Centaur: Shortlisted For The William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2017

Review

"Beautifully written and genuinely revealing. It is brilliant. A work of art, Centaur has a rhythm all of its own but more than that, it has an immense depth of soul and spirit. Declan has been brave enough to show himself raw, at his most vulnerable, and Ami has been clever and empathetic in her telling of the story. Together they have made magical music. The rhythm of the prose reads like a Declan Murphy-ridden race: beautiful and steady, balanced and spiritual before unleashing its dangerous sprint to the line." (Clare Balding)

"Emotional and honest, Centaur is an unflinching look at how Murphy 'came back from the dead' and the heavy price extracted for doing so. Centaur is a book haunted by ghosts: lost careers, lost memories, lost friendships and, most devastatingly of all, lost love... Not only a certain candidate for the William Hill sports book of the year but also sure to be on many non-sports fans' end-of-year lists." (Sarah Hughes Observer)

"A magnificent piece of work: never less than enthralling... a thing of dramatic beauty." (Mail on Sunday)

"Deeply powerful, [told with] grace and poetry... an entirely gripping drama." (Sunday Express)

"Brilliant, bold, at times brutal." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Heart-rending... a page-turner." (The Times)

"Riveting... At times, it's an uncomfortable read, but the journey from awakening from a coma and trying to piece together the absent parts of his life is truly heart-rending." (Robert Cooper, Racing Plus)

"Extraordinary... It is a miraculous tale, recounted with searing honesty. Here is a book that goes way beyond the normal ambitions of the sporting autobiography and clears those limits with room to spare." (Scott Burton Racing Post)

"‘Really, really beautifully written… the most riveting description. Extraordinary, quite brilliant… it’s an amazing read.’" (Sarah Brett and Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio Five Live Afternoon Edition)

"Wonderfully written... very moving." (Brough Scott)

Book Description

The stunningly evocative and extraordinary memoir of the jockey who came back from the dead, of memory, loss, and the bond between man and horse.