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One Hundred And Four Horses (2013)

by Mandy Retzlaff(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0007477554 (ISBN13: 9780007477555)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

William Collins

review 1: A grand and compelling story of undoing the legacy of colonialism. I feel for Amanda Retzlaff, her family and the journey they were forced to take. They were a young couple farming in Rhodesia, then renamed Zimbabwe when Mugabee comes to power. Everything changed, everything. The country was no longer safe as the white people's farms were taken over, sometimes by force by the Mugabee's war veterans. Amanda and Pat try to survive, they are bit farther away but the war will come to them as well. Other farmers leave a legacy for Amanda and Pat, their horses, and Pat is unable to let them go. As they struggle to contain their herd as they are moved from one abandoned farm to another, life is very difficult for the Retzlaff's. Very difficult indeed as they risk all to s... moreave the horses. An amazing odyssey, and a testament to their stubbornness in a fight they cannot win, history is absolutely against them. They finally retreat to Mozambique, horses in tow.
review 2: Another one for my "Africa be crazy" file, a gut-wrenching account of racial and political tensions as unstable government gives rise to a menacing policy of "taking back" the land from white farmers. Well, not so much "taking back" as "utterly destroying so nobody can have it" in a bizarre blaze of wanton violence to consolidate political power. The adventurous flight described in the subtitle is a relatively small part of the story overall, but I thought it was set up very well, giving the couple's background and the farm's idyllic history before moving toward the present day and encroaching threats as the political climate slowly shifts toward instability. Due to these threats, the family moves several times before ultimately having to leave the country entirely, and even then, they aren't completely safe.As a horse lover, I identified with the author immediately. I loved how much time was spent getting to know the horses' names and personalities. There were a number of losses, but not as much gruesome violence as I feared there would be (though there definitely was some, and I feel a lot more was glossed over with generic mentions). One question I was left with was why none of these people seemed to attempt securing safe homes for their horses overseas as they were taking flight, since they were worried about them being killed at best and tortured at worst, and I wish the author had touched on that more. But overall? A fascinating account of survival. less

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