Review of Why Do Horses Run

By Cameron Stewart

Published by Allen & Unwin. April 2024

RRP $32.99

This is Cameron Stewart’s first novel which Tim Winton described as 'tender and humane, a haunting debut’. However, I confess that I had to read some way into the book before I found myself agreeing with Winton. Why Do Horses Run is not one of those books that grabs your interest immediately, but a tale that sucks you in slowly, and which, by the last page, makes you realise that you have read something quite special.

Stewart’s website tells us that:

Cameron Stewart lives and works on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia. He grew up on farm near Mullumbimby, by way of Alice Springs, Canberra and Cairns. Diversity of place informs much of his writing as does an interest in flawed characters trying to do their best. Cameron holds an MA (Creative Writing) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a BA (Performing Arts) from the University of Western Sydney.

This beautifully written book cleverly combines elements of human tragedy with the destruction of the natural world by humans. The narrative revolves around a man called Ingvar who seems to be wandering aimlessly around the Australian bush. In chapter 1 we read:

But I don’t stay in towns for long, they make me jumpy. I walk country roads. Back roads. I walk until I’m too tired to go on. Day or night it doesn’t matter. I’m not icky about where I rest – on open ground, in ditches, under bridges or in long grass beside rotting logs.

The story then immediately jumps to Ingvar thinking about the brutal destruction of the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine):

On 7 September 1936, the last-known thylacine died on a concrete floor after being locked out of his sleeping quarters during a very cold night. And then there was nothing.

It soon becomes clear that Ingvar is wandering in a futile attempt to escape from his former life, and from emotional trauma. He is clearly troubled, and until well into the story he is in unable, or unwilling to speak – he communicates by writing notes. As much as possible he avoids contact with other humans and sticks to back roads and tracks. He gives the impression of being some kind of crazy vagabond, sleeping rough.

Early in the piece we find that the life from which Ingvar is fleeing involved long periods working away from his wife and daughter Lotte. Work that involved counting different species of plants.

Ingvar eventually ends up wandering into a remote valley in Bunjalung country where he meets a collection of eccentrics, all having their own issues. Eccentrics with names such as The Mayor, Mick, Ginger, and Hemmingway. Hemmingway is a retired doctor who wears a yellow dress. Ingvar initially squats on a farm owned by Hilda before being invited to stay in a dilapidated shed.

The thing that Ingvar and Hilda have in common is that ‘they both struggle with the haunting impact of their pasts and grief that won’t let them go.’ As the narrative progresses Ingvar chats to his dead daughter, and it is eventually revealed that the main source of his emotional trouble is deep guilt about having been responsible for her death in a car accident. Hilda also chats to her dead husband Col who we learn had committed suicide.

Eventually we find the reason why Ingvar has ended in this particular valley, and it becomes clear that he has not arrived there by accident. Ginger, who is in her final year at school lives with her mum in an A-frame house – a house where Ingvar lived as a young child.

Although the book is dominated by darkness, loss and grief, by the end the there is hope. Ingvar writes a birthday card to Lotte where we read:

He told her that the past three years, eight months, and sixteen days had been hard but at least the pain had made him feel connected to her. He told her that he would always love her and he would try his best to live a good life with the time he has left.

The book’s marketing blurb accurately says the following:

Steeped in mystery and foreboding, Why Do Horses Run? asks crucial questions about love and loss, and what might make a person never want to be found. Simple, profound, transformative and deeply moving, this indelible debut explores the propensity of the natural world to both heal and harm, as well as the ineradicable power of kindness and community.

It is highly recommended.

John Watts