The Horse

by Willy Vlautin

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Pub Date May 02 2024 | Archive Date May 01 2024

Description

Willy Vlautin's most personal novel yet - a poetic and deeply moving story about what it really takes to be a musician.

'There's a horse', he whispered. 'An old horse that's standing in front of my house. He's blind and he won't eat and I don't know what to do.'

65-year-old Al Ward is several years into an isolated stint living on old mining land in Nevada left to him by his great uncle. One morning, the horse arrives outside his home, seemingly unable to feed itself or stay safe from coyote attacks. 6000 feet up, 30 miles from the nearest town and broken by alcoholism and anxiety, Al must decide what to do.

Intercut with Al's present-day story are episodes from his long life as a songwriter and guitarist. Beginning in Reno, we follow his chequered career as a touring musician, struggling to make ends meet and to survive the reality of a like devoid of the glitz and glamour of mainstream success.

Vlautin's new novel is a gorgeous homage to the uncelebrated musicians who make our lives more joyful, and, as always, an exploration of loneliness, humanity and resilience.

'Vlautin at his absolute finest - unflinching but full of heart.' DOUG JOHNSTONE

'A bruised and beautiful instant classic.' BEN MYERS

'Another classic from one of America's greatest storytellers.' JONATHAN EVISON

'A terrific parable of art and aging.' JESS WALTER

Willy Vlautin's most personal novel yet - a poetic and deeply moving story about what it really takes to be a musician.

'There's a horse', he whispered. 'An old horse that's standing in front of my...

Advance Praise

Vlautin at his absolute finest - unflinching but full of heart. No one writes like him. -- Doug Johnstone

There's not another writer out there, living or dead, that I trust with my heart more than Willy Vlautin, and he breaks it every damn time. In Al Ward's love and loss, in his decency, his pathos, and his struggle to endure, Vlautin has gifted us a paean to the power of song. The Horse is another classic from one of America's greatest storytellers. -- Jonathan Evison

I loved The Horse - for its melodic prose and its unflinching heart. This terrific parable of art and aging, laced within the bittersweet story of an old casino musician, is like the literary equivalent of a classic album by Tom Waits or Townes Van Zandt. -- Jess Walter

The Horse marks the pinnacle of a writing career whose roots reach back past Springsteen to Steinbeck and beyond. A bruised and beautiful instant classic. ― Ben Myers

I loved this novel so much, though it broke my heart again and again. No one anywhere writes with such power and such stark beauty about American desperation and want, American loneliness and heartache. We need Willy Vlautin like we needed Johnny Cash, like we needed Larry McMurtry - he's essential and every book he writes proves it all over again. -- Joe Hill

Vlautin at his absolute finest - unflinching but full of heart. No one writes like him. -- Doug Johnstone

There's not another writer out there, living or dead, that I trust with my heart more than...