Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read, but Frustrating
Review: I have to agree with other reviewers that the sheer number of characters and story lines introduced at the beginning of the book was overwhelming and frustrating. Just when you start to care about a character and get interested in one part of the story line you were off in another direction and following the thread of three or four other characters' stories. This was a frustration I experienced with Michener's writings too but I found the difference was that Michener always rewarded me by wrapping all the threads into one satisying whole by the end of the book. This did not happen for me with Horse Heaven; the ending felt very unsatisfying and incomplete. If you are a fast reader (i.e., if you regularly read one or more books a week) I recommend this book for the beautiful quality of the writing and the wealth of fascinating characters. I also recommend it to anyone who really loves horses. For anyone just looking for a fast and fun read about the world of horse racing, you'll enjoy a Dick Francis mystery more.
Rating: 
Summary: A Horse of a Different Color
Review: It always amuses me in reading the reviews on Amazon to see how varied we are in our responses. Some readers found this book to be boring. I thought it was one of the most interesting books I've read in years! I loved it and have read it several times. The characters are brilliant, and I find Jane Smiley's mixture of semi-documentary tone and whimsey charming and appealing. I know nothing about horses, but her glimpses into the moods and thoughts of the thoroughbred horses SEEM spot on, and give this book an irrestible appeal. (To the reviewers who were upset at the ommissions in the audio CD, I'd say this: DON'T BUY ABRIDGED AUDIO VERSIONS! By definition, something will be left out. I enjoyed the book so much that I bought an UNABRIDGED audio version for trips, and "JustaBob" was there!)
Rating:
Summary: A True Desert Island Classic
Review: This is a book you'd pick for a desert island classic. There is so much here about human nature and horse nature to ponder. Jane Smiley's insight into the psyche of the horse has such a ring of truth. You can feel yourself joining the action in the barns and on the tracks. For an outsider to the life of the racetrack, such as this reader is, it is nevertheless easy to follow the technical action and visualize the settings.I agree, the plot is complicated with the characters and their relationships to the horses and racing but overall it is a novel to read slowly and savor. Usually I try to zoom through a book to get to the end but in this case, slow is better.
Rating: 
Summary: This was very boring
Review: I've read other Jane Smiley works that I've loved (A Thousand Acres, Moo) but I bought this booked based on the positive reviews that I read in Amazon and I must say that this is one of the DULLEST books I've picked up this year. I find myself skimming passages at this point I'm struggling with finishing this. I'm tempted to put it down forever and be done with it. I hate to leave books unread however, so I'm plodding through this boring, thudding tome. There are too many characters to keep track and long long narrative scenes that go nowhere. Yes, there is something satisfying about reading a book that is complete in its coverage of a subject but this is just written in exhaustive detail. Unless you know something about horse racing to begin with, I say bypass this one.
Rating:
Summary: I only borrowed this book because it was about horse racing
Review: and I've been a racing fan for about 25 years now. If I could've edited this book, it would only be half as long. Way way too many scenes that did absolutely nothing to advance the plot--why were they there? Cheap thrills? In thinking about this book, and why did I keep on reading it, I'd have to say it was because of the equine characters--they're very interesting and you care about them. The human characters: so-so. I skipped over many passages and didn't miss anything important to the story. All in all, an OK read.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable read, almost great
Review: I will assume you have learned about the story from the other reviews and won't bother repeating it. Overall, Jane Smiley is one of the most gifted writers of our times and the story flows smoothly. With a strong sense of irony and humor, the book is a pleasure to read and impossible to put down. Its has two flaws that keep it one step short of perfection - the vast number of characters and the ending. There are simply too many characters and stories to keep them straight - especially if reading the book a chapter at a time over a few weeks. Some of these add to the background but would have been better off editing out entirely, leaving more space to focus on the primary characters and stories. The ending seems abrupt - we seem well seet up at the beginning to build up to Breeder's Cup or Triple Crown with a set of horses and their people in competition against each other. But that never happens and we get to the end of the third year and the book stops except for a few pages of epilogue. I assume that Smiley is doing this for a point, and that this is the fundamental point of the book - that most horses, even ones with great prospects and breeding never get to the great races for one reason or another. But the story would have had a more traditional build-up and satisfying ending if even two of them ended up competing against each other in a big race.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Sublime
Review: "Horse Heaven" should still be on the best-seller list. The book was recommended to me by a friend this past Christmas, and am I glad I got it. Jane Smiley's book is comical, touching, wonderfully written, and so true. The plot lines about the horses, (especially the one about 'Just a Bob'), are characteristic of what horses go through -- at the hands of unscrupulous people and with those who live to love them. Horses will give owners their all if they are treated right. Jane Smiley has written a compelling story--it is a modern-day 'Black Beauty.' The story follows the events that happen to several thoroughbred horses, the people who own and train them, and a super-comical dog named Eileen. I raced through the book at a mad gallop because I couldn't put it down. The next time I read it will be at a leisurely pace, because it is worth re-reading. Please read this book. It is superb. 10 stars!
Rating:
Summary: Equine fun!
Review: Jane Smiley's best book is probably A THOUSAND ACRES. I had trouble with it. I guess because of the V.C. Andrews incest theme. However, because I was raised on a farm and because I recognized the King Lear allusions, I did enjoy it as a whole. I was willing to give Smiley another go when I came across HORSE HEAVEN. It doesn't hurt that I'm a horse racing fanatic.
This is a Michener-like novel with something like a dozen story lines, with trainers and gamblers and jockeys and sports writers and touts interacting before, during, and after the races. If you watch any horse racing, you'll recognize the billionaire owner and his trophy wife Rosalind Maybrick, who has a requisite affair with one of the trainers. There's the successful trainer, Buddy, who uses underhanded means, and the unsuccessful trainer, Farley, who plays by the book. There's Roberto, the jockey, who's putting on weight. There's Leo, the gambler, and his son Jesse, who's more adult than his father. And there are the horses. Justa Bob will remind you of Seabiscuit. He passes from owner to owner, spiraling down from the winner's circle to an also ran. The fractious Epic Stream is a fictional War Admiral, who had a habit of biting his jockey.
Mixed in with the fictional are the factual elements. Real horses like Silver Charm, Skip Away, Real Quiet and silverbulletday and the big time races that aim toward the Triple Crown and culminate with The Breeders Cup.
Horse Heaven was five hundred and sixty-one pages of equine fun.
Rating:
Summary: Read the abridged audio book and am confused...
Review: After reading the reviews here from others, I have to warn off anybody from listening to the ABRIDGED audio book (read by Mary Beth Hurt). I recently took this along on a lengthy car trip. I also took another audio book that was not abridged. Both audiobooks were read from novels that were about 500-600 pages. The unabridged book was 11 audio cassettes long and took 2 days to listen to. On the other hand, HORSE HEAVEN I was surprised to see on only 4 audio cassettes. I listened to them in about one afternoon. Although Mary Beth Hurt does quite a good job reading, the book must have been cut very drastically. I see reviewers here on Amazon talking about characters and situations that mystify me (and I finished the book one day ago). Just a Bob? A psychic? Not in the audio version. I guess I have to read the actual book to see just how much I missed, but it sounds like half or me of the book was edited out...that's not merely "abridged" in my opinion, but a book cut down to merely a sampler of the real thing. I feel cheated...also confused. The book I heard was mostly about Rosalind and Al Maybrick, a bit about horse training and very little racing and almost nothing from the horses' perspective. Based on that (which isn't quite fair to the author), I found it very insiderish and confusing, and it ends abruptly without wrapping up any of the plots. I will know HAVE to get the hard cover and read it, but I still find this abridged audio version a real cheat!
Rating:
Summary: More than justa horse book but the audio stinks
Review: I really enjoyed Horse Heaven. I even skipped some pages because I was in love with Justa Bob and I wanted to know what became of him. Unfortunately, the CD audio verson has no mention of Justa Bob, to me one of the most important features of the book. I gave the CD audio version to my6 best friend who is blind from childhood diabetes and I prefaced it by telling her how much she will love Justa Bob. And he is not included in the CD audio verson. Why did you omit this important and riveting part of the story? Sincerely,
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