Nancy E

I must have enjoyed Peter Mayle's books about Provence too much, as I was expecting this would be about Paris in a similar way. It is not. I enjoyed the first few pages of the book but as it went on it became very boring. The little snippets of information became annoying to read, and there was too much about the author's children and was of little interest to me, although I can understand a mother's desire to write about her children.

This book should inspire many readers to keep a journal. At first the book is difficult to get into but as you begin to "know" the author it is difficult to put down. I read it in two evenings and found it very enjoyable. Ms. Theroux is revealing about her life, her relationships and her view of the world. This is a book that many women - especially at midlife - will understand and empathize with the author.

This novel is set in the second half of the 18th century and is about a young teenager becoming the caretaker of two elephants in England and follows his life with the elephants as the only person who had the skills to take care of these beautiful but strange animals which most people had never heard of much less seen at that time.

The first half to three quarters of the book is very interesting and detailed and rings true to what life would have been like during the time period. The last part of the book skims over the greater part of the caretaker's life and the story became much less interesting to me. I have been interested in elephants for a long time and have read extensively about their social structure. The author captures the behavior of the elephants very well and also what it was like for a young man to grow up interacting with them.

This book is a coming of age story at least at the beginning and should appeal to teenagers and adults who are interested in animals and animal behavior and how they interact with humans. The story is lovely in many ways and is well researched historically. I would recommend the book but with some reservations.