My paperback edition of Water Farley's first novel -well, my brother's paperback edition- of The Black Stallion bills it as the best horse novel of the twentieth century. I believe Black Beauty was written in the nineteenth century, so I am inclined to agree.
The Black, the most beautiful and wild stallion in the world, it seems, saves a little boy from a shipwreck. Unfortunately, they end up stranded on an uninhabited island, on which the boy gradually is able to ride the horse. They get rescued, of course, (the boy will not leave without the horse) but that is not the end. They go to New York City, the boy's home, and find a way to keep the Black. The boy, and his neighbor in whose barn the Black is staying, decide they should race the Black. At the end, the Black enters a match race with the best horse of the east and the best horse of the west.
While on the surface, the book is about a racehorse, in reality it is about the bond between friends, even if one of them is an animal. The book is full of suspense, and could be finished in less than a day if you have the time. While reading, at several points I noticed the book was written for a child audience. Other than that, it is a seamless good read.
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