Horse

This novel won multiple major literary awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction.

The narrative spans three different time periods — mid-19th century Kentucky, 1950s New York, and 2019 Washington, D.C. — weaving together art, science, history and social justice.

In 1850s Kentucky, a young enslaved groom, Jarret, forms a profound bond with a newly born bay foal — later named Lexington — destined to become one of the greatest racehorses in American history. As the horse rises to fame, its story becomes inseparable from Jarret’s struggle for dignity, freedom, and recognition.

In 1954 New York, an art gallery owner becomes obsessed with an old equestrian painting of the legendary horse — a painting whose origins and ownership are mysterious.

Then in 2019 Washington, D.C., two modern researchers — a scientist restoring old skeletons and an art historian exploring racial erasure in equestrian art — independently stumble upon remnants of Lexington’s legacy: a neglected skeleton and a discarded painting. Their investigations converge, bringing to light the buried histories of both horse and human.

Through these interwoven narratives, the novel explores themes of memory, legacy, injustice, and the often-overlooked contributions of Black horsemen to American history.

The New York Times Book Review praised the novel’s “chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps,” calling them “thrilling.”

The Wall Street Journal lauded the book’s “fluid, masterful storytelling,” highlighting how expertly Brooks manages multiple eras and voices.

Smithsonian Magazine described Horse as both “a testament to the intelligence and humanity of animals” and “a stinging rebuke of racist and abusive humans,” praising Brooks’s sensitive portrayal of the enslaved groom and his bond with Lexington.