The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss is an extraordinary novel about a young woman’s courage to live life at her own pace doing what she loved: working with horses. The story takes place in 1917 at the onset of World War I in eastern Oregon ranch country.
Martha Lessen, 19, couldn’t abide cruelty to any animal, especially horses. Because of her father’s abuse to animals, she left home with her own string of three horses. She was determined that there was a better way. Nowadays we’re familiar with the term “horse whisperer” but at that time, Martha’s method of training a horse was different than the usual custom of conquering the animal. She approached a horse with gentle movements, getting miraculous, almost immediate results.
A woman of courage, Martha called on ranchers—strangers—offering her services to train their horses. Invariably there would be a ranch horse that didn’t fit in, that couldn’t be saddled, or had over-powering fears. Ranchers welcomed the possibility of changing an obstinate horse to useful. Going from ranch to ranch, Martha gathered horses, training them in her gentle way as she went along. She formed a sort of circuit, riding and working with as many as 14 horses as she traveled from ranch to ranch, circling around until she returned the now-trained horses to their original owners.
Along the way Martha met Henry Frazer, a ranch hand. Martha had no real social experiences, felt awkward, a misfit, being with other young people. She was not proficient in communicating about anything other than horses. She didn’t give much thought to how she looked and dressed like a man because it was more efficient than traditional women’s wear. But Henry saw something special in Martha, something worth pursuing.
I absolutely loved this novel and found myself putting off finishing it because I hated it to end. The author is a master at describing minute details, making the page come alive with winter’s landscape, with a horse’s fearful reaction, or with a person’s unbearable burden. Times were tough. It was rare to have a new piece of clothing, to have what we now consider basic necessities. Molly Gloss writes with heart, always moving the story forward, but in no hurry to do so. I highly recommend The Hearts of Horses.
This is a great book. I love her voice.
Yes Carmen, I agree–she is really special. I also remember her as a key-note speaker at the WILLA Awards banquet in San Antonio. Did you know she’s from Oregon?
I have that book, one of my absolute favorites. Molly Gloss also a favorite author.
She is an Oregonian, too, and in the past we’ve both participated in the same book signing events. Happy days.
Wow! I’d love to see you both at the same event! What a gala occasion that would be! I remember, too, when she was a WWW key-note speaker for our WILLA banquet in San Antonio.