February Selection: Horse by Geraldine Brooks

February is Black History Month, an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and recognize the struggles of African Americans throughout our history. This year’s theme is Black Resistance, which aims to highlight how African Americans continue to mobilize resources and shape social movements to create a space for Black Americans to thrive. This month is an invitation to explore the histories of Black freedom movements—from slavery and abolition to other ongoing struggles for civil and human rights and we think books are a perfect way to begin that exploration.

This February, we are recommending Horse, by Geraldine Brooks.  The title alludes to Lexington, one of the most famous racing stallions of all-time.  The story follows this extraordinary horse, first through the eyes of a slave named Jarret who forges a special relationship with the foal and stays on as its groom throughout his entire life.   Then in 2019, we meet Jess and Theo who are drawn to each other through their mutual interest in Lexington.  Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia finds herself recovering and studying the skeletal remains of the horse for clues to his success, endurance and speed.  Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, finds a discarded painting of a racehorse with Black horsemen and delves into what the picture tells us of our history. Through the multiple points of view, we piece together Lexington’s life and legacy and at the same time readers are confronted with the relations between Black and white people over the course of two centuries.

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.  Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

Horse is our Book Club pick this month.  Pick up your copy and read with us this month.  We invite you to join us for a lively discussion at the end of the month – February 28.  Horse will be 10% off at Aesop’s Fable during the month of February.