Preview: The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
Published by LeadMare • Apr 13th, 2007 • Category: Books and Writing, Previews & ReviewsSeriously, I’m NOT one of those over-the-top-horse-obsessed girls who must read every new horse book and get her hands on every new horse product that comes along. But I do play one on the Internet. ;)
Considering a component of Girls Horse Club is about encouraging young (and not so young) writers through their love for horses, I was intrigued by the debut novel The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle, a 24-year-old writer who rode horses throughout her teens and says, “I guess it made a pretty big impression on me.” The book is based on her short story Foaling Season, which was published in The Atlantic Monthly and won a National Magazine Award for Fiction
OK, our Loft Book Club and Judge for Yourself Competitions are not nearly as prestigious. Still, I can’t help but think…
THIS COULD BE *YOU*!
So far The God of Animals is quite different than the last horse book I read. It’s a beautifully written story, but tragic and disturbing at times. The main character is a 12-year-old girl transitioning into adolescence on her family’s horse ranch, and her relationship with the horses is not like a typical horse-crazy girl.
If anyone is interested, I’ll share impressions when I’m finished reading it. Or better yet, one of *YOU* are welcome to write a review and submit it to our blog. In the meantime, here’s a blurb from the publisher:
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family’s troubles — a depressed, bed-ridden mother, a reticent, overworked father, and a rundown horse ranch. As the hottest summer in fifteen years unfolds and bills pile up, Alice is torn between dreams of escaping the loneliness of her duty-filled life and a longing to help her father mend their family and the ranch.
To make ends meet, the Winstons board the pampered horses of rich neighbors, and for the first time Alice confronts the power and security that class and wealth provide. As her family and their well-being become intertwined with the lives of their clients, Alice is drawn into an adult world of secrets and hard truths, and soon discovers that people — including herself — can be cruel, can lie and cheat, and every once in a while, can do something heartbreaking and selfless. Ultimately, Alice and her family must weather a devastating betrayal and a shocking, violent series of events that will test their love and prove the power of forgiveness.
A wise and astonishing novel about the different guises of love and the often steep tolls found on the road to adulthood, The God of Animals is a haunting, unforgettable debut.
