Shoot The Horses First by Leah Angstman Review

I wish I could have ten more books from her. Or let’s just be greedy for a second and imagine that every time when I finish a book another one appears and I would have a never-ending supply of gold letters and heartfelt stories worth enough to be alive for. It might sound like I am overreacting and probably I am but I was so thirsty for these kinds of stories and the way she writes just resonates with something deep inside my soul that I thought I lost a long time ago. That part of me was alive the most when I was writing. Back then. 

Shoot The Horses First is a collection of historical short stories situated in America approximately in the late 1800s. It contains 16 stories varying in length from 2-52 pages.  The book is beautifully illustrated inside and it has a page for the table of contents, huge thanks to whoever made it happen. It also has historical notes at the end which you definitely have to read because it makes the whole book more amazing. And it also features a glossary of Wôpanâak terms; one of the main reasons I have fallen in love with her work. As a language enthusiast, it brings me joy to see a language as beautiful as the Wôpanâak bloom in front of so many people (including me) who might have lived their life not knowing anything about it. If I look at the stories as a whole I just have to admit I loved all of them. Like listening to an album where all of the songs are just as good as the one before. Even though not many people listen to an album from start to finish anymore. But just like a writer has their favourite stories I did have mine also. 

Corner to Corner, End to End was the perfect opening for this collection, it was only 2 pages but I could see a whole movie lying in front of me. It was about a launderer who is walking from house to house to do the laundry of rich families with an interesting twist in the end. 

There is Orphan Train which is one of those stories that you read with an aching heart, especially when you know that it is all based on real life when kids on these trains were inspected like a horse to see if they were fit and healthy enough to work or to get adopted which would most of the case led to probably you guessed it: work or something worse. 

Casting Grand Titans is my second favourite story from the collection. Agatha Acton, a botanist working and doing extensive research in a university faces the prejudice of her time; Women in STEM do not exist or more precisely; could not exist. She and her work are denied and constantly belittled by men who can not think any other way. I loved her character so much she felt like someone I could look up to and it made me feel less alone in my own field. I don’t want to say a lot about these short stories because they have amazing twists not just in their storytelling but in their character development as well, so just trust me on this when I say: Yes, yes and yes not just for the strong female characters but for the male ones as well. It was so refreshing to read male leading characters who were not giving me an allergic reaction to life when I read them. She built up a beautiful contrast by putting male characters of absolute stupidity, disrespect and disgust beside the ones I mentioned above. 

In A Lifetime of fishes, a woman gets washed up on the land of the Wampanoag tribe in a damaged rowing boat with a serious leg injury. The men of the tribe could have chosen to leave her to succumb to the inevitable but instead one of them chose to help her. And this is how Grace Hewitt’s long self-exploration journey starts. Leaving your home for a new one leaving your old body for a new one. It’s a hard and confusing transition and anyone who ever left their home country to live somewhere else could relate to this feeling of not quite belonging anymore anywhere. There is a lot to learn about the Wampanoag tribe as well and I truly enjoyed every crumb of information about their culture and their traditions. It also features romance but the soft kind, the caring kind where the woman is being treated and nourished with an almost parental love like if she was a bird who broke her wings. 

There are also the short little sparks which could season your reading plate like; In Name Only where an outcast girl finds a man who marries her without taking advantage of her body. A heartfelt, uplifting story of solidarity and empathy. It restores your faith in humanity even if it’s only a fictional story.

In Yellow Flowers, we face the cruel times of yellow fever in 1793  through the eyes of a girl called Anna who lost her family to the disease. In The Blood is a grotesque story about a doctor who is trying to invent a way how blood transfusion works in order to save the lives of people who’d lost a significant amount of blood. When the reader joins him in his story he is using a dog as his donor.

The one story that won my heart from the very first page is: The Light Ages; Or, Holes In The Heart. It starts with Meriwether Capp who is studying to be a doctor and playing baseball in his free time with his friends, accidentally crashes a window. The window belongs to Julie Fischer who even though seemed to be present at the time, according to her family; does not exist. If this did not pique your interest enough the rest of the story definitely will. A beautifully crafted story about life, passion, creativity, hope, love and freedom. This was my favourite story, my number one out of all of the other ones, not just because I relate to Julie in a certain way ( having presumably almost the same condition as her in the book) but because of the way their passion; hers and Meriwether’s was portrayed. Their passion to play and making music to create something eternal which not only stands as a statement against the very meaning of death of the inevitable fear of never existing but feeds the soul to ascend to a higher level of being. To find peace and balance within yourself and truly love what matters the most. Exceptionally written and I probably will re-read it anytime when I feel low and need some light in my troubled mind. 

There are many many more stories and my short review does not give justice to Shoot The Horses First, but this is an excellent book from an amazing author who has definitely became one of my favourite writers of all time. I end up running in circles every time when I try to collect my thoughts about her writing; I wish I had more from her. Please Leah Angstman, never stop writing.