The Lady by Anne McCaffreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an odd book, it doesn't really match McCaffrey's other works and it's really a shame she didn't write more like it. I never had a horse girl phase, but some of my friends did and I always thought it was kind of stupid. We lived in a city, most of us would never see a horse let alone ride one. This is the first and only horse book I've ever read and it makes me see why girls go horse crazy.
The book is set in Ireland in the 70's, and it has a surprising number of focuses. Sure it's about horses, but it's also about a family, and about a young girl becoming a grown woman, and about politics and about love. One interesting factor is the coverage it gives to the rights of women, which is a pretty deep topic to cover in a novel. McCaffrey does it pretty well, she gives us enough detail to see that the issue is important but she doesn't overwhelm or get preachy. That's important in a novel, since most people will go to a non-fic book (or Wikipedia, lol) for hard facts.
I've read this book about five times and while there are a few details I don't like (extra marital affairs, anyone?) something about this book really draws me. I think it may be how the characters really feel like real people. They have flaws, and some of those flaws are pretty big, but I still think it would be neat to go visit them and learn about horses and riding. That's a pretty big thing to learn for a horse book hating girl.
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