The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes

""Because it is a rare person, a rare person, who can contain their own pain and still give a child the support and understanding it needs. In my experience, most parents haven't got the time or the energy to make sure it happens. Perhaps they're just too selfish. But what do I know? I'm not a parent. I'm not even married. I'm just one of those unfortunate people who gets paid to pick up the pieces. "                             -teacher Constance Devlin, from the novel

I do not remember how I came to select this book for Page Turners. Maybe just an interesting title and a familiar author. At any rate, as I began reading I had second thoughts on the choice since I had a difficult time getting into the story. Too horsey, perhaps? I know next-to-nothing about horses although I do think they are beautiful creatures. About halfway through the book, it became a page-turner because I was involved with the characters and it was all about the people, not so much the horse.

Natasha Macauley is an attorney, a solicitor advocate, what we might call a guardian ad litem. She has been separated from her husband, Mac, and planning a divorce when he appears at the home they own together and moves in, supposedly on a temporary basis. Inconvenient, to say the least. Sarah Lachapelle is a 14-year-old living with her aging grandfather, an expert horseman who trains Sarah and her very special horse called Boo. When Sarah's Papa has a stroke and must be hospitalized, Sarah is taken in reluctantly by Natasha and Mac. The situation is complicated by Sarah's disappearances when she visits Papa or secretly goes to the stable to care for Boo. (It takes some time for Natasha and Mac to learn about the horse.)

When Sarah is threatened about money by Maltese Sal, the new owner of the stable, she steals from the Macauleys but still loses Boo to Sal's evil plan---he sells the horse to cover her debts. Sarah then runs away to find her horse and follow her dream. To say much more might spoil the plot.

I learned more than I wanted to know about the Cadre Noir.  It is a corps of ecuyers, or instructors, at the French military riding academy Ecole National d'Equitation at Saumer in western France, founded in 1828. It also performs as an equestrian display team. Its name comes from the traditional black uniforms worn by riders It is considered one of the most prestigious horsemanship schools in the world. [See photos]

I had no idea who Xenphon was either, except that he is quoted at the beginning of each chapter, all advice on handling horses. Wikipedia helped me there: Xenophon was a Greek historian, philosopher, soldier and mercenary who wrote a short treatise "On Horsemanship," obviously the origin of the quotes.

I am not sure I would have finished this novel if it had not been a Page Turners selection but I liked it in spite of myself. I will rate it a 4. Looking forward to hearing reactions from the group!

More after the meeting......

 

               

                                                                                      Xenophon

https://binged.it/2HyMRwJ
Above is a link to a short YouTube video of a Cadre Noir presentation.

Page Turners met today, our first outdoor meeting in quite a while. The weather was beautiful and 18 people were in attendance. The group rating for The Horse Dancer is 4.1, with most folks voting a 4. One participant is a horse owner and gave us a wonderful perspective on the realism of Sarah's bond with Boo. Two in the group were able to translate the French sentences and phrases while the rest of us figured out what we could from context. Several of us agreed it was difficult to visualize the area around London where Sarah rode on the first leg of her journey.

Our discussion was stimulating with some talk centered around the lies, deception and lack of trust in the story that built much of the plot. We thought the author developed Sarah's character quite well but left Natasha rather one-dimensional until she finally found her heart.