He explained to her how he was tired of the uncertainty of a musician’s life, tired of being gone nearly every night of the week while she sat at home alone. And he was tired of playing other people’s songs in casinos. “I mean I play five nights a week with Ronnie Willis, and for what? No one gives a shit, and I never see you. I want to try and live like a normal person. I want to try and be normal.”

This paragraph came late in the novel, The Horse by Willy Vlautin, that I read over this past Memorial Day Weekend. As I stated in my previous review, some books come to you at the right time to be read. This was the case for The Horse. Vlautin tells the story of a middle-aged musician who is reflecting on his life and the choices he made to pursue his artistic calling. In the above paragraph, Al was at a point with his second wife, Maxine, that he was ready to give up the musician’s life and live a normal life. But he’s destined to learn that once creativity beckons, it’s a constant companion, an impulse that never fades.

As a society, it’s intriguing how we’ve come to accept the forty to sixty-hour week, nine-to-five workday as the norm, labeling anything different as abnormal. Reading Vlautin’s novel offers a chance to reconsider the societal expectations placed on artists. Yet, this unconventional way of life carries a price, manifesting in Al’s struggles with alcohol and the breakdown of his family bonds.

Out of the blue, Al meets a blind horse near the place of his residence, and he was determined to get rid of it. However, man and horse form an unlikely connection, and it becomes his path to redemption. I will admit I thought this aspect of the story seemed more symbolic than an actual connection. Despite this one small reservation, the novel’s genuine emotion and sadness left me with the distinct impression that the author had walked a similar path.

The Horse will be one of my favorite novels of the year along with Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark, Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson, and Grace by Elizabeth Nunez. Vlautin’s story is one that will linger in my thoughts, a must-read for aspiring musicians.