They shoot the horses don't they? by Horace McCoy

Author:  Horace McCoy
Original title:  They shoot the horses don't they?
Pages: 288
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Classics, Crime
Goodreads

 Blurb:         
       The marathon dance craze flourished during the 1930s, but the underside was a competition and violence unknown to most ballrooms—a dark side that Horace McCoy's classic American novel powerfully captures.

My thoughts: 
      I find this title in one of the "you should read before you die" lists and it perfectly suited one of the prompts in my #popsugarchallenge2019 - read a book with the question mark in the title. Was I expecting anything special? No, just another display of difficult life. But I was so surprised by this short novel. It is really short and very brutal, full of events and great array of the side character and snippets of the their lives, all these give us enough to see humanity at the bottom of desperation and despair.
      The entire novel takes place on the dance floor, which is also quite unique and fresh setting. I have a feeling that the contest, in many ways, is the falsity and illusion of the American Dream.
      I found this short work was beautifully assembled, although the prose is quite simple, the narrator gives insight into the events of the dance marathon and the character of Gloria, a negationist, who sees through the falsity of this marathon. I did not like the main female character though and found her terribly irritating. But still definitely recommended.

 Rating:  

    4/5