From the tale of Lady Wonder, the mare who fooled a Duke University psychologist into thinking she could read minds, to television palomino Mr. Ed' s hypnotic hold over Wilbur Post and his long-suffering wife, the thirteen stories in Horse Show explore how humans have used, abused, and spectacularized their equine companions throughout American history.

Wrestling with themes of obsolescence, grief, and nostalgia, Bowers guides us through her museum of equine esoterica with arresting imagery, unflinching intensity, and dark humor.

If you love Lydia Millet's Love In Infant Monkeys, Elena Passarello's Animals Strike Curious Poses, Hannah Tinti's Animal Crackers, and other books that explore human/animal history through a curious yet critical lens, Horse Show is a must-read!

"If Steven Millhauser wrote a book about horses, he might have written something a little bit like Jess Bowers' fascinating short story collection Horse Show. It's meticulous, lovely, strange, and both utterly engrossing and also completely not what I'd expected when I opened up a book of horse stories." -Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You (Stories and Other Revenges)

"In Horse Show, Jess Bowers trains her curious and compassionate eyes on the complicated relationships between human and horse, moving from devotion to brutality and back again with grace and assurance. Merging wit, empathy, and vibrant language, Bowers brings her equine and human characters to life, all the while exploring the historical intersections of show business, film and photography, modernization, and the myths of the American West. These stories are precise and surprising, carrying the power of both tragedy and wonder." - Joanna Luloff, author of Remind Me Again What Happened and The Beach At Galle Road

"If Flannery O'Connor had written about horses, one might imagine it would read like Horse Show...a learning experience in both equine involvement in show business--from the early days of circus performance to modern Hollywood movies--and in the tragic realities that lay beneath the seemingly benign label of 'show horse'" -Sharon Emmerichs, author of Shield Maiden

Author: Jess Bowers
Publisher: Santa Fe Writer's Project
Page Count: 180pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
Notes: paperback, signed by author
Date of Publication: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 978-1951631314