This is the story about a girl called Grace and her horse Pilgrim. On a beautiful morning they have a terrible accident and both rider and horse have severe injuries and a trauma. The vet says the horse should be killed, but Annie, Grace's mother, doesn't want that to happen. Pilgrim is very wild and can not be managed, so Annie goes out searching for someone who can cure Pilgrim. Then she meets Tom, a horsewhisperer.
I began reading another book, but when I heard that the theme 'love' doesn't necessarily have to be connected to romance, I immediately wanted to read this book. I saw the movie and my favourite hobby is also horse riding. I was so fascinated by the fact that the horse got well again without using violence, that I wanted to read the book anyway. I think a book gives a wider view of your own phantasy, it gives more details. Luckily I read the book, because the story is different and I also thought that the book was better then the movie. The book was more interesting as it was really trying to go deeply into the relationship between Grace and Pilgrim, whereas the movie was mainly about the romance between Annie and Tom. I really think it is wonderful if you can work with horses the way Tom did and the reason that this book has become one of my favourite ones is because I also have a close relationship with my pony and horse that I train.
The main characters in this book are Grace, her horse Pilgrim, her mother Annie and Tom the horsewhisperer. Grace loves horses and has a good relationship with her own horse Pilgrim. After the accident she loses confidence in her horse because Pilgrim has become really frightened of people and no one is allowed to go near him. Annie is a very busy mom, a career woman. She writes for Time Magazine, but after the accident she works less and spends more time with her daughter. The bond between them gets stronger as the story goes on. Grace's leg has to be amputated and Annie is trying to do everything to help her daughter. Grace is very depressed and sad and doesn't want to have anything to do with Pilgrim anymore. Annie feels that if she can cure the horse, Grace will get better too, so she tries to find someone to cure the horse. She reads about Tom, who lives far away in Montana, who can apparently cure horses that have been traumatised. Everybody thinks Annie is crazy to take Pilgrim to Tom, but she knows in her heart that this is the right decision, because deep in her heart Grace loves Pilgrim very much. Another important person in the story is Robert, Grace's father. His relationship with Annie isn't going too well anymore, because Annie is always working. When Annie goes to Tom, Robert stays behind because of his work, so he doesn't know what goes on far away in Montana.
Tom is a very gentle man, who seems to be able to understand horses. He is very patient and after a while even Pilgrim listens to him. I think a lot of people who work with horses should take him as an exemple. I try to understand my horse when I am riding or when something goes wrong. I ask myself, what did I do wrong; it is always the fault of the rider.
When Annie and Tom meet they don't really like one another. Tom is a real cowboy and Annie is a hardworking career woman from the big city. As the story goes on, they grow to like each other and finally Annie falls in love with a man who 'lives his life with pleasure, everyday; who lives in the open fields and who respects his horses'. Myself, I always try to respect horses and when something goes wrong, I try to keep my frustration inside instead of taking it out on the horse. The way Grace reacts after the accident is rather strange to me. I think that if I had such an accident, the relationship with me and my horse would get much closer. Even if the horse doesn't want any contact with me I would keep trying. I think that in this book everyons has a problem with him of herself: Pilgrim is wondering if he still can trust people, Grace lost confidence and feels unhappy because she has lost a leg. She acts her frustrations out on Pilgrim, something I would never do. She thinks she will never ride again and she lost her best friend in the accident. I would keep thinking about riding again. If you only have one leg, I would think that everyone thinks you're stupid, clumsy and unable to get on a horse. I think I would also be unhappy. Tom and Annie's relationschip has become very strong, but they wonder if is't the right thing to start such a relationschip.
The most sympathetic person in my view is Tom. He is very good with horses, but also with people, because with the help of Tom Grace isn't afraid of getting on Pilgrim anymore. Tom does a lot with her and gives her back her confidence with horses.
The thing that I didn't find very symatic was that the vet and a lot of people around Grace and Annie shouldn't have been so negative about Pilgrim. I think every animal should get a chance. On the other hand I can imagine that when you see a horse with such injuries, you think it is better to put it out of his misery. And also at the end of the book Annie tells Robert about her love for Tom, because she is pregnant from Tom. Annie divorces Robert and starts a new life on a small farm. I think she should have told this earlier; maybe Tom wouldn't have died. Tom commits suicide by not stepping away from a wild stallion, because he loves Annie and she is married to Robert.
The story takes place in this century. Not much is said about the time because that isn't important in the story. You can see that it is written at about this time because people have cars and phones etc.
The story mainly takes place in Montana, where Tom lives. I think about Montana as a beautiful and peaceful area. I think there are mountains with grass and cows and horses running free. I Myself have never been there, but I would love to go. I think the reason the writer chose Montana is because it is so peaceful and quiet and the gentle way Tom treats his horses. He is also a cowboy. None of this would fit in a city, because that is noisy and usually has a very stressed ambiance. In Montana everything is quiet and you can really dream away. I also loved the way the writer explained the way Tom and Annie ride over the mountains. I would love to ride beside them. I think you can really feel free when you're surrounded by nature and animals only.
I don't follow the story through someone else's eyes, but I do try to think with the persons in the book. I try to imagine what it is like to have such an accident and how you feel afterwards. I think the person I try to follow most is Grace. She has a hughe trauma and I could be in het position if I rode my horse up a slippery hill. But the way the writer writes is also very good, because you start thinking and at a certain point you can see how people change. Annie for example, is a career woman who at first didn't pay much attention to her family. When she's in Montana the bond between her and Grace gets much stronger and she even has an affair with a cowboy, who she loves very much. She doesn't pay much attention to her work anymore and leaves the city behind her.
I think the writer tries to tell the reader that people do change when they go through something extraordinary. He also tries to tell me that you can cure a horse without violence. Especially this last thing is a very wise lesson for people who work with horses, because a lot of them hurt horses unnecessarily. I thought about it a lot and I really think it is a good way of treating a horse, with respect. I sometimes got in trouble with horses too and I also changed towards the horse and the people who were helping me. I think the story is very real, the accident Grace had can even happen to me!
I would really like to read another book of Nicholas Evans; as a matter of fact his new book is out now. I don't know if I will like it just as much as the horsewhisperer, because the subject in this book is very closely related to me.
Montana is very pretty, as the writer describes it. I wouldn't mind reading another book that took place in Montana, but for a change it would be nice to read a book that takes place somewhere else.
I would love to read another book about 'horsewhisperers' as the subject is very special to me. It is closely related to me in a way that I could get in touch with a horsewhisperer.
Verwerkingsopdracht
I read the book 'The horsewhisperer' and I also saw the movie. There was a lot of difference between book and film. The romance between Tom and Annie plays a major role in the movie; in the book Grace and Pilgrim are in the spotlights. Therefore I thought the book was better, as the title suggests the story is about a horse healer. The recovery of Grace and Pilgrim is explained in much more detail, just as the pain Grace has from her leg. In the film I almost forgot she only had one leg, because the movie doesn't pay much attention to that. I think that was wrong, because the main thing in this book is the recovery of the horse and Grace doesn't trust him anymore and is afraid she can't ride him anymore because she lost her leg. I think the leg should get a lot of attention because that is important for the story: will she ever be able to ride again? Will she dare to go on Pilgrim again?
The end of the film is also different from the book. In the film Annie leaves Tom and she drives away in her car, because she feels her affair with Tom was wrong. There is no mention of her divorce from Robert in the movie. At the end of the book Annie divorces Robert because she is having Tom's baby and she admits her affair to Robert.
In the book Tom commits suicide: a hugh stallion bolts and crushes his head. Tom lets this happen because his relationship with Annie is over. I think it is funny that in the book as in the movie the two people of one relationship, in the film Annie and in the book Robert, walk away. I wondered why the film maker chose for Annie to leave. The film has an open end but in the book you can read what happens after Tom is dead. I preferred the way the book ended. A man such as Tom who works with horses all of his life and gets killed by one is very sad, yet also pretty, because Tom knew that this would happen if he didn't step away, so he chose not to, a real horse whisperer.
The reason thet I wanted to compare this book with the film was because I both really loved them. The remarkable thing was that there were some big differences in surtain parts, as I explained, though the film was made after the book. I thought that would be interresting for other people to read.
I think the theme "love" in this book plays a big role.Almost everything has something to do with it. The respect that Tom gives to Pilgrim makes the horse better, and slowly on he starts to trust people again. He gives Grace bach the confidence and love that she needs. Also Annie and tom are in love with each other, and in this relation you see the positive and negative parts very clearly. Annie and Tom are so happy that during their relation they both forget the world around them, but when Pilgrim is better they start thinking of the concequentions and they have to deside what they are going to do.They know they can't go on like this and Tom loves Annie so much that he commits suiside. So love can bring happiness and pain, so much that you are willing to die for it.
REACTIES
1 seconde geleden
M.
M.
Hallo,
Ik zoek een passage over het boek the horse whisperer. Het is misschien een beetje teveel gevraagd zijn, maar zou jij misschien een passage uit het boek mij willen toesturen? Ik zou het erg op prijs stellen.
In ieder geval bedankt voor het lezen van me mail en je verslag zag er echt top uit!
Milou
21 jaar geleden
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