About the Book

With an elegant sweetness and a pitch-perfect sense of western life reminiscent of Annie Dillard, Gloss's breakout novel is a remarkable story about the connections between people and animals and how they touch one another in the most unexpected and profound ways.

Book Synopsis

"A shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts." -- Amy Bloom, author of In Love

Award-winning author Molly Gloss' The Hearts of Horses is an elegant, heartwarming story about the profound connections between people and animals.

In the winter of 1917, nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen saddles her horses and heads for a remote county in eastern Oregon, looking for work "gentling" wild horses. She chances on a rancher, George Bliss, who is willing to hire her on. Many of his regular hands are off fighting the war, and he glimpses, beneath her showy rodeo garb, a shy but strong-willed girl with a serious knowledge of horses. So begins the irresistible tale of a young but determined woman trying to make a go of it in a man's world.

Over the course of several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair -- getting miraculous, almost immediate results. It's with this gift that she earns their respect, and a chance to make herself a home.

Review Quotes

"Gloss has . . . a permanent place on the shelf of American literature [featuring] smart, independent women." - Kent Haruf, author of Our Souls at Night
"A shining example of Molly Gloss' gifts." - Amy Bloom, author of In Love
"An acutely observed, often lyrical portrayal ... has as much to say about people as about horses." - Kirkus Reviews
"[Gloss] brings the period during World War I vibrantly alive." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"[An] affecting, timely novel that lays explicit emphasis on empathy as a yardstick of humanity." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Not just a horse story or a tale of the West, Gloss's moving novel . . . is a story not soon forgotten." - Bookpage
"Gloss's lyrical story follows the mesmerizing journey of 19-year-old Martha Lessen." - Hallmark Magazine
"The moving story of a . . . strong-willed woman bucking society's norm to gently train horses without breaking their spirit." - Temple Grandin
"Gorgeous! Pitch-perfect . . . utterly engaging . . . deft." - Andrea Barrett, author of National Book Award Winner Ship Fever
"Magnificent .. Molly Gloss has brilliantly recreated a bygone time and place." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of On Kingdom Mountain
"Truly, one of the best books you'll ever read." - Jane Kirkpatrick, author of All Together in One Place