Mare: A Novel

The story of a horse and the woman who loves her―a lively first novel of not-daughters and non-mothers; animals and animal bodies; and how we find freedom, care, and community in unexpected places.For a long time, a woman lives with her husband and their dog. She teaches an online class about children’s books and plods away at a book of her own. Then the dog dies, and a doctor’s visit reveals that she isn’t able to have children, even if she wanted to.When an opportunity to lease a mare part-time comes her way, it seems like the ideal arrangement and the fulfillment of a childhood wish―perhaps even something to fill the emptiness, diagnosable and otherwise, that she has begun to feel. She has no problem sharing; she shares a garden with the children next door and chores with her husband. The horse will be something to care for, just two days a week, without getting in too deep.But as she takes up riding lessons, faces mounting medical bills, and walks and brushes and dreams of the horse, her affection starts to become all-consuming. Time spent with the mare casts a light on the rest of her responsibilities and relationships, ultimately forcing her to confront what it means to love a being who does not belong to her. With tender humor and insight, Emily Haworth-Booth’s Mare radiates life and feeling―and introduces an irresistible literary voice. Read more