The Horse

The Horse by Willy Vlautin
7/30/24; 208 pages
HarperCollins

The Horse by Willy Vlautin is an excellent, very highly recommended character study/assessment of a man's life. This is a deeply personal, moving novel.

Sixty-seven-year-old Al Ward was a songwriter, guitarist, and alcoholic who now lives without heat or running water in the assayer's shack on an isolated mining claim he inherited from his great-uncle Mel. Now he lives on instant coffee, canned soup, and a simple routine while recalling past events from his life and the many songs he wrote over the years.  He was talented enough to travel with several different bands, but his real gift was in his song writing. His alcoholism, however, often made his life difficult.

When a blind, scarred horse shows up and just stands outside the shack, Al is at a lost on what to do. He knows nothing about horses, but clearly this horse needs help. He hopes the horse leaves, but it stays, just standing there. It's winter, he hasn't tried to start his car for many months, so he can't drive for help. He's unable to put it out of it's misery. Al needs to find a way to help the horse, and perhaps himself.

The writing perfectly captures the essential events in Al's life and his current situation. It is spare and restrained, but that makes Al's memories from the past even more compelling as he reflects on his past. We know why Al is hiding out in the desert through his memories. While the bulk of the narrative is about Al's life experiences, it is clear that helping this sick horse is giving Al a purpose beyond recalling his past and perhaps even a chance to find peace.

This is also an inside look at a song writer's drive to write songs. There are the complete lyrics to several songs in the novel, but there are lists of the titles of the numerous songs Al wrote. The songs captured events in his life and his reaction to them. It is a sad novel, but ends with a surprising hope for redemption.

* For anyone following my reviews you may notice I've read several of Willy Vlautin's novel lately, loving everyone of them. After reading The Night Always Comes several years ago I immediately bought every novel he wrote. Between work and my reviewing schedule I never got to them but now I'm taking the time now to read everything before his next novel is released.