Breaking Even: Race Horses, a Girl & a ‘66 Chevy Malibu by Morty Mittenthal
This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.
Breaking Even: Race Horses, a Girl & a ‘66 Chevy Malibu by Morty Mittenthal is a thoughtful short story. Breaking Even follows Mitchel Tice in the early 1970s. Tice loves horses and wants to build his career in the horse world. While horses and Tice’s budding career are the backdrop of Breaking Even, the real story is in Tice’s relationships (both romantic and platonic) with others as well as with himself, which really shine through the story.
I previously read another short story of Mittenthal’s, The Sisters of Mercy, which I enjoyed, so I wasn’t surprised when I enjoyed Breaking Even as well. Although I was completely unfamiliar with the horse world, Mittenthal perfectly set the scene that Tice has immersed himself in. I was easily able to understand both the atmosphere and the inherent stakes that come with it. This is no small feat.
As I mentioned earlier, though, it was really how Tice interacted with others as well as himself that has stayed with me. The most prominent relationship is Tice with his romantic partner, Whitney Edwards. Despite Tice and Edwards coming from two very different worlds, they are brought together by a love of horses as well as the joys and carefreeness of youth. Their relationship is, in many ways, sweet, but, perhaps, ultimately naïve. While I refuse to spoil the ending of Breaking Even, I have to say that I was both surprised and pleased with where Mittenthal left the two main characters.
Tice’s journey of learning about himself is also quite fascinating. Throughout this short story, Tice sticks to his passions, but also learns more about himself and the worlds that encompass his passions. He grows believably throughout Breaking Even and, again without revealing the exact ending, I believe Tice’s ultimate choice shows how his understanding of the world and his future has changed. While it may not be a completely joyous end, I thought it was authentic in a way many short stories fail to deliver in so few pages.
Breaking Even: Race Horses, a Girl & a ‘66 Chevy Malibu by Morty Mittenthal is a poignant story with the backdrop of the horse racing world of the early 1970s, but with the focus on how youth feels and how people shape their futures. If you’re unfamiliar with horses or racing, this story can still be for you as author Mittenthal deftly describes this world and, ultimately, Breaking Even is about relationships to others and to oneself.
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