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Rating: 
Summary: The first literary crime masterpiece with no investigation
Review: "They shoot Horses, don't they?" is a completely different kind of crime novel. Compared with the classical crime book as we know it, written by Hammett, Chandler, Spillane and others, the 'noir' novel has a terrific, dark and desperate atmosphere and doesn't tell the story of an investigator just trying to find who killed who and how and why.With this first novel, an absolute masterpiece, Horace McCoy, who arrived in Hollywood in 1931 and joined the unemployed extras, and attended those modern circus games, is the first novelist to give us a story of that kind. The novel tells the story of an extra who came in Hollywood from his native Arkansas to become a director, and who's about to be sentenced to death for a murder he already committed. The purpose of McCoy is to show us not who killed the victim - we already know it - but what made Robert Syverten kill Gloria Beatty, his cynical and desperate partner of one of those terrible, unhuman, non-stop marathon dance contests organized in the early 30s, during the Great Depression - and similar to some other contests organized today, broadcasted or not -, and 'spiced' with races around an oval track called derbys, similar to horse races, run once a day. And to do so, McCoy uses some strong flashbacks (the whole novel takes place in the past), a totally non-conventional method that makes the book unique. We discover that the murder Robert is sentenced for isn't really a murder, since it was Gloria who, after 36 consecutive and nightmarish days and nights, asked him to kill her and gave him the gun for him to do so. In fact it's a 'helped' suicide, some kind of violent euthanasia. But Robert did it with no witness around him. He did it because it seemed natural to him, with the memory of a horse shot the same way by his grandfather when he was a kid. At a moment, during his trial, he remembers and feels sorry and stupid about his foolish and fatal act. This incredibly intense short novel (the best one written against Hollywood) was ignored when it came out in 1935. In that period the fashion was to gangster, private eye and fatal beauty stories, and to adventure movies. We had to wait 1946 and its release in France (as "On achève bien les chevaux") for the novel to be recognized by the French existentialists as it is: the very first existentialist novel from the United States. But above all it's a harsh, mercyless picture of the American dream as well as a charge against the exploitation of human misery, showing the two Americas, the one, rich and plenty, in the audience, and the other, poor and miserable, on the track. A terrible masterpiece we get away from with much difficulty.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh, original, haunting
Review: Although this book was written in the 1930s, it speaks to today's ennui and loss of meaning. It is still fresh and will stand the test of time, much like Nathaniel West's work. The story describes two drifting people who meet on the streets of Hollywood and find themselves in a crazy dance marathon contest. They initially wanted to meet Hollywood producers and stars through the marathon, but then just go on and on, hour after hour, day after day, dancing in perpetual motion, not knowing why they continue. Perhaps it's for the $1000 prize money, or perhaps it's just because they're in a rut, trying to escape their desparate, empty lives. The contest is just a crass racket the promoters have dreamed up to pull in cash, and the contestants are almost like animals in a great big cage who can't escape, while the audience comes night after night to gawk and laugh at them. The basic cruelty of the contest is driven home in scenes depicting nightly "derby races," where the exhausted contestants must race around a track for 15 minutes, with the last place couple being eliminated. Bodies fall, tempers flare, and fists fly while the audience gasps and thrills to the show. In the end, we discover an enormous existential void in our two contestants, which leads to the only logical conclusion. This book is packed with sexual tension as well and should give today's slick writers pause. There's nothing new under the sun, kids. Previous generations weren't as stupid as you might think. In fact, this very fine work outstrips 99% of today's novels in its subtlety and originality.
Rating: 
Summary: A Metaphor For The Failure of the American Dream
Review: Considered experimental when first published in 1935, Hoarce McCoy's THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY is a series of extended flashbacks recalled by a prisoner as he stands before a judge pronouncing sentence upon him. But although the novel's structure drew considerable comment at the time, HORSES is best recalled for its vivid portrait of the depression-era fad for Marathon Dances and the gritty tone in which it sketches its desperate characters. Written in the style of 1930s pulp fiction, the novel essentially presents both characters and Marathon Dance as a metaphor for a world in which those without money and social status struggle for survival with the only certainty in life being death itself--and whose struggle becomes a vicarious entertainment for the more secure. Although the novel is extremely short, it presents the reader with a powerful and very memorable series of images, most of which were well used by the famous 1960s Jane Fonda film version. Powerful though it is, the novel does have some flaws, chief among them McCoy's failure to fully expand upon his metaphor of the Marathon Dance and his tendency to introduce additional ideas upon which he never really expands; the characters also read as rather flat. Even so, THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY's central concept and hard-edged prose is so impressive that the book possesses a compulsive readability; it is very much a book that you can't put down. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A classic in the study of human suffering!
Review: They Shoot Horses depicts the suffering and misery of depression era America. The plot centers around a dance marathon in which a variety of pathetic contestants enter in hopes of taking away the cash prize.
Needless to say, they take nothing away. The marathon takes away their dignity and self-respect; leaving each contestant exposed by the torment that life has heaped upon each individual.
They Shoot Horses is an excellent text for the study of character development. The major and minor characters are all equally important. No one is superior. All are equal in the misery of life. How one handles the misery determines their future.
Some will say Horses ends on a tragic note. I disagree. Animals are shot to be put out of their misery. Are we not the higher form of animal existence? I applaud Gloria's strenghth and Robert's compassion.
Rating:
Summary: Depression Problems Solved
Review: This book is not a mystery book. We know the victim, the crime and who committed it from the opening page. Robert Syverten is sitting in court having already been found guilty and is in the process of being sentenced by the judge. During his sentencing his mind wanders back through the events leading up to the crime. And a most unusual story it is, too. Syverten is an out of work movie extra who bumps into the chronically depressed Gloria one day and they quickly become friends. She invites him to partner her in a marathon dance contest and, with nothing better to do, he agrees. It's clear from very early on, however, that Gloria is not a happy camper and continually complains that she wishes she were dead, usually a throwaway line, but in this case it's a heartfelt wish. The bulk of the story revolves around the dance contest, which quickly turns into a gruelling nightmare for the competitors, who are jollied along by the organisers to try to drum up interest from the public. The contest is frequently punctuated with outbreaks of violence and other unexpected disturbances, which provides a sense of inevitability to the final few scenes. There is a lot to like about this book with the carnival atmosphere and upbeat tempo of the dance contest striking a dramatic contrast to Gloria's fatalistic view of life.
Rating: 
Summary: More like 3 ½ stars.
Review: This movie begins with Robert in court, being sentenced for the murder of his friend Gloria. The story is composed of his memories, which he goes over as the judge declares the sentence. From this point on, the purpose of the story is to show that Robert's murder was justified as a mercy-killing, as well as to give a bleak view of the pointlessness of life. On the metaphorical level, this book mostly succeeds. Gloria and Robert spend the entire story in a dance marathon, where they are trying to outlast the other competitors in order to win the big prize. This marathon becomes a small-scale representation of Gloria's tiring, hopeless life. Gloria frequently expresses both the wish to end her life and the wish to leave the dance marathon, though she will not act on either herself. Then there's the end of the dance... However, once we pull our heads down from those metaphorical clouds, it really doesn't FEEL like Robert is doing to right thing by killing Gloria. Gloria seems more cranky than depressed, and Robert is a nice, friendly guy who seems like he could have a happy future. Pretty unconvincing. So, this book only succeeds when you think of everything as symbolic. That's pretty hard. Otherwise, it could have done a better job of convincing the reader that Gloria's murder was justified.
Rating:
Summary: tough
Review: Though better known in it's somewhat milder film version, this is a brisk, brutal crime novel in which a Depression dance marathon becomes a metaphor for the harsh and unrelenting grind of real life. Couple #22, Robert Syverton and Gloria Beatty, have come to Hollywood to break into the movie business, but having had no luck, end up in a spectacle that's like something out of the Roman Coliseum. By novel's end the couples have been dancing for almost 900 hours, with only a ten minute break every two hours. The 144 couples who started have dwindled down to twenty. Many dropped out early, but many more have been eliminated in the frantic derby races that were instituted to draw in crowds. When dancers merely pass out, which they frequently do, they are awakened with smelling salts or ice baths and pushed right back onto the floor. But times are so bad that Robert has actually put on five pounds during the ordeal--meals are supplied for free--and most of the other contestants have gained weight too. He's content to keep going, hoping that he'll be "discovered" by one of the film world glitterati attending the marathon or that he can use the prize money to direct a picture of his own. But Gloria is completely fatalistic : This whole business is a merry-go-round. When we get out of here we're right back where we started. She tries convincing one of the other dancers, who is pregnant, to get an abortion, for the good of the baby, and she continually tells Robert that she wishes she were dead. Suffice it to say she gets her wish. We tend to want to view our grandparents as having led sheltered lives, unaware of all the oh-so-tough realities that we face so honestly today. This almost sadistically frank pulp fiction from 1935 will cure anyone of the delusion that earlier generations didn't know the score. With murder, incest, abortion, and the like generously added to a plot about people entertaining themselves by watching the misery of others, it's like one of these eliminationist "reality" television shows (Survivor, Big Brother, etc.) as conceived by the creative team of Thomas Hobbes and Charles Darwin. These lives are indeed nasty, brutish, and short. It doesn't make for a pretty story, but you have to admire the zeal and energy with which Horace McCoy drives his point home. GRADE : B+
Rating:
Summary: tough
Review: Though better known in it's somewhat milder film version, this is a brisk, brutal crime novel in which a Depression dance marathon becomes a metaphor for the harsh and unrelenting grind of real life. Couple #22, Robert Syverton and Gloria Beatty, have come to Hollywood to break into the movie business, but having had no luck, end up in a spectacle that's like something out of the Roman Coliseum. By novel's end the couples have been dancing for almost 900 hours, with only a ten minute break every two hours. The 144 couples who started have dwindled down to twenty. Many dropped out early, but many more have been eliminated in the frantic derby races that were instituted to draw in crowds. When dancers merely pass out, which they frequently do, they are awakened with smelling salts or ice baths and pushed right back onto the floor. But times are so bad that Robert has actually put on five pounds during the ordeal--meals are supplied for free--and most of the other contestants have gained weight too. He's content to keep going, hoping that he'll be "discovered" by one of the film world glitterati attending the marathon or that he can use the prize money to direct a picture of his own. But Gloria is completely fatalistic : This whole business is a merry-go-round. When we get out of here we're right back where we started. She tries convincing one of the other dancers, who is pregnant, to get an abortion, for the good of the baby, and she continually tells Robert that she wishes she were dead. Suffice it to say she gets her wish. We tend to want to view our grandparents as having led sheltered lives, unaware of all the oh-so-tough realities that we face so honestly today. This almost sadistically frank pulp fiction from 1935 will cure anyone of the delusion that earlier generations didn't know the score. With murder, incest, abortion, and the like generously added to a plot about people entertaining themselves by watching the misery of others, it's like one of these eliminationist "reality" television shows (Survivor, Big Brother, etc.) as conceived by the creative team of Thomas Hobbes and Charles Darwin. These lives are indeed nasty, brutish, and short. It doesn't make for a pretty story, but you have to admire the zeal and energy with which Horace McCoy drives his point home. GRADE : B+
Rating:
Summary: Existential Masterpiece of the Depression
Review: When all is said and done, it's McCoy's HORSES that, for me, so beautifully reflects the darkest side of the Depression days in the U.S., even more so than Steinbeck's wonderful GRAPES OF WRATH. McCoy gets to the very core of human desperation and misery, a cutthroat atmosphere where people will resort to ANYTHING just to survive. The dance marathon itself becomes an odd microcosm of society, totally self-contained, as if the world outside of its doors does not exist. I have not seen the film because I am afraid it will undermine the strong visions the book created in my mind, particularly the "derby" sections, where one person is playing the horse and the other the jockey, racing around the center ring in the dance floor. That is one of the most surreal visions any novel has ever planted in my brain and McCoy conveys the action and drama of these "races" so phenomenally well. In light of such strange imagery, to call this a "crime novel" is to rob it of its broader vision, its existential outlook on the modern social order and its warped priorities. More to the point, there's little to no crime here. Someone gets shot. That's the extent of it. There's no investigation, no suspense. So I suspect crime aficionados might be bored out of their skull with this one. I have the hardback first-edition, published by Simon & Schuster back when it was a fledgling company, and its too bad no one will give this its clothbound due and elevate it above the status of the "penny pocketbook". They did include it with Library of America's Crime Noir set but again, that forces it within a certain genre to which it does not belong. Although McCoy's success in the US was marginal at best, the French existentialists loved this novel and McCoy was hailed as a genius there and in other parts of Europe as well. At least he got some degree of recognition during his own lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: Existential Masterpiece of the Depression
Review: When all is said and done, it's McCoy's HORSES that, for me, so beautifully reflects the darkest side of the Depression days in the U.S., even more so than Steinbeck's wonderful GRAPES OF WRATH. McCoy gets to the very core of human desperation and misery, a cutthroat atmosphere where people will resort to ANYTHING just to survive. The dance marathon itself becomes an odd microcosm of society, totally self-contained, as if the world outside of its doors does not exist. I have not seen the film because I am afraid it will undermine the strong visions the book created in my mind, particularly the "derby" sections, where one person is playing the horse and the other the jockey, racing around the center ring in the dance floor. That is one of the most surreal visions any novel has ever planted in my brain and McCoy conveys the action and drama of these "races" so phenomenally well. In light of such strange imagery, to call this a "crime novel" is to rob it of its broader vision, its existential outlook on the modern social order and its warped priorities. More to the point, there's little to no crime here. Someone gets shot. That's the extent of it. There's no investigation, no suspense. So I suspect crime aficionados might be bored out of their skull with this one. I have the hardback first-edition, published by Simon & Schuster back when it was a fledgling company, and its too bad no one will give this its clothbound due and elevate it above the status of the "penny pocketbook". They did include it with Library of America's Crime Noir set but again, that forces it within a certain genre to which it does not belong. Although McCoy's success in the US was marginal at best, the French existentialists loved this novel and McCoy was hailed as a genius there and in other parts of Europe as well. At least he got some degree of recognition during his own lifetime.
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