Customer Reviews

An Inconvenient Elephant: A Novel

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Disclaimer: I got this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) for free

An Inconvenient Elephant by Judy Reene Singer a fictional story is about Neelie Sterling, an American who has spent a year in Africa taking care of baby elephants and, due to the volatile political climate in Africa, is forced to come back home. Only that "home" is filled with past skeletons of ex-husband, ex-house, ex-horse, etc. On her way she meets Diamond-Rose, who is not a stripper as her name might suggest, but a 20 year veteran safari tour guide who is also being forcefully evacuated. Along the way, the ladies get enamored by an elephant targeted for execution and, once back in the US, make it their mission to save him.

As many of us who have been absent from home for a long amount of time know, returning is a struggle. The mundane becomes the norm, the adventure subsides and you almost have to re-learn how to cope with life. Neelie and Diamond-Rose find work in an animal sanctuary and immediately start working on their new mission of saving another elephant as well as other animals. Their mission is made all that difficult by their lack of social graces and Neelie's pigheadedness.

This is a charming book; a quick read with likable characters even thought the plot is quite predictable and somewhat unbelievable. The narrative is entertaining, enjoyable and easy to follow The author, who seems to be very knowledgeable about animals (even though one gets the impression she is more of a horse lover) doesn't try to ram any wildlife agenda down the reader's throat or force a tearjerker - she just let's the story roll along. Peppered with quirky, silly, purposefully lame and yes, funny jokes the book is never boring.

This book is suppose to be a sequel to "Still Life with Elephant" which I haven't read, and I haven't noticed I was reading a sequel - so you can still read "An Inconvenient Elephant" independently of the first book.

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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 my understanding as well.

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

Very rarely in the book world is a reader "blown away" by what a writer puts on paper. However, when I read Still Life with Elephant, which was Ms. Singer's first novel that centered on the pachyderm world, I was so enthralled by the humor, hope, and the undeniable look at the love and friendship that can blossom between a wild animal and a human being; I was moved to laughter and tears at the same time. So when I opened this package that came in my mailbox, I almost jumped for joy that this fantastic author had given me yet another "gift."

In this new, very special sequel, Neelie Sterling is a young woman who has been in Africa for some time and is currently getting ready to return home to the reality of a "tame" world to pick up her old life. The last thing she wants to do, however, is go back to the boring, hum-drum world of being a psychotherapist in the Big City. She wants a challenge. At least, that's what her time in Africa has taught her. She likes to be among the adventurous and wild, but the world around her is falling apart. Kenya is disintegrating into political chaos and Neelie literally has to "bolt" back to America and leave her precious Elephant Rescue behind. As she boards a plane, she meets up with a definite "outback" woman by the name of Diamond-Rose Tremaine. She has been the operator of Wild Tours Horseback Safaris for the past twenty years and, she, too, is on her way to America to escape some of the horrific things happening in Africa. Soon the two women are stuck in Zimbabwe where they come across a bull elephant by the name of Tusker who is scheduled for execution.

Neelie is absolutely beside herself about the scheduled horror that will be happening to the animal she truly loves with all her heart. She teams up with the eccentric - and absolutely hysterical - safari operator, and when they land on U.S. soil, Diamond-Rose moves in with Neelie to help her try to find a way to save the mighty elephant. The scenes between the two women are laugh-out-loud funny; Diamond-Rose is just one of those wonderful friends that we all wish we could find - someone who holds no grudges, tells no lies, and is literally the "what you see is what you get" kind of woman. (When she's first introduced to Neelie's mom, those scenes are absolutely hysterical).

Unfortunately for Neelie, she desperately needs the help of Tom, who is her extremely wealthy ex-boyfriend. He is a conservationist to the extreme and was instrumental in helping Neelie the first time around with her elephant rescue. But between Neelie's pride and Tom's slightly hurt ego (and a secret that he just can't tell the woman he still loves), it is almost impossible for them to work together this time in order to do what's right.

As I said at the beginning of this review, this book is a "gift." It is one of those infrequent novels that make you think about life, love, and the power of what people can accomplish when they have enough heart and soul to change the world. The only wish that I have is that Neelie and Diamond-Rose could be real people who live down the road from me, so that I could enjoy a cup of coffee with them and hear their magical tales at least twice a week. I hope this author delivers more and more stories of the wild world that I, for one, hope is taken more seriously in the NEAR future. We need to save these animals; by saving these incredible creatures, perhaps humanity could find a way to save ourselves.

Until Next Time,
Amy Lignor, [...] Reviewer

I read this book without reading the 1st novel of this set which wasn't a problem. It was easy to follow, but please be aware that you must be an animal/elephant lover to enjoy this book. Regular readers may find a bit too much animal love. I am a biology student (concentrating in animal conservation) and I love reading, so I thought this book was wonderful and could not put it down!

This is a cute story, but the elephant theme goes a bit too far. Neelie has a love for elephants, and spends a year in Africa caring for baby ones that she calls "ellies". Political strife forces her to leave, but not before she falls in love with a bull elephant destined for destruction and his young male friend. Neelie also makes a new friend, Diamond Rose, who is a beautiful, but rather rude and crude safari leader. The two women find themselves back in New York determined to raise enough money to save the two male elephants and bring them to a sanctuary in New York. Neelie's very rich old boyfriend is the person who can help, but she is too embarrassed to ask for help. An original theme, but not an original story line.

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 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.

Sequel to "Still Life with Elephant. Sequel is as excellent as the first book. Very well written, I could not put down, thoroughly enjoyed both books. Animal lovers will really enjoy.

I love Judy Reene Singer's novels. Her characters are interesting, good people, and of course the animals are just terrific. There's heartbreak, pathos, love interest, good endings. What more would you want??? And there's philosophic attention to the plight of animals....I can't wait for her next books. Be sure to read all her other books.

I couldn't put this book down. The story of the rescue of the lovely elephants is amazing and touches your heart.

I'm always a sucker for a book about elephants. I love to read and learn about these amazing creatures, and I'm happy to share the experience through a good book since my current plans don't include exploring the African jungles or relocating my family near an animal sanctuary.

Neelie loves animals, horses and elephants in particular. Neelie has troubled, complicated human relationships, but has been able to use her skills as a psychotherapist to help troubled animals, and seems to be able to build more successful relationships too.

As the story begins Neelie is forced to leave her beloved baby ellies in troubled Africa. On her precarious trip back to New York she meets an eccentric safari operator, Diamond-Rose Tremaine, and together they build a lasting friendship and manage to help endangered animals and each other.

I liked the characters, the adventure and of course, the elephants!