The Willing Horse: A Novel

"The Willing Horse: A Novel" by Ian Hay is a story set after World War I that looks at the changes in society and how people connect with each other. It follows characters like Tom Birnie, a property owner with strong political ideas and a complicated love life, his wife Diana, their kid Roy, and a childhood friend named Eric Bethune. It is set in a Sunday scottish community and the story connects personal problems with the bigger historical events happening at the time. Tom is a landlord with political radicalism, and the colorful beginning shows these ideas clashing with his Scottish peers in a funny but critical way. The observations hint that there are hidden tensions and past romances and the narrator ponders duty, identity, and how the war changed these characters' lives and beliefs.