If I could understand why I loved C. E. Morgan's THE SPORT OF KINGS, I would better understand myself. At one point Henry says "how could life be so boring and terrifying and exhilarating and confounding all at once?" And I wonder how one book could be so many things at once. Racism and sexism and family lineage and pride and sacrifice and myth and mistakes and redemption and pain and perfection and drive and more more more...are all explored through the story of breeding and racing horses. 
 - 
 And just when you think this is a perfectly written book...a brilliantly constructed piece chocked with fable and character and drama...you get hit with a surprising ending that will make you put the book down and breathe for a second before picking it up again. 
 - 
 The characters are perfect, the interludes are perfect, the dialogue is perfect, the story is almost perfect. (I did notice some cracks in Henry's character---would he not have had Henrietta's baby tested to see who the father was? Would he really have given everything up for this child?) This is a book that should be read as a timeless classic. It should be held up as one of the best works of fiction ever created. I think. And I'm serious. 
 - 
 I will have to think about this book for about a year and then read it again. Please, someone, read it too, so we can talk about it. This is the best book I read in 2016 and maybe ever. 
 - 
 I also think I could give birth to a horse after reading Morgan's perfect descriptions.