Horse

More about the book

“Brooks’ chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling.” — The New York Times Book Review. “Horse isn’t just an animal story—it’s a moving narrative about race and art.” — TIME. “A thrilling story about humanity in all its ugliness and beauty . . . the evocative voices create a story so powerful, reading it feels like watching a neck-and-neck horse race, galloping to its conclusion—you just can’t look away.” — Oprah Daily. Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. A discarded painting, a skeleton, and the greatest racehorse in America intertwine in a sweeping narrative of spirit, obsession, and injustice throughout American history. In Kentucky, 1850, an enslaved groom named Jarret forms a deep bond with a bay foal, leading the horse to record-setting victories. As civil war erupts, a young artist known for his racehorse paintings joins the Union forces and reunites with the stallion and his groom in a perilous moment far from the racetrack's glamor. Fast forward to New York City, 1954, where gallery owner Martha Jackson becomes captivated by a mysterious nineteenth-century equestrian painting. In Washington, DC, 2019, Jess, a Smithsonian scientist, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, connect over their shared interest in the horse—one studying its bones for clues to its endurance, while the other uncovers the lost history of the Black horsemen vital to its success. Based on the true story of the record-br