Whistling for the Elephants

It was always the cover that attracted me to this book. Although I bought it as part of a collection the cover stood out a mile, after all it is bright orange. The vividness and uniqueness of the cover completely matches the characters though - not the narrator Dorothy but rather the group of women living in the zoo she comes across. The opening section of this novel left me initially wondering if I was going to enjoy it. However it did set the scene for the relationships within Dorothy’s family and left me knowing why (and how) she became the child she was. At only 10, she was an amazingly resilient child.

My only experience (as I have seen many reviewers on the internet say) of Sandi Toksvig is from seeing her on comedy shows or as a show more child watching her in a programme from the 1980s called ‘Number 73’. I had doubts whether her entertaining wit would come through in the writing and I felt it would be a disappointment if it didn’t. I was hoping she wouldn’t digress too much from what I already enjoyed her for. She didn’t. I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was blown away.

The prose is outstanding and her writing aroused such an emotion in me by the end I almost wanted to cheer and I certainly had a lump in my throat followed by a tear in my eye. The story is about Dorothy essentially but the addition of the elephants towards the end transfixed me. I was mesmerised by every word Toksvig used and the elephants came alive on the page in front of me. Feminist principles are at the heart of this novel and I felt myself become enthused by what I was reading, I particularly loved the corset scenes!

Whilst reading, I was reminded of Angela Carter’s ‘Nights at the Circus’ particularly the similarities in some aspects between Dorothy from Toksvig’s book and Fevvers from Carter’s book. That one is also worth a read and has stuck in my mind over the years. I can’t recommend ‘Whistling for the Elephants’ enough and I will be telling everyone how wonderful it is. It is sure to be on my top ten reads of 2011. show less

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 show more 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. show less

There are a few glaring errors that have twice stopped me reading in mid sentence. First is the Pledge of Allegiance which is misquoted. The second is the mentioning of the Brady Bunch being on in early summer of 1968. It didn't start airing until September of the next year. There are also some instances of Britishisms being spoken by American characters. None of these things would bother me if the story wasn't priding itself on getting the details right.

I enjoyed the book up until the last twenty pages. I don't particularly like the ending. It felt rushed and forced. I especially didn't like what happened to Perry but then I'm a mother of a kid his age.

I wish the the author hadn't stated that it was 1968. If she had been vaguer about show more when exactly the book takes place, it would have been better. There are some pop culture references that she gets wrong that could have slid if it didn't have to be the summer of 1968. show less

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.

This unusual story about the people and animals of a small US town in 1968 is narrated by a 10 year old British girl. It was funny, fantastic and touching.

This is a charming book that is amusing in parts however the story is just not compelling. Toksvig created good characters that were very well written, but I found myself just trying to get through the book rather than enjoying the read.

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.