The Horses: A poetic and moving story of community and isolation in the wake of a disaster

by Janina Matthewson

'A quiet and tender apocalyptic story' NATALIA THEODORIDOU
'Stayed with me after the final page' FREYA BROMLEY

A moving story of isolation and mankind's connection with nature, perfect for fans of Emily St. John Mandel and Jon McGregor.

Sarah wakes up one morning feeling that something big, something irrevocable has happened.

To the small island community of Black Crag, it seems as though the rest of the world has gone to sleep - aeroplanes no longer criss-cross the sky, the radios have gone silent and the ferry no longer brings their supplies.

When the ferryman Arthur arrives, traumatised and silent, the whispers about what has happened on the mainland quickly turn into heated arguments.

As the chasm dividing the villagers continues to grow, Sarah struggles to find her purpose amidst the chaos. With a harsh winter fast-approaching, will the villagers learn to work together in order to ensure their collective survival? Will Sarah find the answers she's looking for?

Genres: Dystopia, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult

371 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2024

About the author

Fiction writer and sometime actress from Aotearoa, now based in London.

Co-host of History is Sexy.

Nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award 2016, shortlisted for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2021, winner Audio Verse Awards 2019, 2020.

Reviews

[SJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riffing closely on the 1952 Edwin Muir poem ‘The Horses’ that he wrote in the throes of the Cold War, Mathewson re-contextualises Muir’s apocalypse as it happened the 21st Century. In both texts, the horses that arrive unexpectedly after technology fails us symbolise a forgotten past, eliciting a desire and a need to go back to a time where we connected to and relied on the natural world.

This felt more like a YA dystopia and I found it overly simple in the delivery, but I couldn’t stop reading it and something about it really dug under my ribs.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just finished an American end of the world novel which rated pretty high on graphic brutality and the harsh moral decisions required, this end of the world novel from the viewpoint of teen Sarah was a gentle relief. While a lot of the same themes, the isolation of the island setting and the approach of the author gave it a much lighter and more thoughtful touch (rather than messages being hammered home). There is space to think and consider. Well formed characters and relationships.

[Dominique Kruger-Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I surprisingly enjoyed the premise of this book because in most dystopian world ending novels you on read about people in the thick of it. You don't often read about small isolated communities that possibly could have escaped the worst of it. It isn't unreasonable to believe that a small community somewhere could be safe from an apocalypse just due to the apocalypse not being able to reach them. And in that case what would the people in that community do? Does one just wait to die, go figure out what happened or keep life moving along.

Overall I enjoyed it, yes I did miss the drama that comes with the end of the world and the fight for survival and all the tension. But this seemed like a YA dystopian but I really enjoyed it!

Instead of having a world end in one big bang this novel does it as a slow unfurling of an apocalypse which actually really kept me entertained and addicted to the story.

I mean I read this in less than 24 hours so it's a win from me!

[Amy Levoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels a little bit intimidating to be the first review of this one! Received a proof copy at work and I found it really engrossing. A really sensitive and very human depiction of an end of the world scenario. Found it to be a very realistic portrayal of human nature when faced with potential catastrophe, all the characters felt developed, which feels like a really rare thing these days and I enjoyed seeing how they changed throughout the book. Overall a really strong novel and I felt quite sad to leave them all behind on Black Crag at the end, not knowing their fates.

[Ella (The Story Collector) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the world ends, the small island community of Black Crag are left in a state of limbo. The radios have gone silent and the ferry no longer brings supplies and, following a shocking act of vandalism, the locals have no way of reaching the mainland to find out what has happened. With Winter fast approaching, the island must find a way to come together in order to survive.

This is a truly unique and fascinating take on the apocalyptic genre. The story never leaves the island and there is no zombie/cannibalism/survival peril, but this doesn’t make the story any less engaging. It focusses wholly on how this one small village gets through an apocalyptic event and highlights the importance of teamwork and community, while the quiet nature of the end of the world was almost as devastating as the kind seen in better known novels like The Road.

I love an apocalyptic novel and have read quite a few at this point, but this just one felt different. I really enjoyed it.

[Claire Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book but I do love an end of the world novel! Its about a small community who live on a island - over the course of a few days strange things start to happen , planes disappear and there is a funny colour to the sky , radios stop working and finally the ferry that connects them to the mainland never comes. Its a story about Sarah and how she comes to terms with the fact that they may be the only people left in the world. I loved the isolation of the island and how the community behaved with their new world. It's thought provoking and one that I kept thinking about after I had finished the book

[Jenny Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, very well written. I loved the slow unfurling of the story, and the realistic take on the end of the world. It had enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages wanting to know what happened and how they survive. My only criticism was that it took a while before mentioning the horses but I like that it was part of the intrigue.

[Ann Yourston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent end of the world tale

Beautifully written and intimate end of the world tale. Characters that stay with you and a well paced plot. Will be thinking about this ling after I have finished it.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Patricia Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book. I love apocalyptic novels! The writing is beautiful, but sadly, the main character is whiney and irritating. I almost DNF this because of her...but I stuck with it. Not sure why, because the story didn't make any impact on me. Too bad.

[Rob Scorgie · Rating 2 out of 5]

End of the World Reading Club book for April 2025.

I overall enjoyed the book. Didn't love the main character for the majority of the book.

My main criticism, possibly nitpicky, is that it could have used another run past a proof-reader, quite a few mistakes in there.