Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter

I have never heard of the author, but this book was given to me in a parcel of books that someone was getting rid of.  It is an old paperback, with brittle pages.  As I was reading it, the binder cracked and one page came loose.  I think I will try to find a proper resting place as opposed to just throwing it in the trash. Oops, sorry, I meant to say recycle bin!

This book consists of 3 short stories. They are written from the late 1800s – early 1900s. 

Miranda is the main character in the first and last story and Mr. Thompson is in the middle.  His story is unrelated to Miranda’s story.

 “Old Mortality”, “Noon Wine” and “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” are the names of the three vignettes.   They are about living, dying and barely maintaining life in between.

In “Old Mortality”, the living cherish the dead. They are forever sealed in portraits and faded notions left by the deceased.  Miranda is the main character as she retells stories from her childhood.  They mostly center around her deceased Aunt Amy who tried to lead a wild life, but her parents did what they could to keep her stable. 

“High Noon” tells the story of a man who defends another man and another man gets killed.  He is found not guilty because it was done in “self-defense”, however, said man believes the neighbors think murder is murder regardless of why and they condemn him silently.   Then he does the unthinkable and the story ends. 

“Pale horse, Pale Rider” is about Miranda as an adult.

The authors stories are about humanity at its best and worst.

The Heather Blazing by Colm Toibin

Set in Ireland, Eamon Redmond lives a quiet life as a judge.  We follow him as he flashbacks to his childhood, his father dying, and his wife dying. He was always a somber, quiet man and dealing with those two deaths, made him more somber.

The story flashes between past and present of his live as a child living with his father and as an adult living with his wife. After his wife dies, he talks about how he sleeps in the car until he can feel comfortable sleeping in their bed without her. He doesn’t want to ask a lot of questions, do he doesn’t go out as much.  He has two grown children who have their own lives apart from their parents.  The story ends with his daughter wanting to spend more time with him now that he is alone.  He has reservations, but he allows her to visit with his grandson and this is how the story ends. 

It is a slow-paced novel, but the depth of the character is rich. The story deals with life – having a family, rearing children and death.  The main characters reminiscence is not only filled with the family that was around him, but with Ireland’s geographical presence that was a part of his life. 

I thought this was a great story for the author’s second novel.