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Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Three Short Novels
Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Three Short Novels: A Library of America eBook Classic | Katherine Anne Porter
13 posts | 19 read | 16 to read
Published in 1939, this landmark collection of three short novels, now available in an exclusive Library of America e-book edition, elevated Katherine Anne Porter, in the words of one contemporary reviewer, into the illustrious company headed by Hawthorne, Flaubert, and Henry James.
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Sophronisba
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Pickpick

Three brilliantly crafted longish short stories, each dealing with death and memory in some way. Made me long to read more Porter.

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BookMaven9
Mehso-so

I know how much folks love these three novellas, however it was just one big meh for me.

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Redwritinghood
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Pickpick

The last of the three novels ‘Pale Horse, Pale Rider‘ is the best in the collection. It is a fever dream of a novel about one woman‘s experience with the 1918 flu. It recounts the horror of a deadly pandemic coming on the heels of a major war. The other two novels are also tragedies reflecting life in the American southwest in late 1800s-early 1900s. 3.5 ⭐️ overall

sarahbarnes I have this in my shelf and keep meaning to read it! 3y
Redwritinghood @sarahbarnes It‘s a worthwhile read. 3y
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Beatlefan129
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Pickpick

I read “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” in one of my high school English classes, and I found myself wanting to read it again. The writing was absolutely phenomenal, even better than I remembered. I felt like I was placed right in the middle of the protagonist‘s fever dream. Knowing the story was based on the author‘s own experiences while recovering from Spanish flu in 1918 made it all the more relevant. The other 2 stories were also quite good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

plemmdog I had never read it until the pandemic. I found it amazing, and loved the other two novellas just as much. I enjoyed it more than Ship of Fools. 3y
Apostcardlife Funny, as soon as I read her name, I remembered loving her work we read in high school (thinking it wasn't that one, though?) & looking for her at the library after... Sounds like time to revisit! 3y
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Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

Three novels, the cover says. More like novellas, or even extended short stories. Not easily categorized at any rate. The last story an exploration of having the “Spanish flu” from the point of view of the patient, and it gets a little trippy. (Be careful if you‘re easily suggestible- it will make you dizzy!) I loved the three fictions, whatever category they are in. But equally I loved the blandly titled “Chronology” which 👇🏻

Lcsmcat ??in terse sentences, or even just phrases, tells of a remarkable life full of marriages (5, and an equal number of divorces) love affairs, friendships with and mentoring of famous authors (Welty, Ford Mattox Ford, Stein, Hemingway, Frost, Rose Wilder Lane) political connections and meetings from Göering (danced with him but refused “further advances”) to JFK. Now I need to find a biography! 4y
plemmdog Ship of Fools was good, but I enjoyed this collection of novellas more. What a life Porter lived. 4y
30 likes2 comments
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Lcsmcat
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From the title story, about a woman just recovering from a month‘s long bout with the 1918 influenza.

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Lcsmcat
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Pardon me, while I spam your feed with a few quotes from this book. Review to come. This is from the first story, and so clearly mirrors what it‘s like to live in a family where stories are paramount.

Ruthiella Go right ahead!😀 4y
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Lcsmcat
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Started this on my lunch hour. I usually love Porter‘s prose, and I think this will be another winner.

LeahBergen I‘ve enjoyed some of her short stories. 4y
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plemmdog
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plemmdog
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A friend suggested I read this recently, as one of the novellas takes place during the great pandemic of 1918-1919. I‘d forgotten what a great writer Porter was. She deserves much more recognition as a truly American voice.

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Amiable
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Isn‘t this a lovely description of the joy we feel as readers? 🥰

Tanisha_A Yep 😊 4y
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HotCocoaReads
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Pickpick

I loved the three short novels found in Pale Horse, Pale Rider. All three of them packed a punch and were very different, but so well-written. I would recommend Porter‘s stories to almost everyone.

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Hobbinol
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While Katherine Anne Porter's photo scan on her passport application isn't very detailed, I love the physical description of her: 5 feet, 3 inches tall (about); medium-high forehead; blue-grey eyes with a short retrousee (upturned) nose and a faint scar on her left eyebrow. The 1920 passport recommends that she avoid Vera Cruz "because of the existence of the bubonic plague..."

#WritersOnVacation

saresmoore Ooh, I love this one! 7y
OrangeMooseReads Love it 7y
CherylDeFranceschi Uh-mazing! And, sound advice there. 7y
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LeahBergen So cool! 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk There's a Jasper Fforde book with a running gag about a female character's retrousse nose. I've never actually encountered the term in the wild before. 7y
DivineDiana What a treasure trove! 7y
Megabooks Wow!! I'm a little stuck on the medium-high forehead. 🤔🤔 (edited) 7y
Hobbinol @Booksandcooks I know! Maybe that means she might have that third martini...? I don't know... I mean do they take measures or what?😆 7y
Hobbinol @TobeyTheScavengerMonk "In the wild" ?Shades of 7y
Hobbinol @saresmoore It's funny what gets recorded for posterity...❤️ 7y
Hobbinol @OrangeMooseReads and @LeahBergen and @DivineDiana I'm always relieved when someone finds something as well interesting as I do🤓 (edited) 7y
Hobbinol @CherylDeFranceschi Thanks and you'd think they wouldn't dock at plague-ridden ports😬 7y
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