I loved this book. Terse. Morally complex. Hard-boiled is the word. There is no other manner in which this story could be narrated. The title becomes clear, illuminates almost in the last sentence, shining on the face of the reader, and then it makes you think. You want to read more but there is nothing more left to read. Because the style of writing permits that you don't engage in unnecessary explanations or long, winding monologues to explain the character's psyche the writer has to rely on correct word choices, painfully plain-sounding dialogue that end up meaning more in the afterthought. There is so much happening in the dance marathon, where the desperate characters dance their way to better, richer lives, not knowing that they are trapped in a marry-go round from where there is no escape. It is the story of miserable human beings, trying to make it to the big league during the depression era, and the hunger for preposterous entertainment that made such shows possible. This is noir with the most unusual setting, but there are all the traits of a classic noir. There is desperation. There is solitude. There are tough guys. There is also a femme fetale (rather forlorn), who leads the narrator towards a brutal crime that has dangerous consequences. But everything is kept real and believable until the final blow. Since you as a reader know what is to happen the real shock is how it happens. Ernesto Sabato's Tunnel comes to mind while reading it. Both are similar in soul, if not in content, and both end with a murder. The beauty of how that murder is coming is more important for the standing the novel will eventually take in the literature canon. I found Horace McCoy's version more satisfying. Why is it that Ernesto Sabato enjoys being an existentialist author (not doubting his achievements) while McCoy remains a little known writer of pulp fiction? The reason Meursault gives in Albert Camus's The Outsider for shooting the Arab is that there was too much heat and beads of sweat had formed around his eyes, making him irritable. Absurd, right? Deep within he feels that everything is meaningless. But you must know that Meursault has a point of view. The narrator of this book doesn't seem to have any. What he does in the end is impulsive, a sudden awareness of the absurd maybe, a peek in the void, because he is gradually arriving at that understanding, through the exhausting show, through the femme fetale - he becomes Meursault in the end. It is a wounded text. One of its kind.
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They is a novel that speaks to our times: we are inundated with reality shows, where fame and fortune, tragedy and despair are brought to us on a whim and often in the public eye. The public’s livelihoods and fates are broadcast for the world to see, and this sells. The basis for this story is concerning the promotion of a dance marathon during the Great Depression. The winner is promised cash and free food. And, unlike the many reality shows we see today, there is a realness and desperation to this contest that is quite grotesque, disturbing and bizarre. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They is very existential; it has a deeper layer of meaning beyond its basis and simple plot. Desperate times call for desperate measures, even if it is in the form of a dance marathon. There’s a seemingly trivial moment in this book when the narrator catches a glimpse of the sun outside and becomes enamored with the idea of being able to see it during the contest. I thought this a fitting moment in expressing one of the major themes. I think this reinforces the claustrophobic mood depicted in the dance; these contestants are in a “prison” that is this contest, confined to either enduring the race and trying to win the prize or retreating back to a harsh reality with their hopes dashed. The contest, in many ways, is the illusion and falsity of the American Dream. Illusion being that, it is a spectacle, a modern day gladiator fight: barbaric, humiliating, sensationalist. Yet, it sells: the promoters see at it as a cash grab, something to create public interest and sensationalism. I thought this short work was beautifully assembled, alternating narrator perspective of the dance marathon with quick snapshots back to the courtroom and the sentencing. Although the prose is quite simple, the narrator gives insight into the events of the dance marathon and the character of Gloria, a nihilist if there ever was one, who sees through the façade and falsity of this marathon. We know exactly how things end, and are told this within the first moments of the book. This is secondary; the understanding of how and why certain acts were carried out are the primary basis for the narrative.
Do You like book They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1995)?
Before the famous film, released in 1969, there was this unforgettable work of American noir which was published in 1935.Evolving out of the hard-boiled style of the pulp magazines, noir fiction became a varied and innovative body of urban literature.Set primarily at a dance marathon on the pier in Santa Monica, California, this novel uses abrupt, staccato rhythms and a unique narrative structure to capture the chaos and personal desperation of the Great Depression.Disturbing and poetic with sudden bursts of violence, this novel is a great example of the genre.
—Jeffrey
“…she died in agony, friendless, alone…”Thus the book begins…It’s the 1930’s right outside Hollywood in Santa Monica California and yet another version of the marathon dance craze is being enacted. Two Hollywood hopefuls, Gloria and Robert, happen upon one another and decide to team up, after all there’s a $1,000 prize to the last couple standing. So begins this tortured story. It’s one of struggle reflective of the depression. The couples are required to stay in motion with a ten minute rest break every so often and meals eaten standing up but a free meal is a free meal! There’s a creepy zoo like feel as an audience gathers to watch the couples in the center. Robert longs to see the sun but is prodded back into the building by his keepers; Gloria is in despair and keeps saying she wants to die. Nerves become more and more frazzled.The 70’s movie starring Jane Fonda as Gloria might even be better than the book. Though there is much license taken with the book, the movie is more overt in the theme of struggle and the dichotomy between the rich vs. poor during the depression, it’s still incredibly well done and worth watching. Sadly it seems relevant to our contemporary situations in many ways. McCoy however, gives a wider palette of emotions and issues in his writing. He emphasizes the morality of the character’s actions. It has sub themes such as who is a criminal, is it ever moral to kill and if so in what situation(s)? McCoy also touches on the exploitation of people especially of women. Last is the theme of reconciling the childhood heartbreaks and the values they’ve inherited from those early sorrows and how people carry that pain into adulthood. As I’m sure you gathered both from McCoy’s title and my reactions to his book this isn’t a feel good experience but it’s well worth taking the time to read this vintage story. This review is based on an egalley provided by the publisher.
—Cynthia
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a short story but very existentialist and very exhausting. It takes place in 1930s, during the Great Depression, it starts with Robert Syverten confessing to Gloria Beatty's murder. I loved the way McCoy kept going back and forth between the trial and the dancing marathon. throughout the novel Gloria keeps saying she wants to die, to be honest her pessimistic view of life is beyond redemption, which makes her even more interesting. It's not about the ending here, we already know the end from the very beginning, it's about two Hollywood hopefuls struggling to win a dancing marathon from hell for the sake of 1000$. The beauty behind it is how something this short and this simple plotted can raise questions such as, is there such thing as "merciful killing"? can there really be a moral behind putting an end to someone's life or misery? does this make Robert a murderer?
—Hajer Elmahdi
