In the winter of 1917, nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen saddles her horses and heads for a remote county in eastern Oregon, looking for work “gentling” wild horses. She chances on a rancher, George Bliss, who is willing to hire her on. Many of his regular hands are off fighting the war, and he glimpses, beneath her showy rodeo garb, a shy but strong-willed girl with a serious knowledge of horses.
So begins the irresistible tale of a young but determined woman trying to make a go of it in a man’s world. Over the course of several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair -- and getting miraculous, almost immediate results. Ultimately, her gifts will earn her a place of respect in the community.With an elegant sweetness like that found in Plainsong, and a winning energy as in Water for Elephants, The Hearts of Horses delivers a heartwarming, greatly satisfying story about the unexpected and profound connections between people and animals.
So begins the irresistible tale of a young but determined woman trying to make a go of it in a man’s world. Over the course of several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair -- and getting miraculous, almost immediate results. Ultimately, her gifts will earn her a place of respect in the community.With an elegant sweetness like that found in Plainsong, and a winning energy as in Water for Elephants, The Hearts of Horses delivers a heartwarming, greatly satisfying story about the unexpected and profound connections between people and animals.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Gloss's austere latest (after Wild Life) features a wandering taciturn tomboy who finds her place in rural Oregon while the men are away at war. After she leaves home in 1917, 19-year-old Martha Lessen plans to travel from farm to farm in Elwha County, Oregon, breaking horses left behind by owners away fighting. She winds up in small town Shelby, where farmers George and Louise Bliss convince her to stay the winter with them after she domesticates their broncos with soft words and songs instead of lariats and hobbles. While breaking the town's horses, Martha meets a slovenly drunk, a clan of Western European immigrants and two unmarried sisters running a ranch with the help of an awkward, secretive teenager. When Martha's not making the rounds or riding through the Clarks Range, Louise tries her hand at socializing (or, perhaps, breaking) her, but Martha chafes at town dances, social outings and Louise's hand-me-down church dresses. Gloss's narrative is sometimes as slow as Martha's progress with the more recalcitrant beasts, but following stubborn, uncompromising Martha as she goes about her work provides its own unique pleasures. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Molly Gloss’s affecting fourth novel turns the Western genre on its head with a woman as the mysterious stranger appearing on horseback, but Gloss is known for her independent, self-sufficient heroines. The Hearts of Horses is perhaps the most sentimental of all her works. Though the plot is more a collection of linked stories than a single, continuous narrative—a stylistic technique that most reviewers commented on but did not criticize—Gloss’s simple, unadorned prose and stark portrayal of the West during the first two decades of the 20th century create a moving, wistful memorial to a lost way of life. Shy, self-effacing Martha captivates her fellow humans in much the same way she charms wayward horses. Only USA Today suggested that the story lacks a certain warmth. However, Martha will no doubt beguile most readers.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
How I got started writing, etc., is a long story you can read on my website. But here are the highlights of my writing life: In 1996 I received a prestigious Whiting Writers Award--sort of a MacArthur grant in a minor key. But nobody knows what the heck it is, so how did it come to be prestigious?! Probably it's the substantial chunk of change they drop on your head without warning. ("Substantial" of course being a relative term. It's not MacArthur substantial. But we paid off our house!) The Jump-Off Creek is usually referred to as "a Pacific Northwest classic" and was winner of an Oregon Book Award and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. The Dazzle of Day, which is a science fiction novel, received the PEN West Fiction Prize and was a New York Times Notable Book. Fairly unusual for a science fiction novel to win a major PEN prize, but the Notable Book thing, not so much--it was Notable only within the ghetto of science fiction. Go figure. Wild Life, set in the woods and mountains of Washington State at the turn of the 20th century, won the James Tiptree Award for literary fantasy, although at the time I wrote it I didn't think I was writing anything fantastical. My newest, The Hearts of Horses, has been the most popular of any of my works. Not sure why. Is it that attention-grabbing cover? or "horses" in the title?!
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
86 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I chose this book because of the plurality in the title, I thought I would learn about the character and soul of non-verbal beings, and the cover photo, clearly female, riding swiftly, freely with purpose, accomplishment and joy. These are superficial reasons for choosing a book and what a splendid surprise I had in the world of this book. I am an urban woman, no country or wide open spaces or large animals in my life but I loved the language of this book, how it made a place, a time, and its people live for me. Thank you Molly Gloss for a read so engrossing I reached the end of the line and the bus driver did not shoo me out; waited until I came back to my world and hopped off! I apologized, he said he noticed me reading through the week, watched me intent, smiling, weeping, frowning. That day he knew I was at the end, and could not bear to disturb me.
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By Dixie Myers
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book. It's set during WW1 when so many young men were gone to the trenches, that one over-tall, painfully shy young woman got to live the life her unique skills suited her for: horse trainer, horse gentler--the life of a cowboy. The heroine makes a place for herself in a new community that can accept and value her for what she has to offer. So much more than a take on history, so much more than a romance, this is a story of time and place and people still on the frontier of American life. A book to keep, a book to share--just make sure you get it back!
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By 2sequoyah
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like the previous reviewer, I intended to limit myself to one or two chapters a day. That was very difficult to do, as I savored every word of this book. It was the inner world of Martha Lesson that I most identified with, and my hat is off to Molly Gloss for capturing so well the patience and humility it takes to make a horse as well as Martha. "The horse doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care" are the words from the wisest man I ever knew. I picked this book off the counter at the Powell's Bookstore stand in the Portland airport and I am so glad that I did. Read this book, you won't be sorry you did.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, Easy Read
This was a good book to read. Wanted more of the horse aspect involved but still very enjoyable. Fast read.
Published 25 days ago by CarolynvWerning
5.0 out of 5 stars
Set during WWOne era
Honest, believable main character. Great descriptions of the settings and the time of change from horses to motorized transportation and farming machines. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Carol J. Stahl
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
An interesting and lovely perspective on the development of the culture of the west as the nation itself changed. I loved the strong yet gentle character of Martha.
Published 2 months ago by Mary Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
Kept my interest. Tears, laughter, felt like I was there. Definitely recommend reading this book, and I'd read it again
Published 3 months ago by Robert Vincent
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Job
Lent to me by a friend and I just had to have a copy in my library.
Recommend to ANYONE who likes horses.
Well packed and arrived promptly.
Thanks
Recommend to ANYONE who likes horses.
Well packed and arrived promptly.
Thanks
Published 3 months ago by Mary Ickes
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hearts of Horses
To me, The Hearts of Horses, gave so much insight into a girl wrangler at the turn of the Century. Particularly interesting was the Pendelton Roundup as we have visited it several... Read more
Published 4 months ago by cynthia slaton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for horse lovers or not!
I was given this book as a gift years ago & fell in love. Great for a gift and a wonderful addition to any bookshelf.
Published 4 months ago by Dani
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is in very good shape and was what I ordered.
I was told to read this book and I loved the story. I have shared this
book with others and they have liked it.
book with others and they have liked it.
Published 5 months ago by Janice E Gilbert
5.0 out of 5 stars
'Hearts of Horses' Examines Human Heart As Well
First I must `fess up that Gloss gets extra points here because of the locale of the story. She has claimed northeast Oregon as her stomping grounds, inventing Elwha County from... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lynda in Oregon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful story
Glass writes rich characters. Intersting story of a young woman working with horses in Oregon during WWI. Starts a little slow but this pace is necessary to this tale. Read more
Published 8 months ago by DD
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