“Half Broke Horses “is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen’s “Out of Africa “or Beryl Markham’s “West with the Night. “Destined to become a classic, it will transfix readers everywhere. “Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls’s no-nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling … compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town–riding five hundred miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car and fly a plane. And, with her husband, Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one who is Jeannette’s memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in “The Glass Castle.”
Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds–against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn’t fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit. “Half Broke Horses” is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen’s “Out of Africa” or Beryl Markham’s “West with the Night.” Destined to become a classic, it will transfix readers everywhere.
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I went into this book a little confused what a “real life novel” meant. But I understand now why the author chose to tell the story this way. I loved Lily for so many reasons. As befit the times and the circumstances, she could be a hard woman but she had sass and heart. I fell under her spell and am so glad I read this book.
I have NEVER read a more entertaining book my son walked by while I was reading it and asked, “Mom how can you read a book and it makes you cry, laugh, and have any kind of expression when it’s just a book.” That is exactly the best way to review this book. I immediately followed with the rest of her books. Glass Castle omg, another great! Keep them coming, guess she is busy advising about the upcoming movie based on her book.
A very well written book about a life that I could never imagine living.
Having read (and loved!) The Glass Castle, I read Jeannette Walls’ other works when I get the chance. This book, while not quite on the level of TGC, was wonderfully and beautifully written. I loved the protagonist; she really is a force to be reckoned with and her story and voice carried me through this true-life novel. This book can/does serve as the prequel to TGC, and we get a deeper understanding of Rosemary and some more background on Rex. A great companion book, but it does stand alone and holds its own as well. While some moments were slower than others, as I know practically nothing about ranching, I was still entertained and happy to keep reading. Overall, I was charmed by this book and would recommend to any fans of Walls.
Like Educated but better memoir
I loved the simplicity of the storytelling.
Great voice, great story, great pacing, great characters. Read it or you’re missing out!
Jeannette Walls writes about her amazing grandmother in a straight forward way in Half Broke Horses, mirroring her grandmother’s no-frills, no luxuries, bare necessities life style. This “true-life novel” is riveting. Read this, then read The Glass Castle for a view into an extraordinary family.
I really enjoyed this book! It’s a fascinating window into a time long ago. I enjoyed learning about the way people lived in the past. It truly was a very different world than what we live in today. I don’t understand why the sequel, Glass Castles, is more popular. I think this book is much better.
This is one of my all-time favorite authors and books. I lived in Arizona for nine years so I was familiar with a lot of the territory covered in this story. The plot is a somewhat fictional account written in the first person, although it is based on the life of the author’s grandmother – an independent and courageous woman who would ride alone for days across the Arizona desert to reach the small school house where she worked. The author is a master storyteller.
Fabulous true story!
It’s a long time since I’ve read a book that grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn’t let go. What’s remarkable about this true life account is that the author is simply telling a story. No dramatics, no over-the-top language, just a compelling story. I’ll be reading it again, plus the author’s other work.
Wonderful true story about the author’s grandmother.
You know Jeanette Walls for The Glass House. This one, and the other she wrote about her grandmother’s life, are both terrific as well.
Highly emotional, this book just pulls you in. Yes, I highly recommend!
This well-written story of the author’s tenacious and gutsy grandmother, told as a 1st person narrative in novel form, was outstanding in bringing real characters from the early 20th century to life on the page.
If you like Jeanette Walls, you’ll be interested in this story of her grandmother and ancestors. She was quite a woman!
i loved it
Wow!!! I simply could not out this down, and read it in a single day.
I was introduced to this book through my book club, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the opening scene riveting and was hooked from that moment on. It’s a very interesting tale of the author’s grandmother that not only gives the reader insight into the extraordinary woman that she was, but also gives us a glimpse into what life was like in early part of the 20th century. The story held my attention throughout and made me very eager to read more of this very talented author’s work. Her writing flows with easy, eloquent sentences that hit on so many of life’s truths.
Walls recounts a life that is almost impossible to believe. Her descriptions though leave you no doubt, that no matter how improbable, her family tale is authentic. You will finish this book amazed at the resiliency of children and sympathetic at the plight of adults with atypical behavioral pathologies.