DC/Baltimore Alumni Book Club

Please join alumni, parents and friends of St. Olaf in discussing the historical fiction book “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks

Despite the simplicity of the title, Geraldine Brooks’ latest novel is a heart-pounding American epic that gallops backward and forward in time to tell a story about race and freedom, horses and art, and the lineage of not just ancestors but actions. In present day, we meet Theo Northam, a Black art historian who is researching 19th century equestrian paintings, and Jess, a bone specialist who is called to help uncover an old horse skeleton lodged somewhere in the Smithsonian. And flash back to the 1850s, there is Jarret Lewis, an enslaved groom for Lexington—a horse that will become the fastest thoroughbred ever to race—who desperately wants to be free but will do anything for the horse he’s raised. Weaving together these different narratives, Horse tells a distinctly American story that shines a light on the legacy of slavery and the pursuit of independence. And, like the races Lexington runs, this is a fast, exciting, and all together remarkable read from Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks