Book Club Reading List | Book Chatter

Horse
By Geraldine Brooks
Published by Viking, June 2022,9780399562969, 416 pp.

The Short of It:

An interesting snapshot of a time long gone.

The Rest of It:

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history. ~ Indiebound

Based on the true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a living and breathing account of Kentucky in 1850 and beyond. Jarret is the enslaved groom hired to care for young Lexington. A horse bred to win, but the unusual bond between the two is threatened to be broken when Lexington begins to get the attention of those wanting to profit off of Lexington’s noble lineage.

Fast forward to 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist becomes curious about a skeleton found in the attic of the museum. As she works to restore it, properly articulating each bone, she realizes that a horse of this stature most likely had quite a history. Enter Theo, he finds a discarded painting of a horse and it turns out that the two are related.

Horse is one of those stories that spans decades and includes many key players but the story that held my attention the most was the bond between Jarret and Lexington. Everything else, although interesting on its own, took me away from what I really wanted to focus on, this magnificent creature and the boy hired to care for him. Status, race, slavery. It’s all here.

This is not a book I would have picked up on my own but as a book club book, I think there will be plenty to discuss.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Nightcrawling
By Leila Mottley
Knopf, 9780593318935, June 2022, 288pp.

The Short of It:

Gritty, but at times lovely.

The Rest of It:

This story unfolds in layers, slowly revealing the beauty at its heart. I have a confession to make though. I finished this book in the midst of all my health stuff and totally forgot to review it. In an attempt to do right by the author, I am writing it now but I finished it early March so I will do my best to recall all the details.

A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. ~ Indiebound

Kiara and her brother Marcus are doing their best not to get thrown out of their run down apartment in East Oakland. After their mother is sent away for something she did, Kiara frantically tries to rally her brother into getting a job to help pay the rent. Kiara, being a minor, worries every second about being taken away by social services. The only reason she was allowed to stay is because Marcus is of age. But Marcus is far from able to raise Kiara. His lofty ideas on how to make money, which include becoming a famous musician, haven’t panned out and he is reluctant to do actual work. Plus, drugs enter the mix which complicate things.

In addition to caring for herself, she’s trying to keep her nine-year-old neighbor fed and safe when his mother abandons him. This includes paying his rent when she can so that he doesn’t get evicted either. Without a steady stream of income, she can barely do this and no one else seems to be stepping up to help so out of desperation, she begins streetwalking. What begins with one or two paid “favors” quickly becomes something else when local law enforcement wants favors in return for keeping Kiara out of jail. Without a pimp, Kiara has little say in what’s being asked of her. She doesn’t want to end up in jail but she also doesn’t want to end up dead.

My book club read this a couple of months back and had mixed feelings about it. East Oakland is a depressing place. It seemed like everything that could go wrong for Kiara did, but there was also this sense of ownership that she possessed and for that, I had a lot of respect for her character. Oakland, riddled with problems as it was, was still her home. She never gave up on the city. I respected how she carried herself in such a mature way, given that she was just a child herself.

Many things will frustrate you about her situation but there are beautiful moments too. The author was just seventeen herself when this book was written. Unbelievable! Such maturity along with a sense of place. I really liked these characters and highly recommend it.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…