Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
- ISBN13: 9781416586289
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle was “nothing short of spectacular” (Entertainment Weekly). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother — told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic. “Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls’s magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly c… More >>
Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
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Jewelry Lover said :
February 9, 2010 at 2:09 pm
No mistake… this is a novel and *not* a recounting of real life adventures. The folksy expressions that Ms. Walls uses may entertain some people, but I’m not overly impressed. I grew up in Arizona and I found these ‘tall tales’ to be somewhat unbelievable…even though they were supposed to have happened around the 1930’s. She undoubtedly embellished upon stories she heard as a child that probably had all ready be exaggerated. As a novel, this was at times an amusing read, but fell short of entertaining.
The characters are unique, but not all together likeable. I thought the story rambled aimlessly without much of a message: Disfunctional families produce disfunctional families.
Perhaps this is better period fiction than some stories, but I’ll pass on her next novel.
Rating: 2 / 5
Jeffrey R. Terrell said :
February 9, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I have not finished this book yet, but already like it as much as Glass Castle.
Rating: 5 / 5
Joanna Mechlinski said :
February 9, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Journalist Jeannette Walls detailed her own difficult and often incredible past in her memoir, The Glass Castle. Now, she focuses upon her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith — born in the early 20th century in the rural West, with so much danger and desolation in her everyday life, it wasn’t much different than it had been a century earlier.
From a young age, Lily — the eldest of three children — is headstrong and independent. It’s up to her to make decisions that will help run the family ranch, that will keep her intelligent but handicapped father, not so bright brother and incredibly passive mother and sister alive and thriving on a day to day basis.
During World War I, teenaged Lily seizes an opportunity granted by the shortage of schoolteachers, setting off hundreds of miles into Arizona on horseback to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. Despite never finishing eighth grade herself, Lily was able to teach many children, both in school subjects and the ways of the world.
After marrying Jim Smith, Lily, her husband and later their two children — Little Jim and Walls’ mother Rosemary — would work as ranch managers of one of the most successful and largest spreads in the area. Together they battled drought, natural disaster and illness, until life finally sent them to Phoenix after World War II.
In this book, Walls also shares some anecdotes and insight about her mother Rosemary, who — if readers have read Walls’ memoir — is often portrayed as irrational and downright neglectful of her children (and self, at times). Rosemary, also indicated as headstrong and independent, is portrayed as a largely ordinary child and teenager throughout much of the book. However, by the time she meets and marries Rex Walls, it’s easy to see where things might lead, knowing what we do of their future.
Not only is Lily Casey Smith a fascinating read all in herself, but this memoir also provides a fascinating glimpse into Southwestern life during the early and mid-twentieth century, especially in the areas of ranching and education.
Rating: 4 / 5
Barbara C. Sprouse said :
February 9, 2010 at 5:11 pm
My order arrived quickly and in excellent condition. It was a gift for my daughter.
Rating: 5 / 5
Alpha Martin said :
February 9, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Half Broke Horses was very good. She is a good writer’ but its hard to beat The Glass Castle, that was the Best.
Rating: 4 / 5