On Swift Horses

at first, i kept having to re-read sections of this novel, because the characters speak in such a natural — rather than purposefully expository — way that it was hard to follow them, just as it would be if one were to overhear two strangers speaking. but eventually, the flow of the story itself caught me, and i could see the various characters so clearly that i understood their references, their oblique statements, their half-smothered feelings. it is a lovely and heart breaking story of different kinds of difficult love, and of people who are caught in a longing that they can not always fully articulate. but they are good people, even when they do bad things, and one finds oneself invested in their happiness. the story is set in california, las vegas and mexico in the 1950s , and the world of that time and those places is vividly created. the writing is strong — pufahl takes chances with her prose, never over-explaining, always making the reader work to follow her, but she makes it worthwhile. it has the compelling story line of a piece of light fiction combined with the compelling language and depth of character of much more nuanced literary fiction. to me, that is a compelling combination.

A captivating story of the love interests a newly married woman and her brother in-law with each other and a cast of intriguing characters in post war San Diego, Las Vegas and Tijuana. Pufahls vivid description provides beautiful historical context and believable personal feelings.

I really wanted to like this book. It was hard to force myself to finish it, and a huge relief when I did. There was not one character I even partially liked. The whole book was just a vehicle for gay sex. Depressing story and depressed people. Don\’t bother

Such an engaging novel. The characters are multi faceted and so well-developed. Interesting settings. Gay themes explored and celebrated without the often corny sub-plots.

This book was not my favorite. It gets one stars simply because I do appreciate LGBTQ representation in historical fiction books, but otherwise it would be less. After hundreds of pages, Im still wondering the purpose of the book and not sure I understand the personalities of the characters. Their goals and drives and wants and wishes were never really clear. The writing seems to be trying so hard to be beautiful and poetic and deep that the story gets completely lost.

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