Great story, lots of history, more on the side of a very niche topic, horses. I enjoyed it as it was very different to something I would normally read.

Shannon Pufahl’s ‘On Swift Horses’ is a quiet, slow novel, set in 1950s mid West America. It has been compared to Revolutionary Road and Brokeback Mountain, and certainly has elements that chime with both novels. The dense narrative might not be to everyone’s taste, and it did distance us from the characters a bit. But overall, this was a well written debut that conjured the period setting very well.

On Swift Horses is the story of Muriel, a young woman left alone after her mother died, Lee her quite husband and Julius his reckless brother and how they are trying to forge a new life, Muriel after the death of her mother and Lee & Julius after leaving the US Navy. The story of Julius feels predominant in the book, with Muriel as a back story.
On Swift Horses is slow going and the characters hard to warm to, you keep reading in the hope the story comes to life & has a reason.
I was given a copy of On Swift Horses by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

An ok read set in 1950s America.
Good writing, plot and characters.
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

Set in 1950's America this is a well written and evocative, atmospheric read. Magically evoking the time and place. The characters are very well written but this is very much a character driven story, and if like me, you prefer something more plot driven then you may well find this a very slow read.
The chapters are quite long and I just really needed something more from a plot or story line. I just felt it wasn't taking me anywhere.

Moody Western Noir of love and repression.

Newly married and restless, Muriel takes up betting on the horses to inject some substance to her life. She keeps her race-track gambling from husband Lee, but shares her secret with brother-in-law and drifter, Julius, in whom she recognises a kindred spirit. Julius has his own secret.

The action plays out against a backdrop of ‘50s Americana, including sputnik, the Cold War, and mushroom clouds of A-bomb tests. This is ‘the golden age of America’ but with the oppression and rural poverty reinserted.

The characters’ sense of self is born of the land of their birth. Muriel is an observer, painfully aware of how she might be perceived by others and of how others want to be seen.

Pufahl’s lyrical and melancholy prose is spellbinding. Her language is as lush as the prairie in springtime, and just as vast.

A spectacular debut.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher, Fourth Estate, for the ARC.

On Swift Horses has an almost soporific effect on me.
Through repeated attempts I managed to read a few paragraphs, at times a few pages even. Soon however my eyes would glaze over as my mind wandered away from the page's content.
Having read and enjoyed many so called 'slow-burners' (or bricks such as Middlemarch) I'm not one to turn away from stories that have a more leisurely pace...but there has to be something (be it the characters, the story's setting, or the writing itself) that holds my attention.
The characters in On Swift Horses seem passive paws, they move a bit around their landscape, but their motivations, thoughts, and feelings remain off page.
The writing is bland and occasionally clumsy. There were many scenes that struck me as not very clear-cut...there also seemed to be little cohesion in the sequence of events as the scene transitions were less than favourable.
As I'd rather not wade my way through this novel, I will do myself a favour and skip this one.

I enjoyed the first character, Muriel, and I think if the book had stuck with her I would be a happy reader. However we then got introduced to other characters and my interest waned. Not much happened, very slowly - not the book for me.

The period details were well done in that they weren't in your face or hokey and it definitely felt like it wasn't the modern world.

I wanted a bit more in terms of character tho. I'm not sure I ever felt like I really knew them.

Even if it's a fascinating description of American in the 50s I couldn't connect to the characters and the book fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

An interesting evocation of 1950s America and two characters wanting more from life than they're 'supposed' to want - but the writing style which is all 'tell', very little 'show' and hardly any dialogue prevented me from getting as involved as I should have. Being 'told' with little being dramatised leaves the story flat and I felt held at a distance. I wanted more direct contact with the characters but the writing technique just didn't allow it. Lots of thoughtful stuff here about gambling and risk-taking - just not written in a style that spoke to me -sorry!

A atmospheric novel a novel that draws you back into the fifties.Characters desperate searching for life.So well written so intense a book that draws you in keeps you turning the pages tense original.#netgalley #4thestatebooks.