West with Giraffes

I was in the mood for a road trip, and I don't think I could have found a better one to read about than Lynda Rutledge's West With Giraffes, which was inspired by actual events. The book weaves real-life figures like the world's first female zoo director with fictional ones.

The narrator of the story, young "Woody" Nickel, is an almost feral child, barely surviving a brutal father and a harrowing life on a farm during the Dust Bowl in the Texas Panhandle. But no matter what he's had to do to survive, his voice tells you that he's basically good. He may not always do the right thing, and readers may wince a time or two at what he does, but everyone will want Woody to come out on top. Watching his growth as a person is one of the many show more highlights of the book.

He has a tough time convincing Riley Jones, the caretaker in charge of getting the giraffes to San Diego, that he's just the driver Jones needs, and it doesn't help when a pretty red-headed female photographer starts following them, but Woody is determined to get to California.

The well-paced story of West With Giraffes will sweep readers right out onto the road with Woody, Riley, and the giraffes. It's part adventure story, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, and it has a lot to say about the kindness of strangers, being changed by the grace of animals, and the need to tell a story before it's too late. The setting is spot-on, and anticipating what the passengers in that custom-built truck will be facing next is part of the fun of reading the book.

If you're in the mood to turn back the clock and experience a cross-country road trip in 1938, I strongly suggest that you pick up West With Giraffes. show less

Book on CD performed by Danny Campbell

As the world struggles to escape the Great Depression, and on the cusp of a new World War, orphan Woodrow Wilson Nickel finds himself cast adrift in the wake of the devastating Hurricane of 1938. Stumbling about hoping to find some shelter he comes across a scene that completely changes his life.

Rutledge based this work of historical fiction on an actual event: In 1938 two giraffes DID survive a hazardous ocean voyage and then an arduous cross-country road trip to finally arrive at the San Diego Zoo. Belle Benchley was the first woman to head the San Diego Zoo. But Woody, Red, and “the old man” are fictional characters, marvelous though they be.

I was completely captivated by this story. It show more helps that I am a big fan of road trips, especially getting off the major interstates and following the less-traveled “blue highways.” I’ve traveled through much of the landscape this group drove through. I recall those “wigwam” motor courts (never stayed in one, though). My family was helped by a local farm family when our car broke down in the middle of nowhere (on a Sunday, no less). I know what it’s like to drive the switchbacks of mountain roads, or a long empty drive across a desert plateau. This made the novel all the more real to me.

Woody is a wonderful character, and narrator, though I did get tired of the “breaks” that brought us back to the present when he is anxious to finish writing his memoir while in a nursing home, and away from the road trip itself.

Rutledge balances Woody’s naivete and basic good instincts, with the Old Man’s experience and compassion. I’m not sure we really needed Red’s storyline, other than as a reason for Woody to write his memoirs.

Danny Campbell does a superb job of performing the audiobook. The basic story is, after all, told by a very old man; Woody is 105 when he sets out to write his memories of that historic road trip. And Campbell give him an “old voice” throughout, which I found very effective for this work. show less

So many people raved about this book - I was eager to see if it met the hype. Mostly, yes. I love when a kernel of truth is a jumping off point to a imagined fiction - that's the deal here. Truly, 2 giraffes survived a hurricane at sea and landed in NY in 1935, and needed transport to the San Diego Zoo. The other interesting truth was the zoo was run by a woman, Belle Benchley. All the rest seems to be largely made up and/or embellished, but in a heartwarming way. The narrator, Woody Nickel (please let that be fiction!) is 105 and has a story to tell before he leaves this world. He urgently writes down the details, though we aren't sure for whom. His story: when he was 17, a Dust Bowl survivor, he was the driver for Mr. Riley Jones (Old show more Man) and two giraffes (Wild Girl and Boy), taking them from NYC to San Diego by way of the transcontinental Lee Highway, running east-west across the southern US. It is a harrowing journey with precious cargo - equal parts helpers and hinderers along the way. Fictional Red Augusta, tough-girl reporter/photographer in a green Packard criss-crosses their path, trying to cover the story for Life Magazine, and is a source for Woody's first crush. The story does a great job of capturing Depression-era America and the hope these animals gave the nation in a dark time. And a beautiful story of the interdependency of humans and nature - both creatures and land. Words of wisdom from the book: "Animals know the secret to life." (79) "The land you grow up in is a forever thing, remembered when all else is forgotten, whether it did you right or did you wrong. Even when it flat near kills you." (227) "Home's not the place you're from, Woody. Home's the place you want to be." (215) "If I ever claim to have seen the face of God, it was in the colossal faces of the giraffes." (creatures of God's pure Eden) (339) show less

How could I resist the allure of a novel about two giraffes travelling across the US during the Depression? History + coming of age tale + whimsy + giraffes … AND based on a true story? So much potential! Alas, I ended up liking the *idea* of the story a lot more than I ended up liking the actual story.

Rutledge relates the tale of a young dust bowl orphan, Woody, who gets himself hired on to drive two giraffes from the port of New York to the San Diego Zoo. The other protagonists include “the Old Man,” the requisite “crusty old man with a heart of gold” who’s charged with making sure the giraffes arrive in San Diego, and a young woman (Red) chasing her dream of becoming a Life photographer. Along the way they encounter a show more list of obstacles so predictable you can practically feel the author checking boxes on a list: bad roads, bad weather, dust, racism, desperate Okies, Hoovervilles, looming war. Also, *all* the protagonists end up having “secrets” that they’re hiding from themselves and each other, but these don’t end up adding much dramatic weight since Red’s secret is obvious, Woody’s secret is revealed and dispensed with in less than a chapter, and the Old Man’s secret is never revealed at all. There’s also a suggestion that Woody possesses second sight, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how this ends up adding much to the story or his character arc – what little arc there is.

I’m not saying the story isn’t entertaining. For me, though, there just wasn’t a lot of “there” there. The characters were shallow, the plot episodic, the pathos laid on a bit too thick. (“Let’s throw in TWO lovable, crusty old men! And giraffes that love unconditionally! And a couple of deaths sure to tug at the readers' heartstrings! ”) Am I the only one that was reminded of “Remarkable Bright Things,” basically the same story but with an old woman as Woody and an octopus instead of giraffes? Another book that didn’t let a few gaping plot holes get in the way of telling a charming if not particularly artful tale. show less

Woody is a lost Oakie boy - driven off his Dust Bowl farm by the death of his family, lost again when he comes through the hurricane of the century. But fate brings Woody face to face with the miracle giraffes who survived the storm and are on their way to the San Diego Zoo. The story is small - one of redemption and hope - but it manages to pack small details with a big punch to paint a picture of a time when things were desperate but not hopeless. I loved the way Ms. Rutledge entwined the story of Woody with the true life facts of the first two giraffes to come to the San Diego Zoo.

Only a woman that truly loves animals could write this story with such passion and joy. It’s a fun adventurous ride for any reader full of gripping suspense, historical times and entertaining moments. Woodrow Wilson Nickel in his old age, reflects on his life at age 17 when he ended up driving a rig with two giraffes across the country from the NY Harbor to the San Diego Zoo in 1938. It seemed like fate was on their side.

While I’m not a fan of animals in zoos, I enjoyed learning about the giraffes. And the characters – Woody, the Old Man and the young girl, Red – couldn’t have been more perfect for the times. At one point, Red said to Woody, “Do you think about the fact that they’ll never be free again?” Well, yes. In show more the beginning, the reader learns that the giraffes barely make it through a hurricane. Then they are exposed to a dangerous ride across the country. My heart went out for their safety. The author gave the reader a believable and touching novel that would transport anyone to the times. show less

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the show more world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late. show less