The Horse

Songwriter and novelist Vlautin’s heartrending latest (after The Night Always Comes) centers on Al Ward, an aging country music guitarist and songwriter whose 40 years on the road have left him broken and struggling with alcoholism. He lives without electricity or running water on his late great-uncle’s mining claim in central Nevada, subsisting on canned soup and spending his days writing songs and going for walks. When a blind horse shows up at his doorstep in the depths of winter, he must decide: will he let the horse die, or will he try to save it by walking 30 miles to his closest neighbor for help? His deliberations are messy and convoluted, and he eventually chooses the latter course. While trudging through the snow, he’s flooded with memories of his severe mother and alcoholic uncle, his only father figure, and recalls how he escaped his unhappy childhood through music after seeing Buck Owens and his band in concert (“When they played, suddenly Al wasn’t Al anymore. He was transported inside the noise and rhythm and melody and story”). He also reflects on his ex-wife, Maxine, and ruminates on his regrets over losing her. As Al tries to redeem himself, Vlautin movingly conveys the power of music to reveal new possibilities in one’s life. This shines. (July)