Kick The Latch

Kathryn Scanlan

Daunt Books £9.99 Based on interviews with a woman who trained horses in the most unfashionable parts of America, Kick The Latch is a book of fragments rather than a fullblown narrative. But the fragments themselves are so exquisite that a rich human mosaic emerges. All the seedy tricks of the racing game, the dodgy jockeys and the fickle owners are here in grim profusion. Scanlan also captures the addictive love of horses that binds the whole tawdry circus together. The result is an unexpected gem.