Customer Reviews

Still Life with Elephant: A Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Judy Singer has done it again. This book is very different from Horse Play, but a great treat, and a very poignant book. I ached with the heroine and loved her sense of humor. The other adults are charming, but the stars are the elephants. They are wonderfully etched with their own distinct personalities, and connect almost eerily with Neelie as she struggles with training them and finding her own life. Ms. Singer's descriptions of Africa just add to the mix. I really enjoyed and was moved by this book.

having read her 1st book HORSEPLAY and loved it ,I was thrilled by STILL LIFE with Elephant. Ms Singer did not disappoint. her characters have depth and compassion, you can relate to them, the story line is wonderful. I could not put it down. and as always you will laugh out loud. While reading in bed on night, I was laughing so hard my husband woke up and the dogs ran in the room to see if I was allright. Her love of horses and all animals shine through. Still Life is a beautifully written story that will grab hold of you and keep your interest till the very end..thank you Judy I look forward to your next book

I enjoyed Horseplay for its quirky humor. This book is less funny and more poignant in a "cutesy" way. The humor gets tiresome in places, and the characters and plot are a bit too predictable. Singer is a good writer. I just wish she would be a little more daring with her plot and character development. She's at her best (most nuanced) when writing about the horses.

Actually restless and a little annoyed. Somehow I didn't connect with these people. The elephants are the most interesting characters in the book. If my book club wasn't reading it, I would NEVER have finished it. I didn't care who she ended up with because her character was not really well developed. Didn't particularly root for either guy - didn't really care about them either. Shallow.

First of all, I did NOT like the main character at all. I found that her "cute" habit of mishearing half of what was said to her was not at all funny, in fact I think it made her seem stupid. Get a hearing aid, already, turn down your music, get over yourself and PAY ATTENTION. I found the whole financial situation with her creepy ex to be unreal... what woman who finds out that her husband has mortgaged the house from under her wouldn't call him up immediately and scream... or at least demand to know WHY? The back cover of this book suggests that most or much of the plot takes place in Africa. That's why I bought the book. Well, about three chapters take place there and that was a huge disappointment. I couldn't figure out what such an interesting man (the rich guy Tom) could possible like about her. And yes, the ending... very dissatisfying. But by then I didn't care what happened to her.

This book's charm lies partly in the quirky habit of main character Neelie's misunderstanding of nearly everything that's said to her because she pays so little attention to anyone. Having said that, a character's quirks can be overdone. By the end of the book I'd grown a little weary of Neelie's constant lack of comprehension. I understand it's a part of her nature, but it became a worn-out record after almost 300 pages of repetition. Subtlety is a very good thing, something a writer of fiction would do well to practice. Being hit over the head with a character's "endearing qualities" isn't.

A storyline relying largely on divorce allowed Singer to go into a lot of relationship issues, but that's the part of the book that interested me least. It's been done to death, and by far more skillful writers. Nothing new or interesting there, nothing exceptional. She writes better when depicting close relationships between animals and humans, and how animals can sometimes remind us of our own humanity - demonstrating their unconditional love and often hard-won trust.

It's a quick read, sometimes funny, more than a little unbelievable, convenient and predictable as far as how things eventually work out. Definitely a book for those who like their plot threads tied up neatly by the end, leaving no room for ambiguity. I'd never have read this book through to the end had it not been a book group read.

I have read both this book and Horseplay. Ms. Singer writes an entertaining book that's enjoyable to follow. But the stakes for her heroines are never really that high, or at least they do not stay high for long. Singer heroines have troubled marriages, but immediately find wealthy handsome new husband material. Opportunities to keep their essential lives together arise immediately-there's never any true worry that they're going to starve on the streets or have no roofs over their heads. Lot of farcical elements to the books,as well, that can be funny at first but then annoying or too unrealistic. Best moments are when work with the animals is described. Fun fluff.

I finished this book in three sittings, so Singer does keep you interested. However, I felt that this could have been a much more moving story. Singer hand feeds the obvious details of Neelie's life to the reader while glossing over the truly intriguing aspects of her journey. I certainly admire an author who can move the story along without gobs of explanation but Neelie's time warp through life and travel seemed rushed. Therefore, her emotional revelations seemed false and her new found relationship seemed pathetic. Also, I could not believe a book with such an original premise still managed to end on a tired fairytale tip. This would be a good book for a plane trip or long car ride. It should only take about that long to read.

I looked forward to reading this every night, and seeing what would happen with Nellie-- would she forgive her husband Matt for his affair? What would she do next? Overall, I thought Nellie's problem listening was annoying rather than contributing to the plot, and the Tom character was just too over the top. Still, I wanted to read the book, so something was right. I agree with other reviewers that Singer's discription of animals was the best part and based on the other reviewers I think I might like "Horseplay."

This is this first in what may turn into a series of books about horses and elephants (there already is a sequel, 'An Inconvenient Elephant'). Neelie's life falls apart when she discovers that her husband is having an affair with an associate in his veterinary practice and she is pregnant. Neelie, who runs a horse training and rehab business, signs up to go on an elephant rescue to Zimbabwae with her husband in hopes of getting him back. There she learns she hates her husband, loves elephants, and may be falling in love with the man financing the rescue. Much of this book is devoted to descriptions of horses and elephants; their care, their personalities, and their interactions with humans. Cute. Light-hearted. An easy read.