SG Reviews: Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan
Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan takes a unique, refreshing, and stylish approach to immersing readers in its particular sporting world, that of a humble female horse trainer.
Offering what the American writer aptly describes as “a composite portrait of a self,” this vivid first-person vignette is informed by interviews with a midwestern horse trainer, Sonia.
Published by Daunt Books, Kick the Latch is the only fictional work shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, set to be announced this coming Thursday.
Kick the Latch is as fast paced as the races it recounts. Short chapters, almost diaristic in form, trace a life shaped first by an affinity for horses, and then the charming yet callous ecosystem of the racetrack.
Our story commences when Sonia is born in October 1962. With a dislocated hip, doctors fear that she may never walk. So begins her relentless defiance of the odds.
An almost magnetic attraction to the stables takes hold during childhood and the aptly named Rowdy is the first of many horses to win her heart. The connection she forges with Rowdy is that which will define her style as a horse-trainer, a career she embarks on during her late teens at the races in Jackson, South Dakota.
Like Sonia, the reader is quickly wrapped up in this charming world, with its abundance of colourful, nicknamed characters. Sonia becomes ‘the Coca-Cola kid,’ known for her preference of soda to the alcoholic drinks many seek to buy her.
For all its charm, the racecourse can also be a cruel place. Sonia faces sexual assault in this male-dominated setting and loses a dear friend to suicide. Her years on the track have a bitter end, concluding shortly after she is put into a coma following a tragic accident on the course.
Kick the Latch carves its own mould in the field of sports literature, offering an alternative avenue into a sporting world which, for many, is totally unfamiliar.
Diaristic elements and first-person narration produce a remarkable intimacy, and the supreme poise with which Kick the Latch renders Sonia’s tale is certainly its most compelling feature.
While its form makes possible this immersion, there are other senses in which it is limiting. Scanlan’s work evokes important themes like animal welfare and sexism in sport and society but gives incomplete exploration to the former.
Its 168 pages are immensely readable, but they are unable to provide the depth offered by other shortlisted books. Sam Peters’ Concussed marks the culmination of a transformative campaign surrounding concussion in rugby, while Sally Jacobs’ Althea and Lauren Fleshman’s Good for a Girl both represent profound contributions to conversations around gender and sport.
Kick the Latch will struggle to match the imprints that these texts leave on sporting discourses, but it remains a worthy candidate for recognition at the awards.
For the three lengthy commutes spent wrapped in Sonia’s world, I am thankful for Scanlan’s imaginative and immersive sporting story.
Score: 4/5
Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan is available at Daunt Books (£9.99)
