Evans, Nicolas - The Horse Whisperer

The Horse Whisperer by Nicolas Evans

The Author

Nicholas Evans worked for ten years as a writer and producer of films. The Horse Whisperer is his first novel. He lives in London.

Summary

It was on an early winter morning when 13 year old Grace Maclean decided togo riding on her beautiful horse Pilgrim. It had snowed for the first time of this winter and so she was really anxious to be out there before waking up everyone in her house. She got all of her riding clothes, left a note to her dad and ran outside through the fields to the stables.On her way she met Judith a very good friend of hers and together they got their horses ready for a ride.Grace and her parents had flown down to Kentucky to see Pilgrim, a 4 year old Morgan, a couple of days before her birthday. He was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen and fell in love with him on the first sight, he was the best birthday present her parents could have made her. When Judith had finished saddling Gulliver, a softeyed chestnut horse, the two girls made their way through the woods.

Grace's mother, Annie Graves, who was originally from England, worked as an editor for a well known magazine in New York City. She was a workaholic, addicted to success and all she seemed to be concerned about was her job and her reputation. It had always been that way, her mother who couldn't have any more children, was used to give orders to Grace and her husband Robert, she had always been in control of everything. Robert tolerated them patiently and did what he was supposed to do without ever protesting orarguing. Robert Maclean was a very loving and caring man, even though he was a lawyer and worked a lot, too, he always took some time off to spend as much time as possible with his daughter. Over the years it became obvious for Annie that Robert and Grace had grown closer than she'd ever been with her daughter and that it was too late pretending she could change the way it was. Besides their fancy apartment in N.Y , where Annie and Robert had their offices and Grace went to school, they also owned a big country house out in Chatham where they spend most of their time. Just like every weekend, Robert and Grace had driven out to Chatham while Annie was still working in N.Y., but they would never forget this morning, when truck driver Wane Tanner was on his way through the woods of Chatham. He knew he was going too fast and he should have put on his snow chains, because the small path he was going on, was covered with snow and ice. He saw them too late, started jumping on the brakes immediately but it seemed like an eternity. Grace on Pilgrim had followed Judith on Gulliver up on a pretty steep slope and when Gulliver which was in front of them had stepped on a sheet of ice and was sliding backwards down the hill, he dragged Pilgrim with him and all four of them slid down back on the path where W.Tanner was now trying to prevent the worst.

In the hospital Robert had called Annie and told her about the accident. While he was waiting for her, the doctors informed him that the truck went over Grace's right leg and they had to take it off, she was in a coma now. Judith and Gulliver had died, Pilgrim ran away and hadn't been found for hours. Harry Logan a veterinarian discovered him first when he and 3 other men went out to find Pilgrim. He looked terrible, was under shock and almost bleeding to death, besides the nasal bone, there were several other broken bones. Logan injected him a sedative and after a long, tiring struggle they finally got him into an emergency animal clinic. It would have been the best to put him down right away but therefore he needed the owner's permission which Annie Graves denied on the phone. After the 11th day of coma, Grace woke up and after another week of physical therapy, even got to go home for Christmas. She still couldn't really believe that all this had happened, and the news Judith and Gulliver were dead couldn't quite sink in, just like the leg she had lost, she suspended it in her head. Grace said she couldn't remember anything from the accident but sliding down the bank and only she knew, this wasn't the truth. Christmas at the Macleans became a disaster. Graces on her crutches was really disappointed because her mother had decorated the tree without her, which she and her dad had always done together, and Annie's mood grew worse, when she noticed Robert feeling pity for Grace. Grace had decided not to ride Pilgrim or any other horse ever again and wanted him to be send back to Kentucky, but before she wanted to see him for the last time. Pilgrim was wasting away. The broken bones and scars on his body and legs had healed, but the damage done to the nerves in his shoulder had rendered him lame. He had turned insane, became so demended and dangerous that noone even tried to get near him. When Grace saw him in the dark stench of his stall she started crying, because this could not be the same horse she once had loved so much.

Harry Logan was still suggesting to put Pilgrim down but Annie didn't want to hear an of that. She wanted to fight for him and had no idea why. While Annie had started finding someone who might be able to heal the horse, Grace had been provided with a false leg but still she didn't even want to think about Pilgrim. Somehow she received Tom Booker's number, a horse whisperer out in Montana. He was supposed to have the ability to heal horses with soothing words and a gentle touch. Annie called him a couple of times, without telling Grace or Robert about it, but when he flew to N.Y. to take a look at him, he was shocked by the miserable living conditions, because everyone was afraid to clean out his stall. Tom denied and flew back to Montana. Annie, having this awkward feeling that only he could safe Pilgrim and her daughter from this suffering, so she packed up both of them in a trailer and and drove out to Montana. She had told Robert and Grace only a day before about her plan and even though Grace totally freaked out she obeyed her mother's will and didn't talk to her on their three days drive at all. Tom Booker was a rugged and very sensitive man who had spend all his life on a ranch together with his brother and their parents until they died, working with horses. They were his life, his obsession, he knew all about them and could feel, how they felt. People came to see him asking why their horse would refuse them, but Tom knew without hearing their stories. So he had started giving clinics to people with troubled horses, "the Whisperer" how he was called, tried to heal the horses soul only by gentle words or touches. He didn't do it for the money but for the horses whom he felt pity for. When Annie and Grace got there he was more than surprised and impressed by what she had done just to see him and ask him if he was sure about not helping them. He couldn't refuse.

It was a long process, getting Pilgrim used to being a horse again, it was harder than Tom thought it would be, but he knew that Pilgrim's healing would heal the mother's and daughter's soul, too, so he kept on working. They rented a small house, but after a few weeks Tom's brother and his family offered them, to move into their creek house, next to the ranch. Life there was much more different than life in N.Y., but Grace and Annie started to like it and enjoyed the beautiful landscape which they were surrounded by.Grace had agreed to help Tom on Pilgrim and Annie kept working like crazy. Each day Pilgrim made some progress, Grace became more happy and so did Annie. Tom was a very understanding person and it didn't take long for him to win their trust. Grace told him everything about the accident and Annie even started riding out with him. It was only a matter of time when they fell in love. They both knew this wasn't just a crush, it was true love and it was hard for them not to think about it. Tom had been married before and had a grown up son, but he had never felt the way he did about Annie. When Annie got fired by her boss in N.Y. she wasn't even upset about it because this trip to Montana had been so important for her and her daughter. She was still thinking, Grace didn't want to ride again, but at a dinner party it came out that she had tried riding the pony of Tom's nephew a couple of times and soon Tom could convince her to try it on Pilgrim. Right before this big event, her dad had already flown in, her false leg broke and she had to fly back with Robert to get a new one . Tom's brother and sister in law went on vacation too, so Tom and Annie, were alone. When Grace came back she rode on Pilgrim who had been healed by Tom and was happier than ever before but then she found out what Annie and Tom had done while she was away. She took Pilgrim and head off, Tom who noticed the missing horse tried to find her. He did, surrounded by a herd of wild horses and when he tried to calm them down to rescue Grace, he was hit on his head by one of the horse's hooves. He died and Annie, who was in terrible pain, left with Grace and Pilgrim back to Chatham. It was about a month later when she noticed she was pregnant, Grace and Robert, who knew everything were happy and did never ask, who the father was. But Robert preferred staying in N.Y. while she was in Chatham, Grace travelling between them. In March she gave birth to a boy.

Vocabulary

Stable: building in which horses are lodged and fed. Saddle: leather seat for a rider on a horse Editor: person who edits or who is in charge of a newspaper. Reputation: the general opinion about the character of sb or sth. to drag: to pull along Veterinarian: doctor who is concerned with the diseases of animals Sedative: ( medicine, drug) tending to calm the nerves and reduces stress. Crutches: support used under the arm to help a lame person to walk. Savage: fierce, cruel Accumulation: collection Limb: leg, arm or wing Cane: walking- stick Decline: continue to become smaller, weaker; the loss of strength Prolonged: continuing for a long time Clinics: are classes in which Tom gives advices to people with troubled horses. It's like a therapy for riders and their horses

Comment:

I enjoyed reading the book very much. It is written pretty understandable and very beautifully. The first time I read it, it didn't take me longer than three days because it was so good. The way Evans describes the countryside in Montana is so wonderful, that you could imagine being there, right within the story. It is also very exciting, you can't wait to find out what is going to happen next. What about the horse? Is Grace going to be strong enough to get through all of this? Is Annie going to leave Robert? There are all kinds of questions that come to your mind when you read this book. It begins with a very cruel accident, followed by its consequences: until there it seems to be very tragic but as soon as the scene takes place in Montana, the whole atmoshere changes and you can actually feel the sun shining on your face. All these happy people on the farm, try to cheer Grace up- with success. She forgets about what others might think of her and accepts herself the way she is. Actually I think the book is sort of a love story with Annie as ist main character. She is in charge of all the actions taking place and it's more than lovely to see two totally different people falling in love.