Kevin Wolcott
asked:
I really want to read this but I can't handle tragic animal stories. If I read it will I be OK?
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Horse,
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Betsy
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Bradley Brill
There is a tragic outcome for one horse in competition with the featured race horse. There are other references to tragic events for human, minor characters (enslaved individuals) and these are not probed very deeply.
Judith
You will be ok if it's "tragic animal stories" you're worried about, but if you can't handle tragic human stories, you better skip this one.
Carol Periard
Normal life of a horse but the book is really about racism.
Jane
I thought the treatment of the slaves was more tragic and harder to read than the treatment of the horses.
Marie Belcredi
It's OK. I'm the same but just scanned through the very short parts about animals that were misused. I think Geraldine Brooks is the same so she did not dwell on these parts.
Miriam Kahn
Nothing tragic.
Most fascinating.
Most fascinating.
Shelley
For the most part, Lexington (the titular horse who starts life called Darley) is treated very well. There are mentions of other horses being whipped until bleeding and pushing them too hard in races. Lexington, gets sick a few times, but he doesn't suffer much and his enslaved caretaker, Jarrett, is treated better than most enslaved people. However, there is a lot of human injustice and mentions of brutality to other enslaved people (and even Jarrett during his short time at a plantation). Most disturbing to read but true to life, Theo, the contemporary main character, does not fare well at all as a black man in DC.
Cindy Saylor
No it is very sad and even hard for a non animal lover
Beth Kiernan
I’m the same and this was fine. Nothing like when I read Black Beauty as a child!
Cheryl Ross
I almost stopped reading it because I'm the same as you, Kevin. At one point I got really worried, but I continued on and I'm really glad I did!
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Jun 24, 2022 08:50PM