The civil war turns a boy into a man in olmsteads latest novel after stay here. The coldest night was a finalist for the dayton literary peace prize. Robey child, only 14, must go to the battlefield to bring his injured father home. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Coal black horse by robert olmstead 2008, paperback for. Coal black horse by robert olmstead is a coming of age story set during the american civil war just after the death of general thomas stonewall jackson in 1863. Coal black horse by robert olmstead overview when robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil war, she does the unthinkable. The coldest night and coal black horse share many of the same themes so i think i may owe it to myself and olmstead to give this book another try another time. When robert olmstead published his debut, river dogs, he was compared to richard ford, raymond carver, thomas mcguane. His mom has a dream that his father was killed in the battle at gettysburg. Buy coal black horse by robert olmstead online at alibris. The descriptions of the post battle gettysburg carnage are some of the most brutal and. Robert olmstead has given us a little literary gem in coal black horse, the tale of fourteen year old robey childs, who has been sent by his mother to go to the battlefield to bring his father home.
Since that time, olmstead has received high praise for all of his work. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Coal black horse by robert olmstead book club discussion. When robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil war, she does the unthin. 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. It is a world and set of characters writ large with the. All that night he followed bends of the black road jeweled by starlight until the wan light of the dawn touched the east with red and the pastures turned green. 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.
Then he urged the horse on and it hesitated before responding as if to acknowledge that its rider had learned some valuable lesson and should be rewarded for such. May 24, 2007 robert olmstead s coal black horse a boy becomes a man by heading out into the middle of a war in search of his lost father. Far bright star was the winner of the western writers of america spur award. Ohio wesleyan university professor robert olmsteads novel coal black horse was released to critical acclaim in 2007 and years later it continues to make an impact.
Robert olmstead is the author of eight previous books. His mother has prepared him a coat which is reversible. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Coal black horse ebook by robert olmstead rakuten kobo. 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 five previous books river dogs, soft water, a trail of hearts blood wherever we go, america by land, and stay here with me. Read coal black horse by robert olmstead available from rakuten kobo. When robeys mother learned that stonewall jackson was killed, she sent her son out to find and retrieve his father. Buy coal black horse reprint by olmstead, robert isbn. When robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband.
Robert olmstead has previously published three novels, a short story collection river dogs, and a memoir. Robert olmstead, author of the national bestseller coal black horse, delivers another work of prose with language so painstaking and exact it reads more like poetry. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading coal black horse. The above quote tells quite a bit about olmsteads coal black horse. His novel coal black horse was the winner of the heartland prize for fiction. 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. He is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant.
Coal black horse was recommended at the end of one my kindle reads and i was not disappointed. Robert olmstead books list of books by author robert olmstead. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the coldest night. A sympathetic farmer loans robey an uncommonly beautiful and sturdy black horse. It is a world and set of characters writ large with the simplest collection of tools. Robert olmstead has given us a little literary gem in coal black horse, the tale of fourteen year old robey childs. Olmsteads novel is one of 90 books by ohio authors chosen by the ohioana library association to help it celebrate its 90th anniversary. Coal black horse by robert olmstead april 20, 2015 by valyruh leave a comment you could describe olmsteads story about a boy and his horse as a comingofage tale only if you are as blinkered as those poor horses clopping thru the traffic along central park.
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. Coal black horse by robert olmstead fantastic fiction. An artless teen, robey childs, innocent in years and awareness, leaves the safe haven of his home at the behest. Then he urged the horse on and it hesitated before responding as if to acknowledge that its rider had learned some valuable lesson and. Coal black horse kindle edition by olmstead, robert. Robert olmstead is the author of six previous books. 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. Olmstead is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant. Coal black horse book by robert olmstead thriftbooks. After a battle later in the story, robey has this encounter with the coal black horse page 112. A callow youth, a mystical horse, a civil war landscape robert olmstead uses these familiar elements to fashion coal black horse, an exciting if. When robey childss mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil war, she does the unthinkable. The tone and content of olmsteads story is almost mystical.
Coal black horse joins the pantheon of great war novels all quiet on the western front, the red badge of courage, the naked and the dead. Jan 01, 2007 the above quote tells quite a bit about olmstead s coal black horse. Coal black horse by robert olmstead was a story about the physical, spiritual and life journey of 15year old robey childs. Clad in a homemade uniform, gray on one side, blue on the other, and riding a powerful coal black horse, robey sets out on a journey that will make him a man. Robert olmstead is an awardwinning author and educator. Coal black horse by robert olmstead book cover, description, publication history.
Robert olmsteads most popular book is coal black horse. His descriptions of nature are lush and bountiful, lending a measure of beauty to even the most forbidding of landscapes. Apr 22, 2007 a callow youth, a mystical horse, a civil war landscape robert olmstead uses these familiar elements to fashion coal black horse, an exciting if periodically overwrought comingofage novel. Far bright star the second book with coal black horse in a trilogy that olmstead is planning has won a 2010 spur award from the western writers of america for best western short novel. The evening of sunday may 10th in the year 1863, hettie childs called her son, robey, to the house. A callow youth, a mystical horse, a civil war landscape robert olmstead uses these familiar elements to fashion coal black horse, an. Coal black horse by robert olmstead overdrive rakuten. Click to read more about coal black horse by robert olmstead. Coal black horse joins the pantheon of great war novels all quiet on. It is garnish and flair, it is pretty words and gruesome descriptions of the horrors of war, but it is a story without a point, except to say that life is without value and, eventually, someone will end yours and it will all be over.
Coal black horse by robert olmstead, 9781565126015, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. 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. Morphew tells robey that he is in for an education page 21. The descriptions of the post battle gettysburg carnage are some of the most brutal and visceral written images of wars destruction i have ever read. For such a slim volume just over 200 pages olmstead achieves an astonishing breadth in coal black horse. Mar 12, 2020 robert olmstead is the author of seven previous books. Robert olmstead has books on goodreads with 12200 ratings. 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. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on coal black horse by robert olmstead. Buy a cheap copy of coal black horse book by robert olmstead. Coal black horse, robert olmstead s magisterial sixth book, is as sensate as poetry and forbidding as any squall, steeped in detail but bound by few storytelling conventions. The civil war has provided the backdrop for several authors in recent years.
Olmstead is the recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant and is a professor at ohio wesleyan university. The recipient of a guggenheim fellowship and an nea grant, he is a professor at ohio wesleyan university. New hampshireborn robert olmstead writes of an especially hard comingofage experience in his sixth book. His other fiction work includes america by land, a trail of hearts blood wherever we go, far bright star, and soft water. In may 1863, robey childs lives with his mother hettie childs in the countryside of what today is probably known as west virginia. Dec 11, 2008 coal black horse by robert olmstead, 9781565126015, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
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