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'Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie, for there is no redemption that goes on there and less sanctuary.'
These were the first words of the book, and for some reason they immediately grabbed me. The book itself had grabbed me quite impulsively. My local library is quite small and it's not often that I can pick up a good book there. Most things they have on the shelf are second or third books in a series, and so are mainly useless to me. This book however, seemed interesting and didn't fall into the above category. I picked it up yesterday and finished reading it halfway through the afternoon today.
So, what can be first said about it? It is probably categorised as a fantasy book, set in some Medieval time. The author I'd never heard of before, but then again I'm known to be forgetful when it comes to names. The book is, for the most part, centred around the viewpoint of a 14/15 year old boy named Thomas Cale. Straight away, the author described his character well. I have never been a fan of blank, overly heroic/clever/kind characters- they always scream of blandness and fakeness. Cale doesn't suffer from this, Hoffman has written excellent, vibrant characters who definitely seem human.
Without going too much into it, the basic plot (that is also hinted in the blurb) is that Cale and his two friends who live (that being a loosely used term) in the Sanctuary, accidentally stumble upon a horrifying scene that they shouldn't have. The book moves on from that moment, and it is that moment which is so pivotal. It really is, too. The author manages to progress the plot forwards, whilst still making reference to that scene throughout, *without* it becoming laboured, a skill which I greatly admire.
Other things too which makes this book greatly enjoyable- it's realism. The main character obviously is main-character-ish... he's clever and strong and able to kill a man 'like breaking a plate'. But at the same time, the author made him seem real. Cale came across as quite witty, kind even, mad sometimes. It was quite a joy to read (probably why I ate it up so fast)! The ending too, was deliciously, cruelly real.
To counter-balance the realism is the factor of fantasy. I love being able to escape the everyday. It's why I like writing here, why I most commonly pick Sci-fi or fantasy over anything else. So, despite the ability to believe the characters, I was impressed by the author's escapism into the unreal. The description of the town, for instance was wonderfully magical, full of colours and tastes that felt fantasy-esque. There was just the right amount of airiness to make the whole thing into a story.
It also covered some interesting topics, although to me it wasn't so much a book to make you think, but a book to drink in and enjoy. Still, it covers the concept of loyalty, of telling the truth, of the kindling of love and the concept of failure. Because it was a book mostly featuring a young-ish boy as a main character, you might have expected it to cover coming of age type topics, but unless I'm being particularly dense it didn't feel like that kind of novel to me. To me, it was more of a book about learning, about discovery and to a lesser extent about trust and loyalty. I thoroughly enjoyed it anyhow, and would certainly recommend it.
A Little Note :
Also, this is my first time writing a review, so apologies if it's a bit clunky or not helpful! Hope you enjoy.
"In the chaotic last days of the war a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find—his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world’s finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine—an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.
With only hours to spare, one of the Army’s last great cavalrymen, American colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision—with General George Patton’s blessing—to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed’s small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses.
Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler’s imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator’s son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm’s surrender.
A compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, The Perfect Horse tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts’s exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor."
This is Historical Nonfiction, and holy shit it's good.
There are a million unique stories about how absolutely ballsy individual men within the military can be during times of war. This is probably one of the lesser known stories from WWII, but at the same time its absolutely some of the most unbelievably brave and courageous shit you've ever delved into. And the beauty of it is that its not about just one man. It's about a whole bunch of men who are drawn together in regards to their love of horses and what they did to save them from Nazi theft and ultimately the potential to be slaughtered during a Russian Advancement to feed starving troops.
The tale spans two continents, a whole host of prominent men, and gives you a very pointed sense of the history of mankind and the horse all at the same time. It's a dizzying read at times. There's a whole host of information thrown at you in this book but its presented in a way that you can easily absorb.
It reminds you of how precious horses are to mankind. It also reminds you that humanity isn't completely full of monstrous selfish aholes. There are beckons of shining light wearing man meatsuits amidst all the horrors of war.
Now, what if you just like history, military, and know nothing of horses? Don't worry. The author covers things in a way that non-horsey people will 'get it'. She does this through the life of Austriaian Col. Alois Podhajsky... his rise and fall in the military and how he ended up at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
The book starts out with a bit of history explained and Alois' life story up until he ended up as director of the riding school. But things really get good as the Nazi's march into Vienna and take it. Alios and his entire riding school manage to escape in the dead of night mounted on their beloved Lipizzaner Stallions - fleeing for their lives. They don't remain free for long. What happens next is epic, probably even more so because its a true story, and how many people eventually moved to save these stallions and other stallions the Nazi's collected to breed "The Perfect Horse".
This book has a ton of horse history in it including how the American Thoroughbred came into being and even mentions one of the most famous horses in history, The Godolphin Arabian (another incredible story of OMG horse history) and France's eternal shame in regards to that story. In a nutshell a sultan gifted the King of France with one of his prized arab stallions that the King of France turned his nose up. The man used the stallion as a cart horse until he was all but thrown away, ended up being a teaser stallion in an earl's stable, and then went on to sire most of England's racers. Seabiscuit, Man o' War, War Admiral trace their bloodlines back to the Godolphin through a colt that was imported to the US. Leave it to the French. Anyhow, that's a story for another day. Back to The Perfect Horse...
This story was so extraordinary that Disney in 1963 made a movie about the events... a flowery watered down version of slightly dangerous dinner parties and wheeling and dealing behind the scenes with lots of pretty horses. Kids loved it. History buffs wanted to vomit. But Miracle of the White Stallions is nothing like this book. Read this book. If you love horses, love ballsy military endeavors for crazy off the cuff feel good reasons, you'll not be able to put it down. I couldn't. I even loved it so much I picked it up on Audiobooks.com and listened to it on my long ass Panama flight this summer.
Hope you enjoy.
