Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel

"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in Glass Castle . From the very first page of Half Broke Horses , I was hooked. Lily Casey's first person narrative brought me right into the midst of her world: a world that started in West Texas, but would lead her to numerous places, from Arizona to Chicago and back to Arizona, with a few jogs along the way. Through her eyes I saw the gorgeous, yet sometimes brutal Southwest, from a new perspective. I could admire her energy as she trained those "half broke horses" that occasionally came along. And her determination to earn her education in spite of the odds against her. Some might describe her as stubborn, while others can see that she had the stamina necessary for the life she had chosen. A life thrust upon her by birth and family, but one to which she returned after deciding that "city life" was not for her. Her persistence in showing her children the life lessons she wanted them to learn had the opposite effect on her daughter Rosemary (the author's mother). Rosemary preferred living life for the moment, since the future was not something one could count on. I liked this excerpt that shows us the companionship between Lily and her husband Jim, and their philosophy, too, as they watch their daughter after her wedding to Rex Walls: "Jim put his arm around me and we watched them take off up the street, heading out into open country like a couple of half-broke horses." The author describes that she gleaned the facts of the story from those she interviewed, but that she recalls her grandmother's distinctive voice: a wonderful detail she has brought to the reader as she tells the story. A story that I won't forget...and to which I offer five stars.

This book reminded me of the stories that my grandmother and her sisters told of growing up in Texas and Oklahoma during the depression. Told in the first person, this book may be hard for some tor read as it reads as a story being recounted by the person being written about. I think the book does a great job of capturing (if not romanticizing) the enduring spirit of women and men who settled this country and built it in the early 1900's. The story does a wonderful job of recounting stories that were handed down through generations about the matriarchal figure of the writer's family. It also chronicles to some extent the life of her mother, one of the big figures in The Glass Castle. I liked this book a lot because it really did deliver on the promise of describing a woman who is bigger than life and who overcomes unthinkable adversity with grace and determination. The story ultimately reminded me of many similar stories that the older women in my own family recounted and the values they developed as a result of living them. An interesting thing that the story does if provide hope in a time currently where many people are facing one of the toughest times of their lives. It provides hope and a lesson for how to live when times are difficult. And, I think that it is also a history lesson in ways for younger generations who are out of touch with the experiences of people who lived through those times. I believe that many women will find Lily Casey Smith, the central figure of the book inspirational and in interesting ways a model for life that they themselves might adopt in times of stress or difficulty. I think Janette Walls has done another phenomenal job, I can't wait for her next book. Her books are a joy to read.

I loved this book. The style of writing was engaging, the story incredibly interesting. Lily Casey Smith, was one pretty brave, resourceful, curious, creative, cunning, strong woman. I don't think they make many like her any more! The bulk of the story is set in Arizona, and what a sense of hardship it must have been living in that time, in that manner. But, for Lily, I don't think she saw it that way. Lily rose to every challenge and made the best of her situation in life. The people she met, whose names are on buildings or etched in Arizona history color this book. In fact, Lily's name should be etched into the fabric of Arizona history. I liked her resourcefulness in that when she was looking for a bus, for a small frontier school where she taught, she that it an excellent deal to purchase a used hearse! Writing school bus on it, didn't really change the fact, but it did the job. I got a sense that she felt happier, more alive and free in the country than when she lived in Phoenix. And, the pictures of the countryside, painted through the story where really sharp, desolate, yet gave such an incredible sense of freedom. This is one very enjoyable book. I urge you to read it.

I read Glass Castle before Half Broke Horses and I’m happy I did. The characters in the second book had already been introduced in Glass Castle so I had a point of reference for them. Jeanette Walla is a great writer.

This book brings to life the extraordinary Lily Casey, born in 1901. Witten as a novel, the story is told through Lily Casey`s voice, giving shape to her character. An independent and resilient woman, her amazing real-life adventures provide a view into the era that eclipse any history book. The novel begins with the inspiring episode of an 11 year-old Lily using her wits during a flash flood at her childhood home in West Texas, saving herself and her young brother and sister. She began a teaching career at the age of 15, riding her horse Patches on a lone journey 500 miles through New Mexico and Arizona to her first post in a one-room schoolhouse, where she taught during the day and slept on the floor at night. Continuing through to her later years, this is a rich story, amazing, sometimes heartbreaking, and altogether a wonderful read.

A true story of the American west, the hardships and work ethic so dear to many Americans yet without much of the clichés.

Für die Schule und dennoch interessant und spannend.

Al igual que los otros dos libros de la autora, este tampoco me ha defraudado. Merece la pena, lectura fácil

Jeannette Wallsの自叙伝であるベストセラーになった"The Glass Castle"に登場する母 "Rosemary" のお母さん，つまりJeannetteのお婆さんにまつわるお話です。読み始めるとあれっと思われるかもしれませんが，この話を語っているのは著者の言葉でなくお婆さんのLilyが一人称で語る形式になっています。時代は古き良き時代のアメリカを背景にLilyは1901年に (日本は明治34年）牧場を営む父母の間に生まれます。 物語は，lily 10歳，弟のBuster9歳・妹のCasey7歳 (表紙の３人です。）が牧草地で大きな鉄砲水が押し寄せてくる場面から始まります。大洪水の中，なんとかポプラの樹にしがみつき3人は一夜を過ごす。出鼻からドキドキ，ハラハラさせられる展開になりますが，実はこのドキドキ場面は最初から最後まで続きます。 友人の死，妹の問題，失業，離婚の経験（相手は2重結婚をしていた。さらに後に，生活費の為に売ろうとしたダイヤのエンゲージリンクはフェイク物）など次々に襲いかかる逆境にもめげず，Lilyは自分の信じた道を突き進みます。 我が道を突き進むところはどうやら少女時代からのようで，15歳になった彼女は教師になる夢を求めて愛馬のPatches（パッチ）とともに約500mile西の地Red Lake (Arizona)へ向かいます。 804kmもの距離を馬で単身で15歳の少女が旅をする所は結構感動ものです。 彼女はその後Jimとの間に2児をもうけます。（長女のRosemaryとlittle Jim。） 長女のRosemaryが著者であるJannetteを生むところあたりでお話は終わります。大胆不敵なLily, そしてそれに負けない程頑なRosemary。の性格は著者へもどうやら受け継がれているとか。。。 読んでいて少しメモをしたくなる様な名言???もちらほらと。 少し気に入った一部を紹介します。 First thing a horse needs to learn is to be a horse," he liked to say. "Life's too short, honey," I said, "to worry what other people think of you." "Everything in life has a purpose and unless it achieves its purpose, it's just taking up space on the planet and wasting everybody's time." この物語はほぼ事実に忠実なのですが，多少手を加えているとのことで，正確には"True-Life Novel"とういう肩書きになっているようです。