I actually wanted to yell..."no!!" Because a romance must be a quest, not a love affair. However, the description of the setting, which is why I bought the book in the first place, is frequently impressive, vivid and engaging. The second in the trilogy sees Tim Pears follow The Horseman with a vivid tale of change. The characters are understated but remarkable. He struggles to keep attention in school, his mind wandering to the nature around him, and his passion for horses. Albert Sercombe is a farmer on Lord Prideaux's estate and his eldest son, Sid, is underkeeper to the head gamekeeper. But how Tim Pears gets into the minds of youngsters never fails to amaze and fascinate me. Not because it lacks suspense, but because the pleasure of it lies in taking in the language and the setting â the West Country, in 1911 and 1912 â and in reading it like a long poem, with each chapter a stanza. Try It’s the first book in a planned trilogy that begins in a remote valley on the Devon–Somerset border in the early years of the twentieth century. Happy Women's History Month! This writing blew me away and I am so thankful that I spotted this on the shelf at the library. This a prime example of if the quality of writing is there, lyricism of language, then it doesn't matter one iota what the genre is. The Horseman, by Tim Pears. One of the undisputedly good things about modern scholarship is that women’s history is finally getting its due.... Somerset, 1911. In beautiful, pastoral writing, The Horseman tells the story of a family, a community, and the landscape they come from. There is very little exciting action here until the very end, where things escalate quickly. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. Read 155 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. WhatCathyReadNext. . The Horseman is itself an exhilarating vision, a bittersweet elegy for the innocent certainties of an agrarian world before the industrialised horrors of the 20th century come crashing down” – Irish Times “A magnificent novel. Mail This glorious novel quietly opens a door onto a year in the life of a small farm on a large Devon estate in 1911. As a protagonist, Leo is worth observing, but he is not especially sympathetic. Cart It took me a while to get into this book. Once you get to know the characters and the setting of the book it is quite beautiful. Dimensions. the horseman by Tim Pears ⧠RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 2017 In the foreground of a reverent portrait of preâWorld War I England, a talented boyâs life is set in motion. Until the very end, he is exceptionally good at keeping out of trouble, and trouble is all around â in the first chapter, Pears reminds the reader of how dangerous life was a hundred years ago: âThe smithâs elder son, the one with the livid scar across his cheek that drew your eyes to it, reached in his pliers and drew the iron tyre out of the furnace, white hot.â Leo takes advantage of the fact that he is a younger child, a little more overlooked than his talkative sister, Kizzie, older brother Fred and cousin Herbert, who have more responsibilities. Opening his ninth novel in 1911 on a Somerset estate, Pears ( In the Light of Morning, 2015, etc.) There is an agonizing scene in which the character loves her horse so much, she is unable to see it destroyed when it becomes fatally ill. Last modified on Thu 22 Feb 2018 07.50 EST. In a forgotten valley on the Devon-Somerset border, the seasons unfold, marked only by the rituals of the farming calendar. I received my copy free from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. Tim Pears (born 15 November 1956) is an English novelist. And it is not as though the early 20th century hasnât been thoroughly mined by English writers already. Walter Scott Prize Nominee for Longlist (2018), Power, Sister! Seldom, seldom do you come across a book that holds such simple and colored language to a specific place, time, station, age. 3 people found this helpful. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The Horseman is not precisely a âhorse bookâ â Pears excavates the Sercombesâ 1912 training methods with the same sort of detailed and objective tone that he uses when he talks about the other work they must do, but the methods will come as no surprise to enthusiasts. The Horseman is itself an exhilarating vision, a bittersweet elegy for the innocent certainties of an agrarian world before the industrialised horrors of the 20th century come crashing down * Irish Times * A magnificent novel. Set in the English countryside in 1911 with extensive detail about the customs of farming at that time. From January 1911 to June 1912, The Horseman immerses the reader in Leo’s world in a novel that is as moving and profound as it is evocative of the landscape and period. Instead, he successfully camouflages a romance in the dialect of the farmers and horsemen of the time as they make their way through the agricultural year, task by rigorous task; the natural world is sometimes antagonistic, sometimes beautiful, but always alive with detail â insects, birds, weather, crop conditions. . I think the breaking of the spirited horse really made the point of the book. It moves at a snail's pace through the minutiae of the farming year, full of astonishingly detailed accounts of the everyday labour - intensive activities that frame the country life. Matthew Adams. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. ... Books: The Horseman by Tim Pears. . Every chapter and every paragraph of The Horseman is filled with poetic observation of rural life in the years before World War II. . This is the first book in a trilogy. What a quiet, yet powerful book! The opening volume of Pearsâ historical trilogy, about a boy who loves horses, is like a long poem, with each chapter a stanza. His son, Leo, a talented rider, grows up alongside the master's spirited daughter, Charlotte--a girl who shoots and rides, much to the surprise of the locals. I love horses so that first drew me in.Such a wonderful, lyrical tale of life in rural England,1911. 1911. 4.0 out of 5 stars Evocative story of life in a rural community before the First World War. When work was often something done everyday but also had 100's of different intricate or powerful movements. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. Leo, a talented rider and son of the under keeper to the head groundskeeper, grows … . Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2020. Leo befriends the lord's daughter, who also has a way with animals. Ljudbok. Skip to main content. When Leo is left at the farrier (blacksmith) with a lame mare so that her foot can be checked out her father takes the other two horses that accompanied this mare back to the farm.