If you can accept that there are no maps. no pictures, and 19-year-old Brit “wit/slang” descriptions, you are in for a reading experience (much like Wild and Educated and A House in the Sky) where a courageous woman takes on big risk, totally unprepared, and out of sheer determination manages to win the 1,000 kilometer horse race (riding 25 horses) in Mongolia. Fascinating read!
“An inspirational tale of struggle―dehydration, injury and isolation―ultimately overcome through grit and sheer willpower.” ―Thomas Gebremedhin, Wall Street Journal Magazine,
“First-time author Prior-Palmer transforms from hopeless 19-year-old underdog into surprising champion of the grueling 2013 Mongol Derby in this exhilarating, visceral account of her attempt to win a 1,000-kilometer horse race across the Mongolian countryside . . . Filled with soulful self-reflection and race detail, this fast-paced page-turner is a thrill ride from start to finish.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Excellent prose and rigorous honesty . . . An unusual pleasure to read . . . Prior-Palmer writes with a dash and boldness few writers possess; her language seems sui generis . . . Her narrative alchemy is remarkable; in every chapter, she turns boredom to suspense and back again. The Derby is at once heart-stoppingly close and a miserable slog to which we already know the ending. That shifting―heroism to comedy, glamour to stinking holes in the ground―creates a tension far more interesting than the question of who’s going to win the race, or how.” ―Lily Meyer, NPR