The Horse Whisperer [Paperback]

The Horse Whisperer is a story made in Hollywood heaven. The novel was written by a first-time author, and the film option was snapped up by aging heartthrob Robert Redford for 3 million smackers. Why take such risks on a brand-spanking-new author? The answer becomes clear upon reading the touching tale.

One morning while teenage Grace Maclean is riding Pilgrim, her goofy, loveable pony, she has a horrendous glass-shattering, bone-splintering, ligament-lynching meeting with a megaton truck that leaves her and her four-legged friend damaged in mind, body, and spirit. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, her jaded, brilliant, bitchy mom, Annie Graves (Kristin Scott Thomas in the 1998 film) is working out a wrinkle in her self-absorbed existence when she gets a call at her plush, Manhattan office about Grace's accident. Racked with guilt, Graves makes it her calling to find the mythical horse whisperer, an equine Zen master who has the ability to heal horses (and broken souls) with soothing words and a gentle touch. Just when it seems he can't be found, what do you know, she finds him. He arrives in the form of Tom Booker-- a rugged, sensitive, dreamy cowboy who helps Pilgrim and Grace repair their fractured selves. To add more mesquite to fire, Booker has a way with not-so-injured, attractive, married women--like Annie. As the plot thickens, so does the familial strife, which threatens to undo Booker's healing work.

Like an expert cinematographer, Evans deftly crafts each scene with precision and clarity, sprinkling in ominous signs and foreboding images. For example, in the opening paragraphs, as Annie starts out on the tragic ride, she comes across a bloody bird wing that seems to have fallen out of nowhere. The weight of impending doom is further strengthened by the truck driver's bad luck--he has a run-in with the highway patrol just moments before his meeting with Grace and Pilgrim. These not-so-subtle subliminal messages are masterfully stitched in throughout the story and may compel readers to act as if they were watching a B-grade horror movie, shouting aloud, "Don't go there!" However sentimental, The Horse Whisperer is an engaging read, sort of like a finely tuned, well-edited film. --Rebekah Warren --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Read about the author.

Screenwriter Evans's debut novel spent 38 weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

While riding her horse Pilgrim on a snowy Saturday morning, young Grace Graves is involved in a horrible accident. She and the horse survive, but she loses a leg and Pilgrim becomes unmanageable. Annie, Grace's mother, senses that if Grace is to recover completely her horse must recover, too. When medicine and other traditional treatments fail to tame the horse, Annie moves Grace and Pilgrim to Montana in order to be near Tom Booker, a legendary figure who is rumored to be able to whisper sanity back into the minds of troubled horses. Tom works wonders for Pilgrim and Grace. Inevitably, Annie falls under his spell, and her marriage and family are put in opposition to her consuming love for Tom. This emotionally wrenching tale, read by Peter Coyote, is recommended for popular collections. [For a review of the unabridged edition of The Horse Whisperer, see Audio Reviews, LJ 3/15/96.-Ed.]?Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence.
-?Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The advance ballyhoo about this first novel, as well as the huge advance paid to its author, screenwriter Nicholas Evans, is more than enough to make the skeptical reader wince. Hold back those winces if you can, because this is a book of rare power and beauty, a story told simply but elegantly. Teenager Grace Maclean loses a leg in a terrible accident while riding her horse, Pilgrim. Grace and Pilgrim are both emotionally scarred as well as physically devastated by the accident. Realizing that the fates of her daughter and the horse are inextricably linked, Grace's mother, high-powered editor and journalist Annie Graves, launches an all-out campaign to find a "horse whisperer," someone who can cure troubled horses with only a calm voice and a soothing touch. She finds her savior in Tom Booker, a man well known in equestrian circles for his almost mystical skills with horses. Annie packs up Grace and Pilgrim, leaves Grace's father with his law practice in New York, and moves to Montana to try to convince the horse whisperer to help them. Most of the novel describes Tom's work to rebuild all the lives that have been shattered by the accident. Inevitably, love blossoms between the gentle horseman and the uprooted sophisticate, a love with both wonderful and tragic consequences. Expect this outstanding novel to be the talk of the season: it has a 600,000-copy first printing, and Robert Redford has already bought the movie rights for a cool $3 million. The numbers are remarkable, to be sure, but the most remarkable thing about this book is that it actually earns the great popularity it seems destined to enjoy. George Needham --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

“Compelling . . . a real page-turner.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Gripping . . . a compelling portrait of three people who love each other but can’t break through the self-created walls that keep them apart.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“Fascinating . . . moving . . . a big, engrossing book [with] an unexpected ending that surprises mightily.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“Brilliance pervades this five-handkerchief weepie.”—The Times (London)

“Outstanding . . . a book of rare power and beauty.”—Booklist

A forty-ton truck hurtles out of control on a snowy country road, a teenage girl on horseback in its path.  In a few terrible seconds the life of a family is shattered.  And a mother's quest begins -- to save her maimed daughter and a horse driven mad by pain.  It is an odyssey that will bring her to...

The Horse Whisperer

He is the stuff of legend.  His voice can calm wild horses and his touch heal broken spirits.  For secrets uttered softly into pricked and troubled ears, such men were once called Whisperers.  Now Tom Booker, the inheritor of this ancient gift, is to meet his greatest challenge.

Annie Graves has traveled across a continent with her daughter, Grace, and their wounded horse, Pilgrim, to the Booker ranch in Montana.  Annie has risked everything -- her career, her marriage, her comfortable life--in her desperate belief that the Whisperer can help them.  The accident has turned Pilgrim savage.  He is now so demented and dangerous that everyone says he should be destroyed.  But Annie won't give up on him, for she feels his fate is inextricably entwined with that of her daughter, who has retreated into a heartrending, hostile silence.  Annie knows that if the horse dies, something in Grace will die too.

In the weeks to come, under the massive sky of the Rocky Mountain Front, all their lives--including Tom Booker's--will be transformed forever in a way none could have foretold.  At once an epic love story and a gripping adventure, The Horse Whisperer weaves an extraordinary tale of healing and redemption--a magnificent emotional journey that explores our ancient bonds with earth and sky and hearts untamed.  It is a stirring elegy to the power of belief and self-discovery, to hopes lost and found again.

A forty-ton truck hurtles out of control on a snowy country road, a teenagegirl on horseback in its path. In a few terrible seconds the life of a familyis shattered. And a mother's quest begins -- to save her maimed daughter and ahorse driven mad by pain. It is an odyssey that will bring her to...

The Horse Whisperer

He is the stuff of legend. His voice can calm wild horses and his touch healbroken spirits. For secrets uttered softly into pricked and troubled ears,such men were once called Whisperers. Now Tom Booker, the inheritor of thisancient gift, is to meet his greatest challenge.

Annie Graves has traveled across a continent with her daughter, Grace, andtheir wounded horse, Pilgrim, to the Booker ranch in Montana. Annie has riskedeverything -- her career, her marriage, her comfortable life -- in her desperatebelief that the Whisperer can help them. The accident has turned Pilgrimsavage. He is now so demented and dangerous that everyone says he should bedestroyed. But Annie won't give up on him, for she feels his fate isinextricably entwined with that of her daughter, who has retreated into aheartrending, hostile silence. Annie knows that if the horse dies, somethingin Grace will die too.

In the weeks to come, under the massive sky of the Rocky Mountain Front, alltheir lives -- including Tom Booker's -- will be transformed forever in a waynone could have foretold. At once an epic love story and a gripping adventure,The Horse Whisperer weaves an extraordinary tale of healing andredemption -- a magnificent emotional journey that explores our ancient bondswith earth and sky and hearts untamed. It is a stirring elegy to the power ofbelief and self-discovery, to hopes lost and found again.

Nicholas Evans studied law at Oxford University after serving in Africa with the Voluntary Service Overseas. He then studied journalism and worked as a newspaper reporter, television producer, and screenwriter before writing four bestselling novels. The Horse Whisperer, his first book, was made into a celebrated movie directed by Robert Redford. He lives in Devon with his wife, singer/songwriter Charlotte Gordon Cumming.

Despite the fanfare and subsequent letdown of Nicholas Evans's story of a Montana horse healer, the audiobook will have wide appeal. Peter Coyote is a fine storyteller and immediately involves listeners with the story of a girl and her horse injured in a horrifying accident. Coyote uses easy, low-key Western accents for Tom Booker, the healer, and other characters when the story moves to Booker's Montana ranch. Listeners won't want to turn the story off until Evans dissapoints with a conclusion that's all too predictable. Coyote even seems to lose some of his involvement. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.