An Inconvenient Elephant

Upon receipt I discovered that this is actually the sequel to another book called Still Life with Elephant. I decided to go ahead and read it without the prequel and had no problem understanding the story.

Neelie is a woman who has been caring for baby elephants in Kenya for the last year. On her way home to the United States she meets Tusker, a bull elephant with a death sentence because he likes to share campers' food, just like the raccoons in Grand Canyon but bigger. She feels compelled to save the magnificent creature but there are a few minor details she needs to take care of. First, raising $35,000 as a pay-off, second, getting him and his best friend Shamwari (which means My Friend in Zulu) to the U.S., and third, convincing her show more ex-boyfriend to allow them into his elephant preserve.

There was some corny dialogue in the first chapter which made me feel like I was going to be in for a long ride, but it picked up from there and only got better. I loved the numerous African proverbs sprinkled throughout the story such as, "As they say in Swahili, It can rain on your head all day but it won't grow a banana tree."

This is a great book for animal lovers and environmentalists alike. And now I want to read the prequel... show less

[An Inconvenient Elephant] is the story of Neelie Sterling's try to resue 2 elephants from Africa. At the beginning of the book, she is trying to leave Kenya which has fallen into political chaos. Along the way, she acquires a friend Diamond-Rose , a safari operator, who is also trying to get to the US. In the course of their escape through Africa to get out, they come across an elephant who is destined for execution. They decide that they need to save this elephant.

I found the beginning of the book and places here and there a litlle confusing. I think probably because the author did not spend a lot of the book on the back story. Maybe if I had read the first book, the background of the people and Neelie's story would not have confused show more me. But, I eventually got most of the drift of her story and I can't say that it interferred with my enjoyment of the book.

I also felt that Neelie is the same type of heroine as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum - slightly kooky with an odd way of looking at things sometimes. Overall, a very enjoyable, light read. I'll probably try to go back and read the first book sometime. show less

An Inconvenient Elephant
By Judy Reene Singer

I received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a review.

The beginning of the book and other sections were a somewhat difficult to follow. The story line of attempting to save elephants under unbelievable circumstances ran the gambit of irritating to hilarious.

The author outlines her unconditional love of elephants and her determination to save these elephants from slaughter. She has previously written “Still Life with Elephant” about this devotion...but you do not need to read the prequel to enjoy her second book.

Woven into this storyline is the unconventional new fearless girlfriend, Diamond-Rose and her past wealthy lover, Tom. Both bring much humor show more and sympathy to the engaging tale.

I recommend this book to animal lovers and those people who are courageous enough to tackle those seemingly impossible endeavors. Enjoy this easy to read book that will fill your heart with hope and a happy ending. show less

This story and its characters was captivating from the first pages as we look into the life of Neelie who has been an elephant caretaker in the wild in Kenya. The setting is described beautifully and the main character is just "off" enough to be interesting and loveable. It is apparently a sequel to a previous novel but it reads independently of that sequel...I was able to read it and follow along even without having read the first novel prior. If you liked Hannah's Dream, or The Art of Racing in the Rain...you'll appreciate the animal and human love affair contained within these pages. A VERY GOOD read which I would recommend. I now am going to read the prequel to see what I missed!

An Inconvenient Elephant is the story of Neelie Sterling, an elephant rescuer who returns back to New York from spending a year in Africa working with baby elephants. Once in New York, Neelie and her friend Diamond-Rose try to raise enough funds to send for an elephant they had to leave behind in Zimbabwe. Her year in Africa is the subject of Still Life With Elephant. I haven't read that book but I didn't have any trouble jumping right into this book.

I enjoyed this book for the most part but Neelie started to get on my nerves about halfway through. She behaves and thinks a lot like a thirteen year old girl and I had trouble understanding what her love interest saw in her. I'm an animal lover but her obsession with elephants was beyond show more my understanding as well.

Overall this was a good story with elements of romance, adventure and humor. show less

I don't easily "put down" a book I've started. I have a rule to read 15% of a book before making this decision to give the book a fair chance. I read almost 25% of this book before (reluctantly) putting it down. I felt no connection with any of the characters and especially the protagonist. Although I consider myself an animal lover, I really wasn't emotionally moved by this elephant tale. Some of the writing was quite good, but just not enough to keep me reading. I did give it two and a half stars for the writing. Perhaps someday I'll pick it up again.

I haven't read the prequel to this book, Still Life With Elephant, so I wasn't sure what to expect. An Inconvenient Elephant turned out to be a really enjoyable book! I especially liked that the story began in Kenya and Zimbabwe, which really helped me to understand who the characters are and why they do what they do. Once I started reading, I had a hard time putting the book down. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the prequel now!