The Horse Dancer

By: Jojo Moyes

Narrated by: Julia Franklin

Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Sarah's grandfather was a horseman of rare talent - only the exceptional are allowed into France's elite riding academy, Le Cadre Noir. But life took an unexpected turn, and now from a council estate in east London, the Captain hopes to train his granddaughter towards a better life.

Natasha is a lawyer whose job is to represent the best interests of children. Her confidence in her judgement has been shaken and her marriage has died - but an encounter with Sarah may lead to Natasha learning all she needs to know about life from a fourteen-year-old girl and a large horse named Boo...

©2009 Jojo Moyes (P)2009 WF Howes Ltd

Great read

Enjoyed this thoroughly. I'm a horsey person, and was pleased that the equestrian references had been well researched and written. And it's a great story. Although I did have the urge to slap the characters every now and then as they all kept so many secrets, but if there had been open and honest dialogue there would not have been any story to speak of.

Well read.

A truly inspiring story

Where the importance of truth, feelings and heart intertwine. Reminds me that sometimes by helping yourself the real gain is that you help others. Sometimes you are gifted with more than one family.

Excellent book - just ended too soon!

Compelling story and as I am a horse owner, pleased at the accurate references to her magnificent animal and the art of riding.
But this story is so much more than being about horses as some might suspect from the title. Excellent weaving of such diverse characters. A lesson to be learned that could apply to any of us.
Julia Franklin is the best narrator that I have had the pleasure to listen to. She has the uncanny art of distinction between each character.
I personally would enjoy seeing this as a movie.
Well worth it.

Great Story...wonderfully performed

What made the experience of listening to The Horse Dancer the most enjoyable?

The characters with their strengths and flaws were interesting. I wanted to know them and cared about what was happening to them. The history and information that I learned about riding and horses was a major plus for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

No one favorite......loved all the characters.

Have you listened to any of Julia Franklin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Great performance as expected

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The most exhilarating scene for me was when the girl was being menaced by the boys. I found myself cheering as the girl and her horse made their escape.

Any additional comments?

I love JoJo Moyes work....can't get enough of it.

Excellent!

I'm already a fan of Moyes, and it was my first Audible book, and also thee book that convinced me to try out Audibleb(since the libraries and book shops are closed).

This novel has just the right pace with enough breadcrumbs along the way to keep you interested while also leaving a few surprises for the climax moments.

I enjoyed the complexity of Natasha and Mack's relationship, and how they had to work through issues gradually.

I enjoyed learning about the special French horse academy and how individuals could possibly come to control their horses in this way.

The foster - care struggles were realistically portrayed and the link with the court case was very clever.

Beautiful!

What did you love best about The Horse Dancer?

The fantastic writing of Jo Jo Moyes. Always flawless and this book is no exception.

What about Julia Franklin’s performance did you like?

Her beautiful accent. Fantastic performance

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES! Could not stop listening. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

The best! I'd give it 10 stars if I could...

(By Carol, not Mark.) I listen to LOTS of audio books, and this is simply THE best I've ever heard, the first I've ever felt compelled to comment on. The narrator is superb, and the storyline mesmerizing; I acutally took it to bed with me a couple of evenings because I was simply unable to turn it off!

The characters are fully developed and fresh,and the horse angle authentic. The author's commentary at the end about the origins of the story is the frosting on the cake. Listen to this book!

(Now I'm going to go purchase a hard copy so I can read it for myself!)

Think Jodi Picoult--with horses.

What did you love best about The Horse Dancer?

I really loved the fact that, at last, someone has written a book for horse fans that is lyrical, honest, intriguing, and not gushy. Moyes obviously knows her horses. All the interactions between 13-year-old Sarah and her magnificent Selle Francais gelding stuck a very authentic note. I also loved how the storyline about Mac and Natasha realistically interwove with Sarah's story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well, obviously, it has to be the horse.

Which scene was your favorite?

There isn't one particular scene that stands out for me, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of Sarah astride Boo, working on the haute ecole dressage moves that she knows are her--and her horse's--ticket to a better life.

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

I would take the horse, Boo, out to dinner. I'd invite him to my barn, introduce him to my own horses, feed him a delicious bucket of warm mash and then ask him if he'd let me ride him in the morning.

Any additional comments?

As I read this book, I found myself reminded of the writing of Jaclyn Mitchard and Jodi Picoult. The story had lots of twists, lots of harrowing moments that left you wondering, "Oh no, what's going to happen now?" The narration was extremely well done. All in all, it is a solid effort, an entertaining read. And, if you love horses, totally worth a token.

Amazing Story - Don't Miss It

Jojo Moyes is an incredible author she draws you into the story, together with a great narrator you just cannot stop listening. You know it's a good book when you go back and reread the ending a few more times, just to wring every little nuance out of it (again.) To be honest, there were places in the middle where the story went a bit slower than I would have liked, but my gosh, what a story! I absolutely loved the characters, I loved how the unlikeliest of pairings were forced to work together, I loved the descriptions of the horse and the equestrian culture. This novel has themes of the influence of grandparents, the disaster of broken families, coming-of-age youth, midlife crisis, and whether a marriage can be saved. Oh, and why do we stay in unsatisfying careers. Is that enough for you? But wait, there's more: JoJo Moyes must have a movie director where her brain is; she writes some scenes in this story that are so cinematic, I'm just bummed that I can't see them depicted in a movie. But maybe some day! I loved this story. Great job.

Julia Franklin was outstanding with the delivery of the story

Much more than a horse story

This book is incredibly interesting. I had a hard time getting into the story at the beginning, but once past the first chapter I was hooked. I am a horse person, so I was able to follow all the details regarding the classical dressage, if you are not a dressage person or at least a horse person with vague knowledge of things such as the piaffe some of the jargon may make it hard to imagine what is going on.

However the book is very much a coming of age, with extremely well written charter development and evolution - but not just for the main character, it develops and evolves several characters in real life situations and hardships.

I adored this book and highly recommend to my fellow horse people.