Lord of Misrule

Despite floundering through the first 50 or so pages (maybe more?), I loved reading this book. Her physical descriptions of people and animals are intensely good, Margaret's is one of the best female characters I've ever met in fiction, and I appreciated that Gordon allowed me to love Toe-Tie and Elizabeth. And Pelter.

A pretty good book, although I'm not sure why it won the National Book Award. I enjoy books with multiple narrators, so I liked that about the book, but it certainly isn't unique or innovative. The author does manage to cram a lot into a relatively short novel. It's not just about horse racing (in fact, the actual racing of horses plays a fairly small role in the novel), with subplots ranging from small-time gangster stories, personal and romantic relationships, hard-luck characters trying to earn a little stability in life, and a poorly explained thread about a young horse manager apparently becoming a gigolo and going insane.