Horse Heaven

By: Jane Smiley

Narrated by: Shelley Thompson

Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Many astonishing and affecting things happen at the racetrack, and the mysterious universe of horse racing, passionate, cold-hearted, pure, corrupt, is woven into a marvelous tapestry of joy and love, chicanery, folly, greed, and reckless courage. Spanning two years on the circuit, from Kentucky and California to New York and Paris, Horse Heaven, puts us among trainers, nervey jockeys, billionaire breeders, and restless track wives.

©2014 Jane Smiley (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

great book with great narration

because several other reviewers complained about the narration I want to start with my plaudits of it. it's true that the narrator mispronounced a couple of words but to me that was more than made up for by her nuanced reading. I love this book and had already read it twice when I decided to listen to it as an audio book. due to a chronic condition that makes my muscles weak and so hard to hold a book I've been listening to a lot of audiobook lately. this has been a difficult transition for me and I'm very picky about narration. I decided to give this a try despite the negative reviews and was amazed at the quality of the narration and at how much it added to my enjoyment of the occasional humor in the book. at one point one of the characters sings and the narrator beautiful sang. there are several Irish characters and it was pure pleasure to hear their voices through our narrator.

please forgive the punctuation Oddities by the way. they're due to my having to dictate. as for the book, I started out reading it not knowing anything about horse racing and having no interest in it. that did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book in any way. this book has many Viewpoint characters and treats each of them with care and empathy. in doing so smiley delves deeply Into The Human Condition and human struggle and also into the connections between people and animals. one of the Viewpoint characters is a horse and smiley handle these sections in a way that doesn't feel at all smarmy or anthropomorphic. this most recent listening of the book in a difficult time in my life and I found it inspiring as well as entertaining and feel I'm a better person for having entered into this world. this really is one of my all-time favorite books and my husband loved it also.

The most wonderful book, and nicely read

I love Horse Heaven, had read it years ago and had listened to the Recorded Books version, done by another reader. I was uneasy about ordering this Shelly Thompson version because of the many negative comments. So now that I've listened I thought I'd review and say that I thought she did a perfectly good job. She does pronounce "been" in the English way as "bean" rather than the American way as "bin," and nobody told her that "La Jolla" is pronounced "hoy-ya" and not "joy-a," but these are small things. I would bet she's Canadian (I see she also reads some Margaret Atwood), and that's not the end of the world. She does a droll Al Maybrook and gets inside the horses (and Eileen!) in a cool unhurried way that seems to me to suit Jane Smiley very well. Spending 25 hours with her voice was a pleasure to me.

Great book😕😕😕

A must reader for any horse lover. . Sad at times, the times. Horse racing is at its high I& lows.

Wonderful

A huge cast of characters including horses, a Jack Russell terrier named Eileen, and even a pig. Their must be at at least a twenty men, women and 2 precocious children, whose lives we follow and who are caught up in Jane Smiley's world of thoroughbred horse racing.

The woman is a wonder. She writes of this world with a kind of love, even as she casts her eye and ours on the highly unnatural and often cruel fate that has been been bred into and eventually creating these glorious animals.

I enjoyed it immensely and didn't want it to end. As the book neared its end I would relisten at random - didn't matter where - just to put off being goodbye to it. It's all good.

Shelley Thompson does a fine job in wending her way through the myriad characters. Each character has his or her own voice .. including the animals. She reads with both passion and compassion. She is a fine reader.

Loved the book, got use to the narration

Any additional comments?

I really love this book. I've listened to it several times. The narration doesn't bother me once I got into the book, but you really have to give the book a chance (at least a couple hours). The author really knows horses and people too. I found when I listened again a year later I enjoyed the book just as much as the first time, and quite possibly more.

Whimsical

Probably engrossing for someone who is into the world of horse racing or even horses. I found it jumped around a little too much. With no introduction to the characters, it could be confusing. Otherwise,it was entertaining and excellently narrarated.

The Land of Horse

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved listening to this book and would definitely recommend it. It is a lively, entertaining, informative novel, read with great sensitivity by Shelly Thompson.

What did you like best about this story?

I especially loved the animal characters in the story: Eileen, the Jack Russell terrier, the thoroughbreds Justa Bob and Mr. T. and the other fillys. colts, geldings and stallions that populate this story. It was lovely to be immersed in the world of horses and in the characters of the owners, vets, trainers, jockeys, grooms and others that care for them.

What about Shelley Thompson’s performance did you like?

Contrary to other reviewers I found Shelly Thompson's interpretation of the characters sensitive and entertaining. She was able to sing an Irish lilt and bark like a terrier, assume the characters of men, of women, and horses. She had great range. Sure she mispronounced a few place names. But I find this no great sin, nor that unusual.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud at this book, and found myself repeating portions of it to my friends over coffee. Jane Smiley is a great writer and she found a great reader for her novel.

One of my favorite books

If you could sum up Horse Heaven in three words, what would they be?

brilliant, observant, deep and fun (sorry, couldn’t do three)

What did you like best about this story?

The author’s ability to change voices completely is astonishing. Many authors have characters who all sound the same and you can’t distinguish one from the other in dialogue without "He said",
"She said" labels. This book has horses and a dog that have their own opinions and points of view. The human characters are even more varied and rich. Every time I read this I am amazed all over again by how the author convincingly presents points of view of men, women, of various backgrounds, races, interests sexual orientation, etc.

What does Shelley Thompson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her Irish accents are very good and some of her other voicings are interesting too.

I do object to her pronunciation of Maryland, khaki, and a few other things that I can’t remember at the moment, but that are really odd.

If you could take any character from Horse Heaven out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would love to know someone like Farley Jones. He has a spiritual approach to life and to training horses. He successfully maintains his beliefs in various difficult circumstances. And he is a nice guy.

Any additional comments?

The rich portrait of thoroughbred racing from every aspect is amazing.

Wonderful

Even if you don't love horses, the individual vignettes of people--their hopes, dreams, good deeds and bad--are wonderfully engrossing and I loved how they all become intertwined in each other's lives. Great story about beautiful racehorses and the people who train, own, bet, ride and sometimes abuse them. I also loved the narrator, she really added a lot to the story and gave each character a lot of depth.

My favorite book of all time!

I have listened to the audiobook version at least four times over the years and read the hardcover version twice. Jane Smiley, who is a horse owner and rider, does a remarkable job with the equine characters and develops her human characters with so much depth ... I’m just blown away every time I read or listen. I think Shelley Thompson does a great job reading this story. Like many other reviewers, I do find her occasional odd pronunciations of several words distracting, but overall her voice brings so many characters to life...it’s incredible. Often times when a new chapter starts, I knew immediately which character was being highlighted just by her voice inflections. And finally, I couldn’t get enough of Justa Bob. What a wonderful character that horse is.