The Tusk That Did the Damage

by Tania James

From the critically acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns and Aerogrammes , a tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.

Orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life of labor and exhibition, the Gravedigger breaks free of his chains and begins terrorizing the countryside, earning his name from the humans he kills and then tenderly buries. Manu, the studious younger son of a rice farmer, loses his cousin to the Gravedigger’s violence and is drawn, with his wayward brother Jayan, into the sordid, alluring world of poaching. Emma is a young American working on a documentary with her college best friend, who witnesses the porous boundary between conservation and corruption and finds herself in her own moral gray a risky affair with the veterinarian who is the film’s subject. As the novel hurtles toward its tragic climax, these three storylines fuse into a wrenching meditation on love and betrayal, duty and loyalty, and the vexed relationship between man and nature.

With lyricism and suspense, Tania James animates the rural landscapes where Western idealism clashes with local reality; where a farmer’s livelihood can be destroyed by a rampaging elephant; where men are driven to poaching. In James’ arrestingly beautiful prose, The Tusk That Did the Damage blends the mythical and the political to tell a wholly original, utterly contemporary story about the majestic animal, both god and menace, that has mesmerized us for centuries.

Genres: Fiction, Animals, India, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Adult, Nature

225 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2015

About the author

Tania James is the author of three works of fiction, most recently the novel The Tusk That Did the Damage (Knopf). Tusk was named a Best Book of 2015 by The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, and NPR, and shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her short stories have appeared in One Story, The New Yorker, Granta, Freeman's Anthology, Oxford American, and other venues. James is an associate professor at George Mason University, and lives in Washington DC. Her forthcoming novel, Loot, will be published by Knopf in June 2023.

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are always multiple ways to look at any situation—this novel gives us three: the elephant’s point of view, the poacher’s, and the Western film maker’s. There is truth in all three. I was a volunteer natural history teacher for 17 years—you can take the woman out of the classroom, but you can’t take the teacher out of her. I immediately began recommending this book to the folks I know who are still manning the ramparts and educating the public.

The only viewpoint that is missing from this book is that of the consumer of ivory, for which the elephants are being poached. Without them, there would be no trade in elephant parts. And you may be shocked to learn that the illegal animal trade is right up there with the international drug trade and the illegal arms trade in the matter of market value. Truly, if we could stem the desire for elephant ivory and rhino horn, we might be able to save these charismatic mega-fauna. [And if we can’t save the super stars, like elephants, what hope do the smaller, more obscure species have?]

The poachers are often folk who live a tenuous existence, barely providing the basic necessities for themselves and their children. If you’ve studied psychology, you may remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—people need to have their basic needs met, and feel safe that they will continue to be met, before they can care about higher level ideals like wildlife conservation and biodiversity.

And if you were ever in any doubt that cultural sensitivity is necessary as a foreigner in a country on the other side of the world, this book will bring that lesson home. The film makers may think their film is about elephants, but it is also very much about the people whose lives intertwine, for good or ill, with those immense mammals.

Recommended for those who love elephants, who champion wildlife conservation, and for those who love India.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The edition I have looks edible. This edition is not it for me.

*cruelty towards animals, gun violence, hunting, self-harm

My most favourite part of the book is the part which described the elephants or the feelings of the orphan baby elephant. That's actually everything I liked about this book.

There are parts which try to portray romance, friendship, mental health, assault, alcoholism, deaths and grief. I would say the writing is decent at these parts.

The writing is somehow rather inconsistent in its flow. I wish the characters were introduced in a manner it blended well with the writing or the multiple points of view. The characters lack depth and development. I struggled to get connected to the characters other than, of course, the thoughts of the baby elephant. The writing gets too flat and shallow at times.

The stereotypes to describe a veterinary doctor in our country is well accurately given in the story.

The overall rating goes for a few parts of the first part of the book while the rest covers most of the second half.

But then again, I just couldn't connect with either the writing or the characters. I love the idea and the concept it presented. I wanted depth, feelings, emotions as the story demanded but I couldn't feel anything. The writing isn't for me.

[Book Riot Community]

I don’t know what I was expecting out of this novel aside from an elephant narrator, but WOW. There is indeed an elephant narrator, which might sound cute to you. Let me assure you, cute is the last thing this book is. Powerful, compelling, beautifully written, with a stunning ending: yes. Telling the stories of those involved in elephant poaching in South India (including the elephant), The Tusk That Did the Damage will stick with you for a very long time. — Jenn Northington



from The Best Books We Read In May: http://bookriot.com/2015/06/02/riot-r...

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Nearly 3.5) This composite picture of the state of wildlife conservation in India is told from three perspectives: an elephant named the Gravedigger, a poacher, and a documentary filmmaker. James ably intersperses three voices as she explores how people fail to live up to their ideals and make harmful assumptions. Despite these attributes, it was one of those books I had to force myself through. Perhaps it was the environmental agenda: if a book is going to wear its message so openly, it has to live up to it in terms of the writing. I might have preferred it if the whole novel had been from Emma’s point of view, with one climactic encounter with the Gravedigger to make the poaching question immediate and not simply academic.

See my full review at The Bookbag.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rating

It took a while to gather my thoughts on this one, and I'm not sure I've done so sufficiently now. I enjoyed this book overall. I loved having Gravedigger's perspective, but I think those sections could have been meatier. It never got deep enough. There was just enough to begin empathizing with the elephants, but there needed to be more. I wish Gravedigger had more sections, too. There was not enough focus on him.

I also appreciated the POV's of the poacher and his brother. I cared less about the filmmakers because their story barely had anything to do with the elephants. It was more about her romance.

I think this book and this author had a lot more potential and could have been a knock-you-out amazing read. Instead it was just okay.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and unusual book. One of the three viewpoints, that of the documentary filmmaker, could've used a bit more development, but other than that, the whole book is spot on. Really enjoyed it.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5★ for me.

I've been wanting to read this story of elephant conservation for a while, knowing that it is told from 3 different points of view; the poacher, the rather green documentary maker, and the elephant itself. But after having my fingers burned by Ceridwen Dovey's Only the Animals earlier this year (where she has also written from the animals' POV) I wasn't sure whether I was going to like it. Happily, Tania James has taken a slightly different approach, which is, I think, a lot more successful.

The Gravedigger was a few years old when it happened, still new to the world, but old enough that his mother had gone and calved another one. The newborn was a clumsy little cowpat. She toddled within the pillars of his mother’s legs precisely where he used to toddle. Whenever he tried to double back and regain her shade, his mother grumbled and nudged him onward with her trunk. If he fell behind, she flicked her tail until he grasped it, the two walking in tandem, ever in touch.

The writing is beautiful and the story engaging, but overall I actually would have liked it to be a little longer! Because although the ending was quite breathtaking, it left me with lots of questions about what happened next.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

It's just that I've already read two elephant books this year.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a tribe of elephants in South India, those who want to care for and protect them, those who are willing to exploit them and outsiders looking for a story.

It is a clash of cultures, of people and species who have forgotten how to live in harmony and are having to live with the consequences of their behaviours.

The narrative follows the elephant they name Gravedigger, seized as a young calf after his mother is cruelly shot; a young American film maker Emma, trying to make her name by creating a worthy work in collaboration with classmate and friend Teddy and the Indian veterinarian Ravi; and Manu, the younger brother of an ivory poacher, who tries to look out for his brother, at the request of his mother.

The story moves between the three narratives, following their lives, looking back at the events that have shaped them until now, leading them towards each other and the inevitable confrontations that beckon.

There is an authenticity to the narrative of the younger brother that has the effect of drawing the reader deep into the lives of his family and neighbours, that his story involves more than just himself may be one of the reasons I was captivated by these sections. The insights into the perceptions from the elephants point of view are sensitively if briefly handled, I wished this narrative voice could have been even stronger. The filmmakers felt unnatural in the environment, lacking understanding, empathy and not spending sufficient time to learn anything, they were the major weakness in the narrative for me.

My complete review here at Word by Word.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel that takes place in present day India. Told from three perspectives - that of a film crew, poachers, and an elephant known as The Gravedigger - the reader is privy to the problems and issues facing the survival of elephants.

The film crew is in India to follow a veterinarian named Ravi who is a specialist in elephants. There are two filmmakers, Teddy and Emma. Teddy is enamored of Emma but Emma begins an affair with Ravi which jeopardizes the objectivity of the documentary they are making.

The poachers are part of a network that takes tusks from male elephants and sells the ivory. The poachers are small-time hunters who are used by the larger network. One of them ends up in jail for four years. His brother tries to stay out of the poaching business but his mother asks him to keep an eye on his brother and he ends up instilled in the hunt.

We are learn about the life of The Gravedigger, an elephant who kills humans and then buries them. He watched as his mother was killed and then he was taken prisoner and used as an attraction for various events, always chained and sometimes tortured. When he breaks out of his chains, he takes his revenge.

At times the story is told in a stunningly beautiful manner. However, I thought that the part about the filmmaking crew was not necessary to the story. The sections on the poacher and the elephant would have been enough.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say...this book has left me absolutely speechless ~ Such a beautiful, heartbreaking, devastating and captivating novel!

[Cosima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to really take my time with this one because I didn't want the fact that I've recently encountered a cluster of underwhelming books to be the reason that I was finding this one to be underwhelming as well. After finishing it I have no doubt that it was just this book.

The story is told from three perspectives. We have a reluctant poacher and a naïve filmmaker giving first person accounts, while the account of a fearsome serial killer elephant known as Gravedigger is told in third person. Gravedigger is so named because of his tendency to bury his victims.

I was far more invested in the elephant's chapters than those about the poacher and filmmaker. Learning more about this sad and unusual character was what kept the story going. Unfortunately for me, it felt like Gravedigger's chapters were too few and far between even though they're actually every third chapter. Other than the elephant's chapters there were two short folktales nestled within the story that I found interesting. The rest I struggled through.

My first red flag went up when the filmmaker's love life was brought up. Her personal drama is silly and boring. It merges with the overarching story, eventually, sort of, but the connection wasn't strong enough for her chapters to be so long and detailed. I found the poacher to be a more interesting and complex character, and yet his story is also filled with banalities that quickly made me lose interest.

Overall I'd say it was the plot that disagreed with me most. Too many aspects either felt excessive or underdeveloped. As short as the book is, it would have been better as a much shorter story (perhaps with the filmmaker left out).

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't just another book with multiple connected points of view. James' stories at first share obvious subject matter (elephants) but it's unclear whether they're told at the same time or how they'll come together. I loved that about it. Each story is also unique in tone and style, unlike many of these stories where each section feels the same.

The book is about the people who kill elephants and the people who try to save them. But it's also a unique novel that really stands out.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a zoologist, I found James' book one of the best examples of the struggle between animals, poachers, and the people who try to save them. It is clear that Ms.James took a lot of time and effort to research the subject before writing about it from a fictional standpoint. I found the story of Gravedigger to be heartbreaking, and even on some level, I felt empathy for the poacher (strange considering my line of work.) An absolutely masterful job, in my opinion. Very well worth time to read.

[Christine]

I like the structure of this book and the differing viewpoints, but I did not really care about anyone.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn’t heard of Tania James’ The Tusk That Did the Damage before I saw it featured on a couple of Instagram accounts which I follow, with the announcement that it had been shortlisted for the 2016 Dylan Thomas Prize. Whilst this is not a prize which I necessarily read my way around (I am more of a fan of the used-to-be-Orange-and-is-now-Baileys Prize), my interest in the book was piqued enough for me to look further into the novel. When I had read the blurb and discovered that my library had a brand new copy, I requested it immediately.

The Tusk That Did the Damage is set in southern India, a location in which James has interestingly merged East and West. In it, she demonstrates how necessary conservation is, and the horrors which we are doing to our world, as well as the horrors of financial exploitation of creatures and natural habitats. We follow three stories; that of The Gravedigger, an angry elephant who wreaks havoc, a young man named Manu whose brother Jayan is in the elephant poaching ‘trade’, and an American graduate named Emma, who has travelled to the region in order to make a film in a wildlife reserve with her friend Teddy. These stories are separate from one another on the whole, but all take the elephant as their central focus, and sit wonderfully together in consequence. I knew, from the book’s very beginning, that I hadn’t read a novel like this in a long time, and was immediately captivated by its originality.

The Tusk That Did the Damage opens with a particularly brutal scene, in which the mother of a young elephant is shot before his eyes. This portion is told from the elephant’s perspective; whilst not an ‘I’ narrative, he is the sole focus, which makes it all the harder to read. For James, no holds are barred in her evocation of the situation: ‘A blast split the silence. The Gravedigger staggered, caught in a carousel of legs and screaming. The man in the tree was pointing a long-snouted gun. Another blast… The Gravedigger whirled in search of his mother, and when at last he caught her scent, he found her roaring in the face of the gunman who aimed into her mouth and shot.’

The use of different narrative styles and perspectives was put to good use here. I was immediately invested in the story, in which backdrops have been realistically evoked, and characters come to life. The real stars of the novel though, are the elephants; they are described in the most human manner: ‘During the moment of mother-calf reunion, Teddy hadn’t fiddled with the zoom, had let the action unfold, giving wide berth to these twining trunks, whose ministrations seemed to suggest comfort and tenderness and yet seemed somehow private, primal, on a plane of communication we could glimpse only directly.’

Focus is given to tiny details which would be so easy to miss; the ‘powdery smell’ of a parakeet, a mouth as a ‘hollow of astonishment’, and a range of mountains sitting ‘gaunt and blue’. The relationships which James presents, both between humans and animals, as well as the links between the two, have been examined with a fine tooth comb. There is a strength in the conversations too:

‘Ravi leaned against the door. “An elephant killed someone,” he said. In Sitamala, near to my mother’s place.”
“What? That’s terrible.”
He nodded, absorbed in thought. There was the distant, drifting silence again, the indecipherable knit of his brow.
“Did you know the person?”
He was speechless so long I thought he hadn’t heard me. “I know the elephant,” he said finally. “Everyone does.”

The Tusk That Did the Damage is a serious book, but boy, is it compelling. The cultural details and local language used help to build a stronger sense of place, and show how informed James is about the place and issues she is writing about. It is not simply a good read; it is an important novel, which demonstrates just how fragile the world really is. Perhaps Jonathan Safran Foer sums it up the best, when he calls it ‘a compulsively readable, devastating novel’. I heartily look forward to what she will come up with next.

[Sharon Metcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started with the potential to reel me in and become one of those addictive books I couldn't put down.  Yet for some reason it didnt work that way for me.   I seemed to loose momentum toward the middle of the book but thankfully it recaptured my attention and overall I rated it as a solid 3.5 stars.

According to the saying every story has two sides yet in this book we clearly heard and came to understand three sides of the story of the unsavoury topic of poaching elephants in India.    This was possible through the use of alternating narratives from the elephant, the poacher and some documentary film makers.    We got a first hand view of the harsh life and some of the cruelties the elephant had been exposed to and appreciated how those same actions lead to the consequences for which he became a target.   We learnt of the poachers early greed for selling ivory on the black market, his imprisonment, some losses to rogue elephants and an ultimate plan to exact revenge.   Meanwhile the documentary makers get caught up in some relationship issues, as well as uncovering some conservation and political issues.

All three stories worked well separately and together giving the reader plenty to mull over.   It was certainly a different read to most I've encountered and forced me to think about a subject that I've rarely (if ever) considered.   Overall I'm glad to have been introduced to this book which I'm unlikely to have discovered on my own.

[Chaitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories with animals. Even when they are portrayed as cruel, as unstoppable, untamed forces of nature, I love their stories. This is no exception. It is a lyrical, evocative portrait of an elephant treated wrong, side by side with the story of a surprisingly sympathetic poacher. I was one of those little kids who never had the guts to approach a temple elephant no matter how much my parents and other adults egged me on, and this book justifies my fear.

I loved the way it was written, with all the elephant lore and the sympathy that each character is portrayed with in the stories of both the elephant and the poacher. Only one aspect of the book didn't impress me, and that unfortunately was a full third of the book, the third perspective, that of the American filmmaker. It added almost nothing but the page count. Even when it is imparting some information, its characters were flat, and I didn't like the mundane dynamics between them. 4 stars for a boring third.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novel starts with a scene cribbed from Babar the Elephant but what follows has none of that book's insights.

[LibraryCin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This book follows an elephant, two filmmakers at a sanctuary(?) in India doing a story on a vet, and a poacher. The chapters alternate between the three. The elephants mother was killed when he was a baby and he was stolen, raised to perform.

I didn’t really like this (surprisingly since it’s an animal book). I didn’t care about the humans and those chapters (mostly) bored me. I liked the elephant chapters at first, but they went downhill because they weren’t all from the elephant’s point of view (as I’d expected), but some of those chapters followed the “handlers” more and there was a bit of elephant mythology (which often would interest me, but in this case, I was bored). Overall, though, the book did pick up in the last 1/3 or so and I was more interested, but it was only enough to bring my rating up by a ½ star. Although I’m not even certain what happened at the very end, and although I see other reviews say the three stories came together, I completely missed where the filmmakers’ story fit in.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A better title would have been "An Elephant Never Forgets." This is an interesting and different story set in India about living with elephants. The chapters are all titled after one of these characters: elephant, poacher, or filmmaker. I would have eliminated the American filmmaking duo and replaced them with the veterinarian, Ravi. A rather sad story of vengeance, abuse, and fate.

[DarthVixReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I closed the last page of this book in tears. Don't let the short length of it fool you, it packs a big punch. This is a devastating story about poaching in India delivered through alternating perspectives of a documentary filmmaker, a poacher's younger brother and an elephant known as the Gravedigger. If you have a big heart for animals like I do, this read will be a little hard for you but it was very good and one that definitely left an impression on me.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over het conserveren van de natuur, mens-dier conflicten en stroperij. Fascinerend inkijkje in deze werelden en zo geschreven dat je voor (bijna) alle partijen sympathie kan voelen. Las als een trein!

[Nicole Means · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got wind of this book a few months ago and was luckily able to order this book on its release date. I began reading it as soon as it arrived in the mail, and I must say score! I devoured this book in less than a week.

This book has many underlying themes but the one theme that stands out to me is memory as perspective. There are three major narrators with various different perspectives in this book: a poacher, a filmmaker, and, most interestingly, an elephant. Both the filmmaker and poacher's point of views are told in the first person, but the author decided to tell the elephant's story in third person. I am not sure why James made this choice, but the story, in my opinion, could have been much stronger and gone into so much more depth had she taken this route. Moreover, while definitely, an interesting perspective, I could have done without the 23 year overprivileged filmmaker. But maybe that was James's whole point, maybe she threw in that perspective because the story needed to be told from an outsider who was more interested in capturing a story for instant fame and wealth. Maybe James wanted to prove the point that much of what we see, read, and hear, even history books is told from an outsider perspective. Just as the filmmakers wanted to manipulate the story of the elephants much of history is manipulated and missing so many perspectives--ultimately, ignoring memory. Much of history is told from perspective of outsiders.

Perhaps, James includes the filmmaker's narration because often, as westerners, we hear or see issues occurring in other parts of the world and minimize the experience by saying things like, "why don't they just fight back?" or "If I were there I would do things differently." Ultimately, we make assumptions without understanding the various perspectives. As I read this book, I was consistently reminded of the how indigenous cultures, animals, and the environment have been wiped out because of actions of humanity. The plight of the elephants reminded me of those moments in history; for generations, elephants lived uninterrupted but it was the humanity that changed their existence. According to the tale, elephants lived a good life until the tusk appeared. The, humanity was overcome by greed which lead to the ultimate demise of the elephants.Did the elephants want to be violent or were they forced because of their fate? Much of these issues can also be brought up through the stories of imperialism.

While there are several bad reviews of this book circulating out there, I highly recommend this book. It brings up so many global issues that everyone needs to be more educated about. This book is by no means perfect, but Tania James masterfully intertwines all three narrators together in shocking twist that will definitely captivate readers. This book is so much more than a story of an angry elephant-it is about betrayal, loss, prejudices, and perspective. If anything, this book is an important testament on the importance of storytelling to understand our own histories.

[Stacey D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If an elephant tosses dirt on his back, he is comfortable. If an elephant stands utterly still, he is troubled. An elephant will only lie down to sleep if he trusts the company he keeps.

This complex story is highly unique and very lyrical, as told in turn from the varying perspectives of a poacher, a filmmaker and the giant Gravedigger, the magnificent, yet deadly elephant who is the pivotal figure in James' terrific novel. The cover of this book is pretty gorgeous, too.

Two young American documentarians, Teddy and Emma, journey to the fictional Kavanar Wildlife Park in South India to film elephants and their compassionate caregiver and "elephant whisperer" vet Ravi. During the intense filming, they get swept up in a difficult situation involving local poachers and conservationists. Teddy is intense and in love with Emma, who doesn't share his feelings and he is very dedicated to his role as videographer. Emma has a gift for getting people to "open up"; she conducts interviews with Ravi and the locals for the documentary, which leads to a secret affair with Ravi. Meanwhile, we learn about the lives of the locals from Manu, whose brother is a convicted poacher. Manu retells the frequently tragic story of his rural family leading up to their encounter with the Gravedigger.

And we learn so much about the elephant. Naturally, the most captivating and heartbreaking tale is told by the Gravedigger: his early life with his mother, how he became orphaned as a young calf, his later time in captivity with his beloved pappan, Old Man and everything that led to his "going rogue" and killing (and tenderly burying) humans. The Gravedigger has us question elephant intelligence and sensitivity -- how much are they like us? Several times in the novel when he comes across the smells of rotting pineapple and gunpowder, they trigger painful, anxiety-provoking memories for him. This leads to a very interesting question that James poses regarding the gift of memory - both for the ellie and for us. Namely, is memory really a gift - or more of a curse?

From this passage, for example, it's really hard to tell:

Every night, the Gravedigger escaped. He closed his eyes and saw himself swimming steadily across the river, led by the scent-seeking periscope of his trunk. He saw himself break the surface and climb onto the opposite bank where his mother was waiting. There he was, his trunk wrapped in hers. Whatever hurt or sorrow befell him was not really happening to him. He was on the other bank with his mother. He was not here.

James infuses the novel with elephant and Indian lore, which lends magic and mysticism to our beliefs surrounding these majestic beasts. I love her writing and how the tone she sets within each perspective is simply perfect. Ultimately, the climax, which brings the story full circle, is extremely moving and beautiful. Through one of its main themes, animal conservation, the novel raises many moral and ethical questions over our responsibility to each other as well as to our fellow animals.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James is a highly recommended novel set in southern India, that covers the illegal poaching of ivory through three unique viewpoints. These three viewpoints are presented in alternating chapters.

The first viewpoint is that of the elephant which the villagers now call the Gravedigger. He witnesses the killing of his mother, after which he is captured, loved, trained, and abused. He later escapes, which is when he becomes The Gravedigger and is a source of fear and hatred.

The second viewpoint is the poacher, Jayan. This section is narrated by his younger brother Manu, who has been asked to look after his older brother. Jayan is attracted to the money he can make through poaching, although he tries to hide his illegal activities from his family at first. They would prefer he worked hard at farming. Gravedigger has already killed one member of their family.

The third viewpoint is that of the filmmakers, specifically Emma. Emma and Teddy are Americans in India to film a documentary about a vet named Ravi at an elephant sanctuary. They are trying to capture on film his technique for reuniting baby elephants with their mothers, who are known to disown babies who smell of human contact. A love triangle develops between the three.

James succeeds admirably in the chapters told through Gravedigger's point of view. I was sobbing like a baby over some of these sections, which are gruesome and heartbreaking. She brilliantly captures how a sentient being would react and be traumatized by seeing their mother killed, and then being captured and trained by the same kind of beings who did the act. She also evokes the sensory world of an animal and the resulting confusion his capture would cause. These are the strongest chapters in the book.

Although not quite as compelling, the chapters told through the poachers point of view are certainly enlightening. The financial reality of poverty and the money that can be made through poaching is brought out, as well as the problem of elephants destroying the farmer's crops. Certainly the actual poachers are low on the list of those who benefit from their illegal acts. The least successful chapters are those of the filmmakers.

James is an excellent writer and the prose flows beautifully, managing to portray each individual, their struggles, pain, and confusion, along with the questions of morality the narrative begs we ask. She manages to capture the clash of man and nature in an individualized way, but, in the end, it is also a rather depressing tale.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.

[Vaidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard not to like a book on elephants. Definitely hard not to like a book which looks at life from the perspective of an elephant without anthropomorphising emotions.

The book is amazing - she makes you want more of the stories of elephants, makes you want to sit down with Old Man and listen to his stories, the ones he's heard from his Appachan, the ones about elephants and their pappans. (a huge Thank You! for not using "Mahout" throughout the book - in Kerala, there are pappans, pronounced "paappan", not mahouts, which comes from a Hindi word.) She makes you want to be more inside the head of the elephants, and converse with other elephants. Such amazing, spiritual creatures! And she gets them like no other authors, giving them their own mind, own stories - that have been passed over generations - and that's the best part, to have stories passed over generations between elephants.

The story of Manu, the brother of the poacher, is equally good. She gets the idea of poachers being pawns in a bigger game, of their own worries about elephants running into their fields, of the disappearance of Bamboos in the forests, which sustained all those herds over hundreds of thousands of years.

Despite all this, you feel sold short. You come off unsatisfied because the third angle, of the filmmakers from the US, just does not fit in. It feels like something external, inorganic that has been plugged in, and almost always affects the flow that the other two narratives establish.

Am still saying 4 stars because those 2/3rds, minus the 'Filmmaker' parts, are just so good!

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I found this book confusing. I understand the whole "there are multiple sides to every story" approach, but I feel like James' intent was to make it impossible for the reader to choose a moral right. This did end up being truly impossible because she left out so much in the way of necessary details that would allow one to make such a choice.

Instead, I'm left feeling lost and also, somehow, like I'm in the wrong for not being led to the "inevitable" conclusion that sometimes there is no right or wrong. That's just a plain fallacy, especially when it comes to animal and human rights, and all a reader needs in order to judge a situation's morality are the facts of that situation. And since James made up the situation, this being a work of fiction, her avoidance of these details demonstrates a disappointing laziness.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* Set in rural India, the story is told in three perspectives, that of an American filmmaker, the brother of an elephant poacher, and an elephant named the Gravedigger. Obviously the elephant's perspective was the most interesting and heartbreaking and I wish there was more of it. He was orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life as a temple elephant. After breaking his chains he has become a mankiller and I can't fucking blame him. The perspective of the poacher's family was really strong and I felt for Manu's struggle to balance his hopes for his own future against the obligation he feels for his family. The filmmaker's perspective was the weakest- why does the only female pov character have to be focused her relationship with the men around her. Definitely thought that could have been done better. I really liked the little intervals of elephant myth. <3 Gravedigger.

[Amy Warrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, really, but....and there's always a but!

This story is told from three perspectives - the elephant's, the younger brother of a poacher from an impoverished Indian family, and that of an American college film-maker.

The elephant's and Indian boy's perspectives were, I thought, well executed and engaging. The film-maker, her partner, and the Indian veterinarian whose work they are filming all seemed like stick figures invented to alternately explain or make speeches.

After finishing the book I felt like I'd just read a review, not the book itself; it skittered along the surface and didn't get deep enough to satisfy.

So yes, good book, will look for more by the author, but seemed like a partial work of something that ought to be bigger.