The Hearts of Horses
by Molly Gloss

Summary

In the winter of 1917 many of the young ranch hands in this remote Eastern Oregon county have been called away to war. When 19-year-old Martha Lessen shows up at George Bliss's doorstep looking for work breaking horses, George glimpses beneath her showy rodeo costume a shy young woman with a serious knowledge of horses, and he hires her on.

Martha's unusual, quiet way of breaking horses soon wins her additional work among several of George Bliss's neighbors, and over the course of the winter she helps out a German family whose wagon and horses have tipped off a narrow road into a ravine; she gentles a horse for a man who knows he is dying-a last gift to his young son; and she clashes with a hired hand who has been abusing horses with casual cruelty.

Against the backdrop of a horrifying modern war, and a community confronting anti-German discrimination, Martha gradually comes to feel enveloped by a sense of community and family she's never had before. And despite her best intentions to lead a solitary cowboy life, she eventually must ask herself whether she can maintain her hard-won self respect and independence — and also experience love.

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Praise

"Truly one of the best books you'll ever read." — Jane Kirkpatrick

"In all of Molly Gloss' work, lyric descriptions and unforgettable characters are supported by an open, wide-ranging intelligence and not at all undone by dry wit and an open heart. The Hearts of Horses is a shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts." — Amy Bloom

About the Author

Molly Gloss is a fourth-generation Oregonian and a recipient of a Whiting Writers Award. Her previous novels include:

• The Jump-Off Creek (finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for American Fiction, winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and winner of the Oregon Book Award);
• The Dazzle of Day (New York Times Notable Book and winner of the PEN Center West Fiction Prize);
• and Wild Life (winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Award and 2002 selection for "If All Seattle Read the Same Book").

Buy Now - $13.95 | Molly Gloss Web Site