess, and Jarrett are all fictional characters who move the story along, Brooks' research also introduces Richard Ten Broeck and artists Thomas J. Scott, and Jackson Pollock, all historical figures. 

The book is a not so veiled treatise on racism from early on when Brooks quotes Frederick Douglass' argument about white artists have never been able to capture a true portrait of Africans. It recounts Jarrett's struggles and the relationship attitudes of Jess and Theo, culminating in a tragic turn of events. 

Horse is a complex novel and one that begs to be read. The only fault that I would find in it is the ending where it seems that she was ticking all the boxes for her publisher to create a treatise on current events. Any book of hers should be put on personal reading lists.  
 

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

It would seem that the Gables Book Club is heavily animal themed for 2023. Previously, it was an octopus and for this month it is giraffes. 

West With Giraffes is a novel that is based on a true historical facts and is captivating from the very first page. It opens with an aide at a VA home cleaning out the room of a recently deceased 105 year old resident, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, whom the reader learns is Woody Nickel. For the most part the novel is told in the first person by Woody both as he recounts his life as well as the events of the fall of 1938 as they are happening. 

Woody survives the dust bowl of Oklahoma and makes his way to New York to live with his Cuz, who unfortunately is killed in a devastating hurricane. 

Belle Benchley, the ground setting director of the San Diego Zoo has managed to procure a rhino and 2 giraffes from Africa. On the journey the ship on which they were being transported is is shipwrecked in the same hurricane during which Cuz is killed. The rhino is lost, but the giraffes survive. Riley Jones (referred to in the novel as "Old Man." was hired by Benchley to supervise the journey  from the dock to San Diego. He discover the girl giraffe has a wounded leg and calls in a vet to treat her. Woody sees the giraffes and is determined to follow them to California. At the same time Woody steals a motorcycle to follow them. In a turn of events, the driver hired by "Old Man" turns out to be a drunk and Woody convinces him that he, even as a 17 year old, can handle the driving of the rig and the huge crate that is carrying Boy and Girl. Enter Augusta Lowe knownas "Red", young woman who is photographing the trek for Life Magazine, or so she says. 

 

The novel moves quickly even as the journey moves slowly from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. over Skyline Drive and into Tennessee. "Old Man's" intention is to replace Woody with another driver, but circumstances create a bit of chaos and Woody convinces him to allow him to drive the entire journey. Red follows the rig in her green Packard, but there is something strange about her story that is confirmed by an encounter with the police and a man known as "The Big Reporter."

 The journey is precarious at best with detours, low clearance tunnels and challenges presented by nature and nefarious travelers they meet along the way. Because it is a novel based on historical truth, the reader knows that the giraffes arrive safely in in San Diego. The novel shifts as Woody recalls his life to his post World War II life and his return to civilian life. He is haunted by the giraffes and the journey and sets out to find Riley and Augusta. 

The journal focuses on Jones, Woody and Augusta, but it is really the giraffes that steal the readers' hearts. They seem so lovable except when it is necessary to protect their humans.  Rutledge has given them their own personalities and they take over story as the go coast to coast. Throughout the writing, Rutledge stays true to language of the late 1930s. We read words like pipsqueak, Tin Lizzie, 2-bit, and dunderheaded. 

A great selection for the book club and enjoyable read. On to Horse.

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

With all the stress, strife, and struggles of everyday life, it is a welcome relief to read a charming book like A Redbird Christmas. I am not usually fond of the Hallmark style feel-good story, but for some reason this novel really resonated with me. 

Oscar T. Campbell, a divorced alcoholic living in Chicago is given the news by his doctor that he barely has a year to live due to the fact that he suffers from terrible emphysema and other organ failures. He is counseled to move south where it is warmer and where he can possibly extend his life. The doctor gives him a brochure for a residential home that may accommodate his needs. After making a few calls, he is informed that the hotel has long since been gone and there really isn't another suitable place. However, he is given the name of a person who may be able to help him. And she did, offering to give him room and board for $20/week, which fits in nicely with his pension. 

And so he moves to the tiny Alabama town of Lost River, where the residents are friendly beyond belief. He settles in and, although he keeps to himself, the single ladies of the village are all quite interested in this single man who has moved into the community. He becomes friends with the storekeeper (groceries and sundries), Roy, who has taken under his wing a wounded redbird, whom he names Jack. Jack has free reign over the store and becomes a central character and the one for whom the title draws its name. 

Enter Patsy, an orphan given up by her father to a step-mother and a tiny waif. Patsy bonds with Jack and the two even put on shows together. Midway through the novel, Patsy's step-mother abandons her to the care of the townspeople, who are glad to take care of her. The second part of the book centers around Patsy and the need for her to have orthopedic surgery for which the residents of Lost River pay. 

The myriad characters, their compassion and bonding with each other are central to the book. After a tragedy with Jack ensues, they witness a real Christmas miracle that solidifies for the readers that there is still good in the world. Fannie Flagg has written a dear book, filled with humor, a bit of melancholy, and an ending that will take a twist. Included, also, are a number of recipes for dishes that are served in the book.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

The Zookeeeper's Wife has been on my "want to read" list since its publication in 2007, just 10 years ago! It moved up the list to "currently reading" spurred by a Kindle Deal of the Day ($1.99) and the release of the movie based on it. I am glad that I did wait to read it until we had visited Poland. Having a picture of Warsaw in my mind allowed me to visualize the landmarks that were described and referenced. 

The zookeeper in this nonfiction book is Jan Żabiński and his wife is Antonina. The zoo in Warsaw was well renowned before World War II and Żabiński a well respected curator and as the Nazis moved in, Lutz Heck, the zoologist of the Berlin zoo, started pillaging the Warsaw zoo. He stole valuable animals and what he didn't steal he killed. The discovery of Kasia, a favorite elephant, dead in her enclosure was startling and a shocking beginning to the horrors that would follow. But the Żabińskis had a different plan in mind. Jan was also a professor in the underground and secret Warsaw University. With access to the Warsaw ghetto he was able to smuggle Jews out and hide them in the secret passages, cages, and tunnels of the zoo. Perhaps he was not suspected as carrying out these heroic deeds due to the fact that he was able to turn the zoo into a pig farm.

Once Jan got the "guests" to the zoo, it was then up to Antonina to take care of them. She never considered herself a heroine, but because of her efforts in hiding and feeding them she managed to save over 300 Jewish men, women, and children. She put herself and her children in danger as the Nazis became intent upon arresting those who were suspected of hiding the Jews. One of the clever ruses was when Antonina played an Offenbach tune with the refrain “Go, go, go to Crete” it was code to her “guests” to hide as Germans were around. To complicate matters Antonina was pregnant and required bed rest before giving birth to her daughter Teresa. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Jan goes off to fight with the resistance and Antonina takes the children to a small village to avoid the decimation of the city. She desperately tries everything in her power to learn of Jan's fate. And when she does, it is not good. He was shot through the neck, but miraculously recovers.

After the war they reopened the zoo, but under the Communist regime it was just not the same. The theme of kindness, caring, and compassion resonates through this book. It is so hard to imagine what it must have been like to live during this horrific genocide. Even walking the streets of Warsaw today, the destruction is unimaginable. If there is such an entity as an enjoyable book about the Holocaust, this would be one. The spirit of the Żabińskis is so deep and caring that sets a high bar for us all. Would we have been able to accomplish what they did and with the courage that they showed. I am intrigued to read more about the Żabińskis. Ackerman relied on Antonina's diary for a lot of the book. That would be well worth searching out and reading a first hand account. It will be interesting to see how the movie portrays their lives, the Nazis, and the ghetto. I have a feeling  I may be disappointed after reading the book.

Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

It is interesting to go back and read an earlier novel by an author whose later work you have so enjoyed. Water for Elephants was such a strong and powerful story with rich character development. It clearly shows how far Sara Gruen has matured in her writing style. I would have been a reluctant reader of Water.. had I read Riding Lessons first. 

Annemarie Zimmer  was an Olympian hopeful equestrian when a tragic accident destroyed her dreams and nearly herself. In a jumping accident her horse, Harry, injures her and himself. He is euthanized and she is in a coma for weeks. She gives up riding and becomes a journalist, marries Roger, and is mother to Eva. As the story commences Annemarie loses her job, Roger announces he is leaving her for another woman, and Eva, a fifteen year old, declares she is quitting school. Shortly thereafter she receives a call from her mother, Mutti, that her father is suffering from ALS and does not have long to live. Annemarie and Eva return to the family horse farm to help out and to start a new life. Needless to say, life really doesn't get much better. In one catastrophe after another, Annemarie manages to catapult the farm to the brink of bankruptcy, alienate her daughter, and drive a wedge between herself and a former boyfriend, now veterinarian, Dan Garibaldi. 

Dan runs a rescue shelter for horses and acquires a horse that is remarkably similar to the brindling, Harry, that was so close to her heart. Annemarie crusades that this is really a brother to Harry and risks all to prove it, including her own arrest. She will stop at nothing to prove the horse is Highland Hurrah. She watches as her father's health deteriorates and finds it hard to relate to both her mother and daughter.

Riding Lessons is a novel about relationships - between mother and daughter, Mutti and Annemarie and Annemarie and Eva, between husband and wife, between men and women, and between horse and rider. Annemarie is not a particularly likable character. She seems egocentric and unable tor not willing to relate to her mother's pain or her daughter's situation. She is short-tempered, and sulky, feeling so sorry for herself. 

The read was very quick. Gruen's craft at this stage in her career was superficial writing without much depth or characterization beyond two dimensional. It required little involvement on the part of the reader and I was able to read most of it in a 5 hour car trip. If you want a quick romance that has a good dose of horses in it, this would be a book for you.