Smiley covered the entire world of horse racing in a single book.

It was hard for me to rate this book because if I was rating it sheerly on how much I personally enjoyed it - - it would have 4 stars. But I had to factor in some other, more objective criteria - - and that knocked it down a bit.

This book is 650 pages of 3-5 pages "chapters". It follows at least four major storylines with a few minor ones thrown in for good measure. And it features at least 30 characters, all of whom appear and reappear. This makes for some challenging reading!

The stories do connect and intersect and their commonality is the world of horse racing. If you don't know a thing about horse racing, you'll know quite a lot after reading this book. It definitely is soap operaesque! And in that way, I enjoyed the book. It just has wonderful details about a world which I knew nothing about. It also brings horses to life in a way that you actually sympathize with their trials and tribulations.

My major criticisms of the book are:

1. If you don't like horses, at least a bit, I'm afraid you really should NOT read this book.

2. There's a few storylines that are a bit far fetched - - like one about an animal communicator that I found both dull and silly. Fortunately, those storylines are not prominent.

3. It's so darn long! But each chapter is so short that it really isn't tough to read like some lengthy books.

What I loved was the detail of the writing and the voice of Jane Smiley. She just has a great way with words and characters. I found these characters to be fascinating and delightful, and I was glad to spend 650 pages with them. ( )

This is the second Smiley book I've read, and both have been oddly very slow and very compelling, drawing me in until I was fully absorbed less in the people than in the bits of culture or history the books reveal. In this one, the people are a lot less interesting than the horses (and one dog). This almost paradoxical slow/compelling trick Smiley pulls off in these books is sort of a marvel. ( )

This one is an all time favorite. I really like Smiley's writing style and this is a subject so close to my heart. Having worked in the racing industry for over ten years I thoroughly enjoyed her familiarity with racing, the people and the horses.

What a great cast of characters, both human, equine and canine. There are several female characters I could just morph into; Rosalind Maybrick, Joy, Tiffany, Marvelous Martha, Deirdre, Krista, Audrey. I adore Sir Michael; what an agent! I love Justa Bob and Mr T; two racetrack survivors who remind me of my own racing retiree, a gelding I owned from 1989 until he passed peacefully in 2015. Residual reminds me of so many fillies I have taken care of and bonded with and thought about over the years after they walked out of my life forever. I always felt bad for the grey orphan filly......she was sending them a very clear message that she did not want to be a racehorse. Because she was bred for it, she was put into training and entered in races, and, because she was a Thoroughbred, she did what was asked of her, she raced and finally got a win before they wisely retired her. She had a sweet deal in the end, though, filling a role for which she had an aptitude. Both Epic Steam and Limitless represent the classic racetrack enigma; talented, fast, athletic horses who aren't performing up to their potential and need a trainer who can figure them out......Epic Steam never found that trainer, but Limitless did. Eileen, the Jack Russell Terrier, is a quintessential representation of what I think all Jack Russells are in thought and action.

This novel chronicles all aspects of horse racing, the tragedies, the triumphs, and even the mundane daily activities such as raking the shedrow in the late morning after early chores and workouts are over and almost every horse in the barn is napping. Jane Smiley shows us the difference between a successful but crooked and corrupt trainer (Buddy Crawford), and a brilliant, thoughtful trainer who really pays attention to each horse (Farley Jones).

I find myself re-reading this book every year as the Breeder's Cup approaches.....this is one story I will never get tired of.

Of course, this book is not for people who have difficulty keeping track of more than one character and one theme, only those capable of complex thought should crack this book open. ( )

This book has multiple stories, many connected with each other, set in the world of thoroughbred racing. Sometimes I had trouble remembering who was who, but still, I think it is one of my favorite of Jane Smiley's novels. ( )