A diverting enough read, but for me didn't quite hit the spot. I generally look for more depth in a novel and this was a flight of fancy that was pleasantly entertaining, but not deeply philosophical, but then it never claimed to do that. Some amusing parts, but no where near as funny as Sandi Toksvig is when I have heard her. ( )

I am writing this quick review two years after reading this book, as a library book, so I don't have it to refer to, but I do remember with great fondness the description of the first encounter with the elephants and also the elephants and the swimming pool. ( )

Precisely what I expected, only better

When I picked up ‘Whistling for the Elephants’ – my first reading of Sandi Toksvig’s work – I expected wit, cleverness and perhaps a dash of some deeper brilliance; after all, I had only the author’s reputation as a comedienne by which to pre-judge her writing.

What I did not suspect was the force of passion and inspiration instilled by some subtle, clever storytelling. ‘Whistling’ is competent enough to be compared to Fannie Flagg's writing; the array of astonishing characters, all convincing and none leaving the reader unsatisfied, the humour within tragedy, the banal and the fantastic side by side, the fabulous setting, the series of events, spiralling out of everyone’s control but the author’s.

It is autobiographical in style (though not substance), told from the point of view of a ten year old British girl trying to define herself in a new country, the themes of feminism and – more importantly – the ability of women to stand out both in history and in the lives of those around them are dealt with charmingly and without bitterness.

There is history and back-story to be discovered, too, making for an uncommonly rich fiction; and we are not pandered to – everything that transpires, then and now, is laced with a streak of imperfection, sadness, and the sense of deep wounds dealt – and yet Toksvig’s strength is in getting us to respond to these characters anyway, to yearn for them as the young narrator does.

I will be reading more of Sandi Toksvig’s books. Sadly, none will now surprise me, but that doesn’t mean I am not prepared to wonder at the sheer richness of this storytelling mind. ( )