RIDING LESSONS

Author: Sara Gruen ISBN: 0060580275 4/2004 Fiction Publisher: Harper Torch

As a world-class equestrienne and Olympic contender, Annemarie Zimmer lived for the thrill of flight atop a strong, graceful animal. Then, at eighteen, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career and Harry, her beloved and distinctively marked horse. Now, twenty years later, Annemarie is coming home to her dying father's New Hampshire horse farm. Jobless and abandoned, she is bringing her troubled teenaged daughter to this place of pain and memory, where ghosts of an unresolved youth still haunt the fields and stables -- and where hope lives in the eyes of the handsome, gentle veterinarian Annemarie loved as a girl ... and in the seductive allure of a trainer with a magic touch. But everything will change yet again with one glimpse of a red and white striped gelding startlingly similar to the one Annemarie lost in another lifetime. And an obsession is born that could shatter her fragile world,

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

No beating around the bush. I LOVED RIDING LESSONS. In particular I loved the first half. For a first novel this book is outstanding. Attention to detail is unparalleled. I have never read a book set in the horse world that gave the reader so much detail. For two days I lived this book. Sara Gruen has a knack for giving her characters so many layers. With every page I felt like I was peeling back another layer of Annemarie until eventually she was bare and exposed and I could see her soul. Annemarie's father's struggle with ALS was so beautifully portrayed and so haunting. She has obviously done her research on this subject. There were elements of ALS she captured so well and so accurate.

While this book would not be considered a romance by any stretch, there is a bit of romantic element to it. Annemarie struggles to find love and herself after her milquetoast husband deserts her for a younger woman. Eva is a typical rebellious teen and she is portrayed realistically throughout.

It's been a long time since I have ridden in the show circuit myself, but it all flooded back to me page by page. While a non-horsey type person may fail to see just what is so special about one horse to illicit such strong feelings in a human being, I could relate on an almost visceral level. In this first novel, the romance is between a girl and her horse. It is also about a woman scorned and her mission to reinvent herself, but instead finds the girl who was lost so many years ago. I recommend this book highly and I am chomping at the bit for Sara Gruen's next novel.

Lisa Munoz