There is such an absence of joy wrought with anger, fear, death, brutality and yet perseverance the author created vivid images in my mind throughout this book and had me practically praying for both robey and the coal black horse. Far bright star was the winner of the western writers of america spur award. Coal black horse is a story of fourteen year old boy, robey childs, who leaves his mother at her direction to go find her husbandhis dad, a soldier fighting in the civil war. He also has published elements of the craft, a textbook for fictionwriting workshops, and a memoir stay here with me. Coal black horse downloadable audiobook pima county. Coal black horse was recommended at the end of one my kindle reads and i was not disappointed. Coal black horse joins the pantheon of great war novelsall quiet on the western front.
His novel coal black horse 2007 has received national acclaim, including the 2007 chicago tribune heartland prize for fiction and the 2008 ohioana book award for fiction. This novel confronts gettysburgs grim aftermath 50000 dead, wounded or missing, men in parts and pieces. Robey child, only 14, must go to the battlefield to bring his injured father home. Check the horse rider page belonging to coal black, breeder of 718 on howrse. Coal black horse when robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil war, she does the unthinkable. Coal black horse by robert olmstead book cover, description, publication history. In 1982, ronald caplans cape bretons magazine published an article horses in the coal mines that featured interviews with miners who recalled the working conditions for the horses and the dire circumstances they sometimes faced. A richly textured, carefully researched novel of the civil war focuses on the life of a young heir to a virginia plantation. When 14yearold robey child is sent by his mother to search for his father, a doomed soldier, he witnesses the horrors of war both on and off the battlefield.
Find books like coal black horse from the worlds largest community of readers. Coal black horse book by robert olmstead thriftbooks. Coal black horse joins the pantheon of great war novels all quiet on the western front. This is a lyrical and evocative book about a young boy who goes off to find his father who is fighting in the civil war.
Robert olmstead is the author of eight previous books. Very much of its time by which i mean its 2000s, iraqwar, post911 time coal black horse presents the war as one damn thing after another, a welter of directionless violence populated. Coal black horse and millions of other books are available for instant access. The narrator of this book, the handsome, coal black horse called black beauty, is lead through numerous adventures by various owners from a riding and carriage horse, to the rough life of a town cab horse, to eventual happiness in a secure home, he keeps his strength and good temper. In the civil war, robey child, only 14, must go to the battlefield to bring his injured father home. Just fourteen and illprepared for the journey, robey sets off wearing the coat his mother sewed to ensure his safety. Coal black horse hardcover deckle edge, april 10, 2007. Coal black horse is mostly memorable as an exquisite corpse, a. Olmstead is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant and is. Born, 1954 0103 january 3, 1954 age 66 westmoreland, new hampshire. Immediately download the coal black horse summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching coal black horse. The coldest night was a finalist for the dayton literary peace prize.
Not a pleasant or comfortable read but a good storyline. Coal black horse earned the 2007 chicago tribune heartland prize for fiction as well as the ohioana book award for fiction. Coal black horse by robert olmstead overdrive rakuten. The title of this book is coal and it was written by jason grant.
Coal black horse by robert olmstead fantastic fiction. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading coal black horse. Olmstead juxtaposes scenes of manmade desolation with quietly lyrical depictions of the landscape and the animals that inhabit itincluding the coal black horsebut he doesnt sharpen the contrast between disparate phenomena so much as he evinces a primordial universe. Born, 19540103 january 3, 1954 age 66 westmoreland, new hampshire. Goodreads members who liked coal black horse also liked. Top 15 quotes from coal black horse free book notes. Doctorow, howard bahr, and charles frazier, to name. Novels of the civil war indian prairie public library. For your reference, we provided these coal black horse quotes with page numbers using the following version of the book. Provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises coal black horse 16 horsepower live march 2001. Coal black horse kindle edition by olmstead, robert. Play howrse breed horses, enter competitions and manage your own equestrian center. Coal black horse antiques, frederick county, maryland.
Workman publishing is an independently owned family of publishers of award winning cookbooks, parenting guides, childrens books. Coal black horse, robert olmsteads magisterial sixth book, is as sensate as poetry and forbidding as any squall, steeped in detail but bound by few storytelling conventions. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. If an image is displaying, you can download it yourself. Clad in a homemade uniformgray on one side, blue on the otherand riding a.
When robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil war, she does the unthinkable. At fourteen, wearing the coat his mother sewed to ensure his safetyblue on one side, gray on the other robey thinks hes off on a great. A horse bound and ready to be lowered into the mine. Coal black horse joins the pantheon of great war novelsall quiet on the western front, the red badge of. How black beauty changed the way we see horses in 1877, anna sewell wrote a novel about human kindness and cruelty all from the point of. His mom has a dream that his father was killed in the battle at gettysburg. Robey is guided thru his journey by a majestic and stately horse that is the color of coal black. Important information dear guests, taking the advice from the government and the wellbeing of our guests and our teams into consideration, we are closing our doors for the time being. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Robert olmstead when robey childss mother experiences a premonition about her husband, a civil war soldier, she sends her only son to retrieve his father from the battlefield, accompanied by a horse that becomes. It takes the gift of a powerful and noble coal black horse to show him how to undertake the most important journey of his life.
In the book coal black horse by robert olmstead, the story starts out with 14 year old robby childs who is living on the country side with his mom hettie childs. We have strategies in place to get us through this crisis and out the other side so. Buy a cheap copy of coal black horse book by robert olmstead. A callow youth, a mystical horse, a civil war landscape robert olmstead uses these familiar elements to fashion coal black horse, an exciting if. Coal is an important and required energy source for todays world. Coal black horse by robert olmstead, paperback barnes. For the use of colliery managers and others london, many editions 18921917, the standard british textbook for its era. Clad in a homemade uniformgray on one side, blue on the otherand riding a powerful coal black horse, robey sets out on a journey that will make him a man. Poster showing horse team drawing coal wagon with man unloading coal. Robert olmsteads coal black horse a boy becomes a man by heading out into the middle of a war in search of his lost father.
The narrator of this book, the handsome, coalblack horse called black beauty, is lead through numerous adventures by various owners from a riding and carriage horse, to the rough life of a town cab horse, to eventual happiness in a secure home, he keeps his strength and good temper. Robbeys horse is one of the main characters in the story because when robbey leaves his home in search of his father the horse is his only companion. Robert olmstead born january 3, 1954 is an american novelist and educator. Author robert olmsteads work has been called brilliant and compelling by the chicago tribune. When robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband. Coal black horse by robert olmstead book club discussion. The novel also was a finalist for the siba southern. Clad in a homemade uniformgray on one side, blue on the otherand riding a powerful coal black horse. Morphew tells robey that he is in for an education page 21. The civil war has provided the backdrop for several authors in recent years. Coal black horse is the story of robey childs, in 1863, sent by his mother to retrieve his father, off fighting in the civil war, and bring him home. After a battle later in the story, robey has this encounter with the coal black horse page 112. His mother has prepared him a coat which is reversible.
However, it is the gift of an uncommon horse that changes robeys destinya coal black horse that becomes his only companion, guide, and protector. Some images display only as thumbnails outside the library of congress because of rights considerations, but you have access to larger size. Olmstead is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant and is a professor at ohio wesleyan university. Current rates of world coal consumption are projected to continue at approximately the. It was published by all america distributors corp and has a total of 256 pages in the book. Riding a talismanic coal black horse, he embarks upon a lifealtering journey that will challenge him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Workman publishing is an independently owned family of publishers of awardwinning cookbooks, parenting guides, childrens books. Wordy, erudite and graphic text describing the mayhem of the civil war battlefields and mans inhumanity to man. Coal black horses follows the vagabond on the road youtube. I wondered, as i read it, if it might be classified as myth coal black horse is a remarkable creation. Olmstead is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant, and he is a professor at ohio wesleyan university.
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