Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Pulitzer prize winner, Geraldine Brooks, dashes out of the gate with a bittersweet antebellum tale of horse racing in her latest thrilling novel Horse (Viking). A mystery unfolds as a Nigerian-American graduate student, Theo Northam, is struggling to find the topic for his PhD dissertation in Art History. Theo, a British boarding school graduate and former polo star, is stymied until he rescues a filthy, yet intriguing, painting from a neighbor’s garbage heap.
Theo takes the painting to a friend at the Smithsonian to help him identify the artist and subject, and the story takes off like a contender in the Kentucky Derby. The painting features a horse with four white feet, and after meeting Jess, a scientist from Australia and Manager of the Osteology Prep Lab at the Smithsonian, the two embark on a journey to discover the history of the noble beast depicted in the painting.
AN EQUINE SKELETON AND A HISTORIC PAINTING ARE UNEARTHED
Throughout the novel, Brooks interweaves the story of Jarret Lewis, an enslaved young man who becomes the horse’s lifetime companion and caretaker; the two creating a bond unbroken by Jarret’s slavery, greedy farm owners, betrayal, personal tragedy and the Civil War. The foal, which was born in Kentucky in 1850, became known as the Lexington in honor of its birthplace. Over the course of Lexington’s lifetime, Jarret, and an itinerant, unknown painter and racetrack journalist, Thomas J. Scott, stake their lives and liberty to protect the horse as he develops into one of the most famous thoroughbreds in racing history.
When Jess discovers a dusty, abandoned skeleton simply entitled “Horse” in the Smithsonian’s attic, she and a British veterinarian begin a crusade to determine the identity of the skeleton. They believe that “Horse” is more than a skeleton in the attic. Could it possibly be the equine champion, Lexington, depicted in Theo’s painting?
While investigating the painting’s provenance, Jess and Theo are drawn to each other, with both questioning the wisdom of entering into an interracial relationship. Their discoveries of additional stunning portrayals of Lexington with Black grooms and servants, draws them even closer together, and the art works spark Theo’s dissertation topic — The Depiction of Black People in 19th Century Paintings. However, the deeper Theo and Jess dig, the more they uncover the avarice and racism hidden beneath grandeur and pomp of the 19th Century racing; two maladies mirrored in their own contemporary world. Can the lovers overcome these obstacles to solve Lexington’s mystery and find happiness together?
The third thread of the narrative follows an art gallery owner, Martha Jackson, as she rises to become one of the most respected Contemporary Art dealers in America during the 1950s. Through happenstance, Martha becomes obsessed with a portrait of a Lexington and her groom, which also claims an enigmatic provenance. Her personal history with the painting, and her bequest of it to the Smithsonian, contribute to the mystery shrouding the “Horse” skeleton found in the museum’s attic.
PAST CORRUPTION AND BIGOTRY HAUNT THE PRESENT
For each of Brook’s characters — Jess, Theo, Thomas J. Scott, Martha Jackson, and Jarret — one passion rules their lives. For Jess it’s bones, for Theo it’s Art History, Thomas J. Scott loves to paint horses, Martha obsesses over the discovery of new artistic talent and Jarret loves Lexington above anything else in the world. Through time, and across science and art, the characters become unified through their connection to a single animal, which enthralls them and makes them better humans for being captivated by his cause.
Horse is more than a story about the legacy of a racehorse and the man who loved him. It is a sorrowful lesson about the poison of racism infecting the horse racing industry in the 19th century, and the deep hatred brewing between the North and South before the Civil War.
Brooks examines how this poison continues to fester in our contemporary society, and she’s unapologetic about her portrayal of enslavement as the one of the most despicable institutions in U.S. history. Her characters remind the reader that during slavery, both humans and horses were viewed as possessions of the wealthy, with horses claiming greater value than men and women.
A NATION’S LEGACY AND A LEGENDARY THOROUGHBRED
Brooks doesn’t preach in Horse. Through a truly powerful tale, she gently guides the reader through the subjects of hatred, white supremacy and inequality under the law, like a horse to a trough. Our past sins clearly impact our present lives, and the legacy of the thoroughbred Lexington, should remind the reader that the bitter remnants of the Civil War remain with us today.
As an American-Australian writer, Brooks allows Theo and Jess, two outsiders, to speak frankly about the inequities they observe in our country. Brooks has stated: “As I began to research Lexington’s life, it became clear to me that this novel could not merely be about a racehorse; it would also be about race. Horse farms like Meadows and Woodburn prospered on the plundered work and extraordinary talent of Black grooms, trainers, and jockeys. Only recently has their central role in the wealth creation of the antebellum thoroughbred history begun to be researched and fully acknowledged.”
An avid horsewoman, Brooks usually writes novels about the biblical or mythological subjects. The breadth and accuracy of her research is always amazing, and she does not disappoint in Horse. Instead, she outpaces her prior works, capturing the sights and sounds of the 19th Century South, 1950s New York, and contemporary Washington D.C. “Horse,” her latest thought-provoking and heartwarming entry, is proof that Geraldine Brooks deserves her place in the literary winner’s circle.
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