Painted Horses Book Review

It's been awhile (over a month!) but I'm back with another review. And it's this review that you will see is the reason for my absence. I almost didn't want to write it and it took me a couple weeks to get my head in the right place but I felt if I took all this time to read the book I should do it justice and review it. In between reading this book and finally reviewing I did read a couple of shorter (a lot shorter) books so there shouldn't be much of a delay again. Painted Horses I saw last month had quite a bit of hype so I had been excited to win it in a Goodreads Giveaway (another reason I felt I need to get the review done). I was also excited to read it when I started but it pretty much went down hill from there but go ahead read the review. It's just my honest opinion but you might think differently if you choose to read the book for yourself. If you have already read it and have a different opinion feedback is always welcome. Go ahead start a discussion!

Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What it's about: Big Sky Country in the 1950's (or rather Big Canyon Country in this case) undergoing going major industrial change that will drastically alter the area and affect the locals (The Crow, John H, nearby town). Enter Catherine Lemay, archaeologist in her early twenties, sent to Montana to survey a canyon before a major dam is built to find if there is anything of historical significance in one summer with little help or experience. She spends most of the summer being trekked around the canyon aimlessly by her guided sent by the power company behind the dam project and her new friend, Miriam, a local young native. Her story is inter-weaved with that of John H, a loner living in the canyon and of the dying mustanger breed. When their paths meet, according the the blurb on the back, "John H inspires Catherine to see beauty in the stark landscape, and her heart opens to more than just the vanished past." I may have missed that part.

Why I like it (or not): At first, I was really excited to start reading this book. The cover was pretty, the title was pretty, the back cover blurb sounded pretty... but this was a long book and the pretty wore off about half way through. To give you some perspective, this book took me about a month to read and then another week and half to write a review for it. This was not a bad book but it was not quite what I was expecting either. The main story is good with Catherine interacting with the locals and her hunt for artifacts in the canyon but there were some places that were tough to get through. For one, Malcolm Brooks does the typical back story for both Catherine and John H, which I usually like to have because it gives the story more depth. It tells me why the characters are the way they are and I'm nosy so I like to know. But there seemed to be more back story than main story. He fluctuates between main story from both Catherine and John H's perspectives, and their respective back stories which were so long, by the time he got back to the main story I couldn't remember what was going on in the main story. Second issue I had was how long it took Catherine to realize she was getting nowhere with her company-sourced guide. There were many large sections of the book covering her guide taking her around the canyon in random directions. I believe Brooks was trying to make a point with how large the canyon was and how daunting the task was to Catherine, who from the East, had never seen something like it before and how conniving the power company was to try to mislead her so things were go in their favor, but it was long sections with very little action or story progression. Last issue I had which was a big one was the ending. You have this long, slow story and back stories with every little detail spelled out and then a quick, somewhat outrageous, slightly unbelievable ending. I won't give away the ending but that pretty much sums it up. I will say for the positive side it is well written for the most part. Malcolm Brooks does a beautiful job describing the landscape and details and the history.

Who is it for: Again this is not a bad book, I just don't think it was for me at this time. I would recommend it to those who like history: Brooks' back story on John H includes train hopping, sheep ranching and mustangers in Montana before WWII, WWII itself. Catherine's back story includes the aftermath of WWII in London where she gains some experience before Montana. I might recommend it to those who like romance as there is some romance towards the end, and those who like westerns, there is a small Cowboy-Indian theme/rivalry with the mustangers and Crow reservation. Personally, I would call this a landscape book, with its focus on the details and appreciation of a landscape and how it changes over time so if that sounds appealing to you, then you might like it. And maybe to those who like sentimental things.

Would I read it again? Maybe one day, but probably not. I feel I got everything there is out of it the first time round.

When it's available: August 2014

Where you can find it: