September’s book club selection is one I’ve been quite eager to read. I have long adored giraffes and several people have recommended West With Giraffes: A Novel to me. My son gave it to me for my birthday last week and it seems the perfect choice for this month. I can’t wait to dive in!
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West With Giraffes: A Novel
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 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.
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What are you reading lately?
You may also enjoy these previous LWD Book Club selections…
September 2020 – A Gentleman in Moscow
December 2020 – At Home in Mitford
Interesting… Hope you enjoy the book. Might have to add this one to my to-read list.
I’m currently reading the second species trilogy by Jane O’Riley. It’s a sci-fi romance bounty-hunter series that was recommended to me by someone in my book club. Rather explicit in places, and I wasn’t too happy with how a certain situation towards the end of the second book was resolved (not because I minded the outcome, but because of how it came about) but otherwise an enjoyable series so far… I’ve just finished book 2.
Considering this book for my upcoming book club. What are your thoughts and what were the other members of your book clubs thoughts?
I absolutely loved it. My one criticism is that the framing of the story as being told by an old man is awkward at times. I think it would have been stronger if the story of the westward trek with giraffes were simply told without jumping back and forth in time. But despite this, the book was still definitely worth the read.