Customer Reviews

Barn Blind: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book literally haunted me. I found myself constantly thinking about the characters days after I finished it. It is a quiet kind of story, packed with repressed emotions, and somehow the ending felt cathartic although not immediately so. I could see chaos in this large rambling horse farm family and I could put together the events with a clarity I did not feel the moment I finished the book. It took awhile, and slowly these people took more shape and I began to understand more and feel the story's latent ending. I was intrigued by the family dynamics, the dominant mother/trainer, the passive, ever-loving, forgiving father, and each child responding in the only way their personalities would allow to the intensity of their demanding mother. The end was powerful. I reflected on the father holding his head in his hands as he realized there was no end in sight to his wife's sovereignity and determination to carry on at any cost. I crave a sequel, yet I already know it. It is the epitome of barn blind.

Good story, excellent writing! Jane Smiley descriptions were wonderful and I enjoyed learning about the care and training of horses. Interesting and captivating novel.

I expected to love this book, but I was disappointed. Although the setting is a horse farm, the horses are basically props moved about in the process of exploring family dynamics. The primary theme is one many people can relate to: a parent trying to live vicariously through her children, without regard to their own desires. However, I was unable to fully "connect" with any of the characters emotionally; perhaps because author Smiley relates their story in a rather detached manner herself. Even so, I might have liked this book more if the ending had not been so abrupt. Just as I was starting to really care about the characters, the climactic event occurs--and the ending comes so soon afterward that the story seems unfinished. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistically high due to having read "Horse Heaven", a more recent work, first. Everything I expected from "Barn Blind" is delivered masterfully in "Horse Heaven". For all but the most avid Jane Smiley fans, I would recommend either reading "Barn Blind" first, or skipping it altogether and reading "Horse Heaven" instead.

I have no great interest in horses, but my daughter does, so I found the horse aspects interesting. I have no idea if it was accurate, and the "convenient abrupt ending" another reviewer alluded to I found to make perfect sense with the flow of the rest of the novel. Throughout there was a sense that *something* was going occur and it was going to be very important, and well, finally it did. I didn't like the characters themselves a lot either, with the exception of Axel, but only when reading "Women in Love" by DH Lawrence, has that really mattered to me. I found the characters interesting and on the edge of transformation. What I really did wonder about through out was why Henry wasn't riding, but maybe he didn't know, and neither did anyone else, so why should we? My major objection to the edition I had was the cover. The farm in the book is a horse farm; the farmm on the cover was a crop farm.

Kate Karlson is the indomitable, stubborn horse trainer who devotes her life to her calling. Her husband, who is more laid-back, and her four children recognize that there is life beyond horses and the farm, but not Kate. The oldest, Margaret, yearns after an unattainable man. Peter, the next oldest, ever the dutiful son, concentrates on horses, but is still dreamy, with his thoughts straying elsewhere. John, the third in line, is perpetually dissatisfied with life on the farm, frequently comparing their family to others. The youngest, Henry, gives up horses altogether and seeks his own path. Smiley's first novel is rich with details of the equestrians, their mounts, and everyday life on the farm. Kate is a complex character, if not always likeable: she drives her students, but not at the expense of their mounts. The characters are anything but the two-dimensional clichés found in many horse books making it a worthwhile read.

This book is a HUGE disappointment. The characters were totally unbelievable. The horses were more real than the people. I kept waiting for it to get better and before I knew it...I was done. LAME ending. Don't waste your precious reading time with this one. IF you liked Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres, you will hate Barn Blind. YUK!

I found the horse lingo hard to follow, and therefore lost interest in the book. Those first chapters moved at a very slow speed as well.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Well drawn characters and excellent writing. The family dynamics were interesting and Smiley's descriptions had me re-reading passages for the pleasure of her writing.

Peter, John, Henry, and Margaret Karlson were the children of a father who drove an old Pontiac and a mother who drove a Datsun. Peter's height came from his mother, Katherine Karlson. Axel and Kate Karlson had a horse farm. The farm seemed to take all of Axel's salary and investment earnings and Kate's annual income.

Kate was concerned that her best rider, her son Peter, and her best horse, MacDougal, did not get along. Axel feared for his quiet farm-bound children. While most family members were at the Barrington Horse Show, Axel cleared out the refrigerator and determined their establishment was a monument to waste.

The novel details Peter's riding feats and victories and John's temper and involvement in a tragic accident. On another level the monomania of Kate to develop horses and riders even to the point of sacrificing her own family is portrayed interestingly and convincingly.

I was looking forward to reading this book because I have seen so many wonderful characters within the horse and competition world. Alas, this book never even comes close. The character development was inconsistent and there are mysterious references to changes in religion which were not explained or woven into the plot. There were glaring faults related to the details of equestrian competition and training. And, for those who do not leave books unfinished, the author reverts to a convenient and abrupt end. The reader is left perplexed and unsatisfied. Jilly Cooper, you have nothing to fear.