Reviews for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

The average rating for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-25 00:00:00 Laura Thickbroom Horace McCoy's 1935 novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They? contains one of the bleakest lines in all of literature. It's where Gloria, who dances in the marathon dance, asks without a trace of irony or black humor, "Why are these high-powered scientists always screwing around trying to prolong life instead of finding pleasant ways to end it?" Can there ever be a more negative, more downbeat, pessimistic view of life? Turns out, Gloria was raised in the most dreadful way, by abusive, cruel people in West Texas. She eventually escaped, moving to Los Angeles, looking to make it in Hollywood movies. Can there ever be a staler, more pathetic aspiration, to see the pretend, artificial world of Hollywood as your salvation? To be abused and debased as a child growing up and then, as a young adult, to be pushed into marathon dancing - the true bloodsport of the Great Depression. And then, after receiving your fifty dollars for a month and a week of marathon dancing, handing your partner a pistol and asking him to blow your brains out. Vintage 1930s America captured in Horace McCoy's outstanding classic.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-10-05 00:00:00 Lawrence Leith Why did you kill her? the policemen in the rear seat asked. "She asked me too," I said. "Is that the only reason you got?" the policemen in the rear seat asked. "They shoot horses, don't they?" I asked. 5 stars to this!