Book cover of The Memory of an Elephant

Book description

"The Memory of an Elephant" is an epic saga told by an aging African elephant as he makes a last, perilous journey to find the humans who rescued him as an orphan some fifty years ago. Interwoven with his narrative are the tumultuous lives of the family who raised and…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Memory of an Elephant as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I fell in love with Ishi, the ageing bull elephant, who is the narrator of this saga. If ever you doubted that elephants were sentient creatures, this book will change your mind. After fifty years as a captive, shipped overseas, mistreated in a circus, and landing in a zoo, by miraculous serendipity, Ishi finds himself back in Africa, hundreds of miles from the animal sanctuary where he was raised. Making a final desperate journey to reach the human family that rescued him as a baby, when his mother and entire herd were killed by ivory poachers, our hero encounters one…

This book is strictly speaking not Southern African, but I believe that the author’s engaging style and love for African wildlife is reason enough to include his book in my list of recommendations. My focus is on worthwhile books and not just any old book on African wildlife. Plus, it is a work of fiction, which makes it a favourite of mine. Written from the perspective of an aging elephant with a mission, I find this novel refreshingly different.

From Evadeen's list on Southern Africa with wild life.

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