Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
Jeannette Walls, "Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel"
Publisher: Scribner | 2010 | 288 pages | ISBN-10: 1416586296 | EPUB | 480 KB
Publisher: Scribner | 2010 | 288 pages | ISBN-10: 1416586296 | EPUB | 480 KB
Originally conceived as a biography based on family interviews and historical research, Walls found herself filling in too many blanks for Half Broke Horses to remain a work of nonfiction, so she assumed Smith's indomitable voice and set out to write a novelistic recreation of Smith's unconventional life. Most critics were captivated by Smith's earthy, straightforward style, despite the steady stream of repetitive axioms intermingled with her antics. Only the Washington Post seemed thoroughly disappointed, lamenting that "this book is no Glass Castle." Though Smith, "a gumption-packin' ranch gal whose pluck never quits" (New York Times), may not rise to the intensity of Walls's troubled, nomadic parents, Half Broke Horses nevertheless tells the heartwarming story of an irrepressible woman who carved her own destiny.