BLIND OUTLAW

by Glen Rounds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1981

How a homeless, nameless Boy who can't talk tames a blind, outlaw Horse who can't see--no more and no less. In Rounds hands, the steps by which the Boy patiently and percipiently wins the Horse's confidence--recognizing that he was once a pet (because he responds to the sound and smell of carrots), allowing for his blindness--and then goes on to train him as a mount; makes for involving reading for predisposed readers. But apart from one setback (the horse accidentally gets away during a fire), there's no other ""plot""; and there's certainly no doubt, from the start, of the boy's eventual success. The lack of names throughout--we have not only the Boy and the Horse, but also the Ranch Owner, the Horse Buyer, etc.--also tends to give the situation an abstractness that's at variance, actually, with the very concrete, minutely specified ways in which the boy proceeds. If Rounds is reaching for myth thereby, he doesn't quite make it--partly on account of the lack of conflict (nothing is working against the boy, he's promised the horse if he can tame it). But the book is a more honest, authentic effort than most.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION