Customer Reviews

Funerals for Horses

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This is a book borrowed from the library, which I must now purchase to have on my bookshelf to reread in several years to check whether I went where my instincts want to lead me now. Funerals for Horses is one of those rare books wherein a seemingly weak woman harnesses her nature to exceed even her own expectations. The protagonist, Ella, embarks on a journey to locate her missing brother and in the process discovers herself. Any woman who has suffered deeply and wanted to leave that pain for the road she can now see ahead, will feel that Catherin Ryan Hyde gave voice to her emotions. What woman has not wished to hear the words offered to Ella by an old man she meets at a critical juncture of her journey: "You have a mission. Most of us only wish we did. It's the purest, most untarnished way to live a life. All the universe envies you. All the people, the animals, even the sun and the clouds and the night. If we could trade places with you, we would. So we line up at your back in admiration. We are all with you, Ella." The lyrical prose which is Ella's voice will stay with you like the hawk on the Mesa. Bravo.

Funerals for Horses is a novel that adds an incredible physical journey to the kind of emotional voyage of The Yellow Wallpaper. Ella's "descent into madness" is more a series of frightening dips into a breathtaking clarity, where the surface of the mind is broken again and again with the haunting memories that threaten to ruin her. Ella's final aim seems not to triumph over these visions but to come to an understanding of their impact and, utlimately, of their origins. Catherine Ryan Hyde creates seamless transitions between the levels of Ella's reality. Most striking to me is the development --within Ella's mind-- of the character of DeeDee. More than a stabilizing, conscience-type voice, DeeDee is a parallel to Ella, an other-world, alternate life version of her. DeeDee's urgings to make decisions based on other-than-sensible logic may be Ella's best defense against her own emotions. The novel's voice is a crushing one, heavy with layers of sensation that must be felt simultaneously before they can be experienced separately. Catherine Ryan Hyde has created a story that cannot be interrupted, one that will make you miss your stop on the bus, eat cold cereal for dinner, and stay up long past your normal bed time. Plan accordingly; Funerals for Horses is not to be missed.

A beautiful, seamless blend of yesterday's memories and today's realities I was drawn to follow Ella through her dysfunctional childhood to the one place in her life where she makes a conscious decision. She pulls herself together and takes charge in an effort to find Simon, her missing brother, following her instincts and trusting her strengths. Becoming responsible for her destiny instead of constantly being dragged through the dirt by life's past experiences. It reminds me how fragile and random life is and how brave we sometimes have to be to overcome our weaknesses. A deep and powerful read.

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Catherine Ryan Hyde until I saw a trailer for the movie Pay It Forward. I picked up a copy of Pay It Forward (because we all know the book is always better than the movie) and in fairly short succession I read Pay It Forward, Electric God and Walter's Purple Heart. Having liked all three of those titles very much, I tracked down a copy of Funerals for Horses and all I can say is... wow.

Ella's search for her brother and her stubborn cling to sanity will move most readers. But this story will definitely touch any reader whose childhood is something that he or she longs to flee and forget. If your childhood was a place of terror and pain, you will read this book as if you are coming home. You will say "Exactly. That is exactly right."

And if you like horses, well, that's just gravy.

This novel is one of those hidden gems of the literary world. Be glad you are on this page and found it. Read it. You won't regret it.

Was eloquent and compelling in the first half (and the "THEN:" history chapters) but after became increasingly absurd and nonsensical.

The father is a sex addict, is constantly getting arrested for indecent exposure. That and his moving out, abandoning them, drives the mother over the deep end from which she never returns. She slowly slides into a virtual coma. Dead to the world and her kids. So the kids, Simon (12y/o), DeeDee (8y/o), Ella (6y/o) attempt to go it alone. But DeeDee goes off the edge, burning the garage down and soon after hanging herself from a tree. Simon and Ella find her. The father is forced to return. He has the mother committed, takes over the house, and locks Simon and Ella in their attic bedroom every night sos he can have sex parties on the first floor. Ella and Simon end up watching their father having sex with multiple men and women. When Simon is, I think, 17 his father gives him the mothers Studebaker keys. Him and Ella flee.

Ella by this time is showing frank signs of madness, just like DeeDee. But for some reason not explained, and I find incomprehensible, no one, the schools in particular, do nothing about it. I can't remember how old she is before Simon takes her to County Mental Health, but even then she is never diagnosed nor properly treated. She just talks to Willie the therapist. I mean it's obvious she's flat out nuts and is desperately in need of help. Even after sixteen days in a mental hospital her mental illness is not addressed. Which is why the rest of the book fails for me. Ella is left in the wind. She never goes to school cuz the kids call her a loon. She has no friends. And now that I think of it none of them ever had any school friends. Of course they stopped going to school soon after the father left.

How Simon at the age of 17 finds a job, rents a place for him and 11y/o Ella, and registers her for school is beyond me. It's not explained. Eventually Simon is working two menial jobs. Somehow Ella graduates high school at 17 via three yrs of adult night school (I don't understand that) and is working in a deli. delivering orders on foot ($1.35 per hr. +tips). After an unexpected "visit" from the father they move into an apartment full of gay men. Ella, 17y/o, makes friends with them and parties with them at leather bars etc., watching as everyone else has sex. She falls for and looses her virginity to one of em. Her first and last sexual encounter. Eventually Ella takes on two jobs so Simon can go to college and become an astronomer. Simon meets Sarah. Sarahs father, in Sacramento, gives Simon a job as an investment broker. So Simon/Sarah move. Ella is alone for the first time in her life. As long as she sticks to her daily routine she's ok. How she can afford to live alone, drive and maintain a car, in SoCal working at that deli as spaced as she is, is never explained. Time goes by..... Ella is 33 y/o now when Simon suddenly goes missing. all that's left is a heap of clothes in a field. So Ella surmises he took off walking in his underwear, no shoes, no nothing and takes off after him, leaving her truck by the side of the road with the keys in it so anyone who wants it can take it. Yeah right. She has a sleeping bag, that's it. No food, no water. Eventually she discards her shoes and goes barefoot, as Simon. Somehow she ends up walking from Sacramento to Death Valley where she almost dies from exposure and bloody ruined feet. From here on out the author looses me. It's too absurd .... the journey to Simons mesa, the people she meets along the way and after all this loooong haul, Simon never explaining why.

It's so odd that the best books by Catherine Ryan Hyde (this one and her book of short stories, "Earthquake Weather") are out of print while her lesser work is still being published.

"Funerals for Horses" is not nearly as uplifting as "Pay it Forward" (it's not its purpose) and it is a million times more realistic than either "Electric God" or "Walter's Purple Heart." In both of these more recent novels it was obvious that Hyde was in way over her head. Not so with "Funerals." Here she flexed her literary muscle.

"Funerals" is a descent into a family's dark past and, at times, even into madness. I believe it could even be described as cathartic, especially for anyone recovering from their own childhood. Through it all Hyde maintains a believable tone and atmosphere which is a tough path to follow. Not too many authors can approach this topic (metaphor, family abuse, mental illness) without coming off as melodramatic or just incoherent.

I can't say that "Funerals" is for everyone. But it is an excellent novel nonetheless. I highly recommend it.

I didn't intend to buy another book, but after I read the short passage inside the front leaf I had to lay my money on the counter. I was not disappointed: This novel was clear, clean, and compelling from start to finish. It was intense but never overdone. I loved the way Ella dealt with her search and how the author resolved the story at the end. So many good books have mildly disappointing endings. Not this one: its ending is dramatic, believable, and inspiring. Funerals for Horses could be made into a great movie.

I've never read anything like it. The author created a unique plot balanced between reality and insanity. While searching for her brother, Ella reminices about her childhood. She uses her past to guide her to her brother. Because of her disease, she slips in and out of reality and into here own world of illusions. It's so in depth and exhilerating. I didn't want to put it down. A wonderful job by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

This has to be the most beautiful and poetic book that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I dont remember how I found out about this book, but I am so glad that it feel in my hands. I read the whole thing in three hours because I just couldnt seem to put the book down, it captivated me and I didnt want it to end. Everything about this book was amazing and well writen. I just couldnt believe how great of a writer this author is. I felt such a connection with ella and also simon. The chracters in this book felt real to me, and they still feel real. I am so happy to have had the chance to read this book. I am not even going to say what the book is about, because words cannot describe its beauty. You have to read it to find out yourself. You will not regret it one bit. Catherine Ryan Hyde is one of my new favorite authors now.

What a book, read it twice in a row. While the religion is a bit heavy, the story is fantastic, if you like dark stories. This book explores the fringes of madness. It seems to explain borderline personality syndrome quite well. Do not read this book when you are depressed, it is a good trigger. A very good read.