The Horse: 'Extraordinary.' Ann Patchett

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'There's a horse', he whispered. 'An old horse that's standing in front of my house. He's blind and he won't eat and I don't know what to do.'

Sixty-five-year-old Al Ward is several years into an isolated stint living on old mining land in Nevada left to him by his great uncle. One morning, a horse arrives outside his home, seemingly unable to feed itself or stay safe from coyote attacks. Six thousand feet up, thirty miles from the nearest town and broken by alcoholism and anxiety, Al must decide what to do.

Intercut with Al's dilemma are episodes from his long life as a touring musician. Beginning in Reno, we follow his chequered career as a touring musician. Beginning in Reno, we follow his chequered career as a guitarist and songwriter, struggling to make ends meet and to survive the reality of a life devoid of the perks and glamour of mainstream success.

A homage to the uncelebrated musicians who make our lives more joyful, The Horse is a gorgous journey of a novel, exploring loneliness, humanity and resilience.

Author Bio

WILLY VLAUTIN has published six previous novels: The Motel Life, Northline, Lean on Pete, The Free, Don't Skip Out on Me and The Night Always Comes. The Motel Life and Lean on Pete were turned into feature films, released in 2012 and 2017 respectively. The former starred Kris Kristofferson and Emile Hirsch and the latter, starred Charlie Plummer, Chloe Sevigny and Steve Buscemi, and was adapted and directed by Andrew Haigh. Vlautin lives outside of Portland, Oregon and is the founding member of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines.