In the Presence of Horses

by Barbara Dimmick

A moving, powerful novel of a woman coming to terms with her past -- for readers of Jane Hamilton and Barbara Kingsolver.

Throughout her life Natalie Baxter has lost everyone she has ever cared for, and after losing her faith in people she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and takes a job at a local horse ranch. Caring for a fiery true black mare named Twister, she slowly begins to find courage to return to the world. And when a gradual romance builds between Natalie and farm's strangely reclusive owner, Pierce, she is forced to confront the ghosts of her traumatic past.

Genres: Fiction, Horses, Animals

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
The ending/last few chapters didn't work for me, but for the most part, I loved this novel- there was something about it that I really connected with.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is too dark for my taste. The main character gives bits and pieces of traumatic loss through out the book, and you get to fill the the pieces until she finally- yes, I said finally - thank God- gives more insight. I didn't care for the disjointed piecing and truly would have given up on the whole story if not for the black horse, which I fell in love with. And true to the sorry demise of most of the characters in this depressing story, the horse is situated to die as well. Also, the horses were always getting sick- so strange.. I have never been to Pennsylvania, but the authors horses are wimpy in comparison to horses I have been around. Either the weather was too hot which caused colic, or too cold which caused sickness. Sheesh. A little far fetched, And yes, I have owned horses that were not stabled in a barn, so maybe those Pennsylvania horses needed toughened up. Good grief. Also would like to mention what a bitchy person the main character was on her feelings about the girls she was instructing. I wouldn't want her for a teacher. I have to say, I did care for the black horse, so there is good in the book. So sad he had to die. Too depressing for me, but I continued on until I reached the end of the book and was glad to be done.

[Fuzzball Baggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was really good but the second half dragged ooooon so much omg so first half five stars, second half one star, I'll give it three overall. Would have been a great book if the huge boring sections in the second half about the main character wandering around her home town had been cut out. Why did the author think that would interest us? You can do nostalgia stuff if the reader is there for the establishment of the memories. If the story had started earlier with her as a kid eating at her favourite burger place then I may have been interested in her revisiting favourite burger place. But it's not interesting or nostalgic for the reader if you just plunk the main character in a burger place and have her go "I remember coming here as a kid", like why would I feel invested in childhood memories that weren't used to develop the main character but are just now being shoved in as new information? But other than that the book was good.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book. I've read it at least three times. It really captures how one person can connect with a horse.

[Suzanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was terribly sullen and hollow. The main character has a tremendous amount of baggage with which she does not deal, but instead tries to evade. The only satisfying relationship in the book was the one she had with a horse early in the novel; the rest are underdeveloped, and punctuated with sadness and angst.

Death is a prominent theme, with virtually every somewhat-developed relationship in the book ending with a death. A few relationships were never developed but just hinted at, and some were marginally developed and left dangling in the end. I found myself thinking the main character was extremely selfish on top of being very sad, and really quite pathetic.

As far as the horses, I am a horse girl myself, and used to be a vet tech. I found the drama of the horses' health in the book a bit much. The horse she connects with is apparently supposed to be some sort of god-figure, but if so, the author's intent is vague and, again, underdeveloped.

Religion is a touched on theme, but feels more like the author never really decided what to say about it. I was left feeling the author herself had too many questions about it to try to answer any questions for her characters and through venue of a novel.

The author's voice is fairly interesting, and the book does move along. If you prefer dark, unhappy books, this is might be a good choice for you.

[Anne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious to see what an adult "horse" novel would be like as I had horses when younger and my daughter has one now so they are a part of our day to day lives. The novel is pretty bleak - the main character Natalie forms a bond with a horse in a stable she is employed to manage after the death of the stable's owner. The horse, Twister, dies. Natalie has a troubled past. The brother of the woman who used to run the stable is troubled and has complex emotional issues. Only the local vet seems somewhat balanced and he's drawn into Natalie's turbulence. Things resolve to a point but there is a lot of destruction and death along the way. I finished the novel but it wasn't satisfying as the emotional growth Natalie eventually experienced came at the expense of pretty much all the riding school horses. I think I would have topped myself if I was her, not cuddled up on the couch with the vet.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love horse and girl stories, I finished this book but it was not a happy read at all, the two main characters were depressed, sullen and shallow sad sacks, I kept hoping something cheerful would come about but no, the main character was no one I would relate to, except for her love and care of the horses.

[SHERRY · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book and would not recommend it. It was very bleak and the characters wallowed in their sadness. When the horse, Twister was put down, the little interest I had in this book ended. So glad it was library book and I didn't spend any money on it. I won't be checking to see if this author has written any other books.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impeccable equestrian details make this dark, brooding novel a pleaser for horse-people.

Part of my 2012 Equestrian Summer Reading List at Dappled Grey! See the entire list: http://www.dappledgrey.com/2012/06/eq...

[Barbara Brockhaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first third of this book is a 5 and then the end of the book happens only there are still two hundred pages to read. The detail about horsemanship is wonderful but the story wanders too much in the end. A good first book and if you want a sad book with horses, I would recommend it.

[Ursina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad.

[Kristy Shaffer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm half way thru this one but having a hard time wanting to finish it...

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, but I hated the ending and felt that none of the characters really took responsibility for their own stupid choices and unreasonably emotional mooning about.

[Hannnah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotionally turbulent and really had a feeling that you were reading through the pages of someone’s life...

[Venessa Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Ok.. I looked forward to picking it up.. BUT I didn't like how it ended....too many unanswered questions for me...

[Emmaby Barton Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5? not sure how i feel about this one. didn’t necessarily feel like a drag to read, but also didn’t really enjoy it? didn’t really get attached to any of the characters even though i wanted to? and if it hadn’t had horses in it i dont think i would have cared at all? and it felt like there was all this big trauma past stuff alluded to that was very anti-climactic idk. quite liked the end with the foal though <3

“if i lived that long, it would be nice to be just like her when i grew old”
“i shook my headed and smiled. horses, i thought, and as always felt not just grateful but somehow honoured to spend my days in their presence”
“i got to know my sister. how many people get to say that?”
“and i find myself wishing that i will never fall again and wishing just as hard that i will start falling and keep falling since that is what so inevitably lies before me”
“the horse takes the credit and the rider takes the blame”
“gradually it came to me that, although i hurt like hell, my heart was still being, my lungs were still breathing in, breathing out”
“i wondered why it was that some people automatically took care of themselves and why others fired the rest of the world to dance attendance”
“throw your heart before you. then go after it”
“well, what is love, anyway? what we have when we’re not afraid to admit we have it”
“she lived… and when she found out what the future held, she stopped”
“you saved yourself. thats always first”
“and that, i thought, is what life is all about. what we make of it. what we attach”

[Hannah-rose Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie is almost forty and still running from the horrors of her childhood. No one should have to face so much sorrow and heartache at such a young age, but Natalie had no choice in the matter. Going from farm to farm, Natalie finds solace in horses; but things change when she turns up in Shipville. There she meets a man named Pierce who is also dealing with demons, but no matter how much Natalie wants to leave, a black horse named Twister makes her stay. Their connection is unlike any other Natalie has experienced, how could she go him when they share such a special bond?
In the Presence of Horses started off fantastic. It made me really miss being around horses and ready to recommend this book to my horsey friends, but then it took another path in the second half. The horses became a background thought, and the flashbacks took their place. As I learned the truth about Natalie's past, I could feel her working through all the events that still haunted her and how she was trying to heal.
This was a very well written, heavy, book that I enjoyed but didn't love. There aren't many people I would recommend it to because some of the subjects are very sensitive at in this day and age and sometimes a depressing book is not what someone needs to read. However, if you share my love in horses and don't mind reading a book full of tragedy, then this is a book for you!

[Susan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A melancholy story with haunting flashes of the freedom and spirit that horses can lend us when we are feeling our most vulnerable and alone.

Natalie is raised in Pennsylvania by her father that owns a music store. Her sister Lucy can play the piano beautifully and has a wild side that runs amuck at night, tries to settles down to marry, but still ends tragically. Natalie's aunt Vee gives Natalie riding lessons and shares a passion for horses that gives Natalie a place to enjoy all her own away from music. Unbeknownst to Natalie Vee was very sick and ends her life. Leaving Natalie quite alone.

As the story unfolds you learn that Natalie has a deep abiding of horses and their care, but can't ever stay at a farm for very long. She answers a want ad not far from where she grew up and enjoys being the sole keeper of the school horses. She doesn't think she will enjoy teaching lessons, but finds she enjoys it more than she thought. The horse, Twister, steals her heart.

Natalie's relationship with Pierce, the farm owner turns more companionable until she finds hidden photographs Pierce has taken of her. Feeling betrayed somehow, Natalie flea's the farm only to return to the neglect Pierce has caused.

[Arska-täti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hevostenkouluttaja Natalie Baxter päätyy töihin huonokuntoiselle hevostilalle, ja löytää sieltä elämänsä hevosen. Kaikki ei kuitenkaan suju niin kuin pitäisi, ja lopulta Natalie joutuu todella tuskallisen päätöksen eteen.

[Sofie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.... 😴😴😴

[Shawnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't feel like there was an ending. I had too many questions unanswered.

[Ruth Forbes · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A moving story of loss, how to come to terms with it, and how a connection with animals can help to heal". Engrossing!

[Blaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very creditable first novel. Its strengths are the knowledge and love of all things equine that the author is able to share and an intimate knowledge of the Moravian culture around Bethlehem, PA. I found both aspects of the book fascinating. The pace is sure and steady; the author keeps the action moving fast enough that it never drags. That being said, I found the emotional tone of the book to be too constant. The protagonist is an emotionally damaged person - a bit out of control although coping with it. Many of the events in the book are emotionally harrowing and full of ruination. I admire the intensity, but a little light to go along with the dark would have given the book more complexity.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den här boken tyckte jag började väldigt bra, men när jag läst lite mer än hälften började det gå utför. Huvudkaraktärens handlingar kändes inte alls vettiga och det blev rörigt då många stycken vart tillbakablickar. Slutet kändes ouppklarat och jag lämnades med många frågetecken. Dock var första halvan av boken riktigt bra, både handlingsmässigt och skrivmässigt. Rekommenderas dock inte till folk som inte gillar hästar.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Can't say that I completely understood the main characters angst. Part of me wanted her to just get over it already. This book didn't go where I expected it to, which in one sense is a good thing, yet in another, not so much. If you enjoy/own horses, well worth a read.

[Elizabeth Ban · Rating 2 out of 5]

It starts out beautifully, then fizzles out in the middle and by the end you don't care what happens. nevertheless, good first effort.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty bleak and sad, but the end was pretty good.

[Katy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but I never really got what was going on with Peirce and there wasn't much of a resolution of what happens with Natalie at the end.

[Drew]

IN THE PRESENCE OF HORSES by Barbara Dimmick (1998)

[Kim Odom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, depressing ending.