{"product_id":"9780008293994_on-swift-horses-now-a-major-film","title":"On Swift Horses: Now a major film","description":"\u003cp\u003e\n          \u003cstrong\u003eSet in 1950s' America at a time when people stopped looking west and started looking up: a breathtakingly beautiful debut novel of revolution, chance and the gambles we take with the human heart.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n        \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMuriel, newly married and newly orphaned, works as a waitress in a San Diego diner. As she pours coffee and empties ashtrays, she eavesdrops on her customers, the ex-jockeys and trainers of the Del Mar racetrack.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhen she begins, secretly, to bet on the horses and, shockingly, to win, she feels strangely unready to share her good luck and its origins with her husband Lee.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eInstead it is Lee’s brother, Julius, a thief and Korean War veteran – and someone she has only met once – whom she longs to tell, and who has struck a spark of promise and possibility inside her quietly ordered life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eJulius has found himself in Las Vegas, where his gift for gambling leads him to a job patrolling the boards above the casino tables, watching through the cigarette smoke for chancers and cheats.  There he meets Henry, a blackjack artist and a man who shares Julius’s passions, and his secrets. As tourists gather on roof tops to watch atomic clouds bloom in the desert, Henry and Julius's love burns in the shadows – until one night Henry is forced to flee.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThrough the parks and plazas of Tijuana and the bars and beaches of San Diego, \u003cem\u003eOn Swift Horses\u003c\/em\u003e mesmerisingly charts the journeys of Muriel and Julius on their separate quests for freedom, new horizons and love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book delves into the complexities of marriage and family, set in a small, rural town where horse racing is the heart of recreation. The exploration of LGBTQ+ themes, particularly the relationship between Julius and Henry, adds a layer of depth to the narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor fans of Casey Mcquiston (Red, White \u0026amp; Royal Blue), Alice Winn (In Memoriam), Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead), Maggie O'Farrell (Hamnet), and Amor Towles (The Best Short Stories 2024).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shannon Pufahl, Read by Cassandra Campbell and MacLeod Andrews","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46889526886549,"sku":"9780008293994","price":35.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008293994_9445406b-1c5d-4f69-ab29-2ee770d864d5.jpg?v=1776888288","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008293994_on-swift-horses-now-a-major-film","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}