Horse Heaven Jane Smiley

 A fitting tribute to a literary masterpiece.
Horse Heaven******************************************
Jane SmileyThe Author
In ‘Horse Heaven' the universe of horse racing isJane Smiley was born in Los Angeles, California,
woven into a marvellous tapestry of joy and love,moved to the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, as an
chicanery, folly, greed and reckless courage. Spanninginfant, and lived there through grammar school and
two years on the circuit, from Kentucky andhigh school (The John Burroughs School). After
California to New York and Paris, Jane Smiley'sgetting her BA at Vessar College in 1971, she
wonderful novel puts us among trainers and tracktravelled in Europe for a year, working on an
brats, horse-obsessed girls, nervy jockeys, billionairearcheological dig and sightseeing, and then returned
breeders and restless track wives.to Iowa for graduate school at the University of
"The world of horse-racing has never been portrayedIowa.
to such spellbinding effect."Having received her MFA and PhD, she went to work
That quote from the ‘Tatler' review illustratesin 1981 at Iowa State University, where she taught
the depth and breadth of this fascinating novel anduntil 1996.
explains why it is regarded as one of the great horseJane has written eleven works of fiction, including
books of all time.‘The Age of Grief', ‘The Greenlanders',
A rich tapestry of human and animal characters,‘Ordinary Love and Good Will', ‘A Thousand
‘Booklist' described it as "a symphonic celebrationAcres', which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992,
of the byzantine world of thoroughbred horse racing,‘Moo', ‘Good Earth', ‘Ten Days in the
an electrifying and at times melodramatic tale of twoHills', and ‘Horse Heaven.'
years on the thoroughbred racing circuit with aShe also wrote essays for ‘Vogue', ‘The
wealth of intimate knowledge about horse breeding,New Yorker', ‘Practical Horseman', ‘Harpers',
training and racing, not to mention sensuous‘The New York Times Magazine', Victoria',
description and supple human and equine psychology."‘Mirabella', ‘Allure', ‘The Nation' and many
In following the racing careers of five thoroughbreds,others.
the novel encompasses all the thrills, heartaches andShe has written on politics, farming, horse training,
excitement of horse racing at the highest level. Thechild-rearing, literature, impulse buying, getting
horses are the stars but are supported by a myriaddressed, Barbie, marriage and other topics. She is also
of fascinating human characters: owners, trainers,the author of four books of nonfiction, including
stud farm managers, jockeys, vets, grooms and‘A Year at the Races', ‘Thirteen Ways of
gamblers. There are as many intriguing stories in thisLooking at a Novel', and from Penguin Lives Series, a
work as there are in a rich human life and are wovenbiography of Charles Dickens.
together brilliantly in a breathtakingly sustained pieceJane was inducted into the American Academy of
of writing. Readers are kept exhilarated right up toArts and Letters in 2001. In December, 2006 she
the finishing line.received the Pen USA Lifetime Achievement Award
‘The Financial Times' concluding its review says:for Literature. Her latest novel, ‘Private Life' was
"You will never regret having read this book and youpublished by Random House in May 2010.
will, even if you care nothing for horses, begin toShe has two daughters and one son, and lives in
understand why those who live by and for them, doNorthern California.
so."