Sonora
There’s something kind of fascinating about the idea that people used to ride horses off high towers and into pools of water in the heyday of American carnivals. It sounds crazy, but it really did happen, and Jenni L. Walsh explores the whole process vividly in Sonora. The novel is based on the real-life story of horse diver, Sonora Webster Carver, born in Georgia in 1904. Prompted by her mother, Sonora replies to a newspaper advertisement for an attractive looking girl who loves horses and swimming, and finds herself joining the circus and training to horse dive. In some ways it’s a dream come true, not least when romance blossoms between Sonora and the circus owner’s son, but it’s also a hard-working life, perhaps even more dangerous for the riders than for the horses.
Sonora’s voice is the treat here, drawing the reader into her story and character. She’s a straight-talker, brave, and most certainly resilient. Walsh’s conjuring of the colorful world of the 20th-century circus circuit feels effortless, and the details of the training and the intricate relationship between rider and horse are not to be missed. Compared to these elements, the romance is fairly muted and predictable, but when real hardship comes Sonora’s way, her response makes fascinating reading. An ideal read for fans of stories of overlooked women, and tales of perseverance and resilience in the face of near tragedy.
