BOOK REVIEW:
You should have heard this somewhere, where they say that
movies are for lazy people who do not like to think too much.
Every piece of information on screen is presented visually,
and viewers just need to absorb them as they come.
On
the other hand, books give readers a chance to paint a picture
in their minds with every word and every line they read. At
every turn of the page, you’d have a mental picture
of what the author is describing, and that is not necessary
the same picture painted by another reader.
This
novel written by Mary O’ Hara painted picture after
picture in our minds, and gosh, they are magnificent portraits
of the landscapes in the ranches.
The
325-page book tells the story of a boy who lives on a Wyoming
ranch (yes, probably near the one where the Brokeback boys
had their share of fun). There, the rebellious boy goes through
what every adolescent goes through – growing up. And
as every teenager will tell you, it is no easy process. But
the boy finds a strong bond with Flicka (Swedish for “girl”),
a horse his family rears and the resultant story is given
typical warm and fuzzy treatment.
The
horse grows up with the boy and goes through some near-death
experiences. The comparisons and analogies drawn are appropriately
inspiring.
Given
where the story takes place; O’ Hara takes every opportunity
to describe in detail the ranches’ beautiful sceneries.
And she does not stop there. Paragraphs of the horse getting
hurt, almost dying and arguments between the boy and his headstrong
gather are written in vivid details too.
You’d
be imagining how these scenes would play out on the big screen.
True
enough, director Michael Mayer saw potential in this novel
and has adapted it for the celluloid in a movie starring country
singer Tim McGraw and the lovely Alison Lohman. Of course,
Mayer would have cast a strong sturdy horse as well.
As
the book was first published in 1941, we can’t help
but feel that there is nothing too exciting about it. Those
looking for dramatic plot twists and turns would definitely
not find it in this book. Although easy to read, there is
something about the story which makes you feel that you have
heard this tale somewhere else before.
Perhaps,
the reason why it is so familiar is that it is your growing
up story. After all, these encounters are often universal,
just that this particular one takes place in a different continent.
CHOICE XCERPT:
“The mile-square Stable Pasture, so called because it
was nearest to the stables, was a terrain of startling wildness
and beauty. A broad runway of level grass went along the County
Road on the south. North and west, it ran into low hills,
with a sparse, erratic growth of large twisted pines, and
the soil here was a shallow layer over a mountain crag which
broke through everywhere in cliffs and sharp stone teeth.
Out of the rock-clefts grew pines and junipers. At the base
of the cliffs were caverns in which were skeletons and piles
of bones, remains of wild animal orgies.”
VERDICT:
A
simple and uncomplicated tale of growing up which will hopefully
inspire today’s younger readers.
Review
by John Li
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