"The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son"

Today we met at Marcia's house for a delicious lunch of vegetable and beef soup, cornbread, and black-eyed pea salad.  Perfect meal when it was only 37 degrees outside!  We finished it off with a maple cake which had a hint of Kahlua in it - yum :)  There were six of us in attendance and following lunch we had a lively discussion of "The Horse Boy."

Synopsis:  This book documents the journey one family takes through Mongolia in search of healing for their autistic son.  Rupert Isaacson is the author and father of 5-year old Rowan.  Rupert and his wife, Kristin, and Rowan embark on a remarkable journey through remote areas of Mongolia on horseback in search of healing waters and Shamans.

Comments:
A number of us felt that the story leaned towards the summation that Rowan's progress came about as a direct result from interaction with the Shamans.  However, Diana had seen the documentary on DVD and felt that it gave a broader view of all the influences affecting Rowan.  Viewing the documentary apparently added depth to the story, filled in some gaps present in the book, and was more impacting to visually see the progress of Rowan from beginning to end.

A great point was made when it was mentioned that Kristin's side of the story would have made the book more interesting.  We would have liked to have heard her voice in this book to provide a different perspective of their journey, especially since she was a reluctant participant.  Of course, then the book title would have needed to be adjusted :)

"This book raises more questions than answers!"
"This is not a light read."
"I think he [Rupert] could have left out 50 to 100 pages of the travel monologue and the story would have still been intact."

Most Memorable Quote From Book:  "Code Brown!"

FAB Rating:
Subject Matter  **** (4 out of 5 stars)
We felt that the subject matter (autism) is relevant and we learned more about this disorder by reading this book.
Writing Style  ** (2 out of 5 stars)
The travel was long and so was the description of the travel.  A few of us felt that the repetitive descriptions of the travel and terrain became monotonous over time.  As one of the FAB readers put it, "I was tired just from reading about the journey!"  Also, as previously mentioned, we felt it would have been interesting to hear from the wife.

Welcome!

This blog site is for the F.A.B. ladies and all those who wish to hear about the books, discussion and wonderful lunches we share in our club. Despite our book club name, we read both fiction and non-fiction books. Our book club was formed in 2009 among a group of friends who attend exercise class together in the small Texas town of Smithville. We take turns meeting in each other's home once a month to enjoy an excellent lunch provided by the host and a discussion of that month's book choice. We have our favorite books and we have rated a couple as real "stinkers" for us! No matter, we always have a FAB time together!!

Brenda

Diana

JoAnn

Jonetta

Marcia

Michele