Surus: Fabula Belli et Elephanti

by Emma Vanderpool

Surus the Elephant is the mightest and largest elephant in the army and as such is Hannibal's favorite. The Carthaginian general has plans that will take his army, including men and elephants alike, from Africa, through Spain and Gaul, and directly into Roman territory. This novella recounts the stories of Surus the Elephant and his Mahout (elephant trainer) Mago as they recount their dangerous journey together to Italy. This book contains some 3,000 words total. Of which, there are 130 different words (excluding proper nouns). The book, with sheltered vocabulary and unsheltered grammar, is geared towards intermediate students.

69 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2020

Reviews

[svea mellor · Rating 3 out of 5]

so sad. poor elephants. easy to read for latin students! it’s so cool to be able to read books fully in latin :)

[🏹 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending made me so upset justice for Siri’s

[Sam DiNovo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this book. I think telling the story of Hannibal crossing the alps from the perspective of his war elephant is a fun and clever framing device. I also liked the character of Surus, the titular elephant. I thought they were an interesting character for how much development they got. I do think the other characters could have gotten more development. Especially since there are only two of them. The story itself was good, Hannibal's journey to the Alps is inherently compelling and I think the book does a good job with it.

I am an intermediate Latin reader, and I thought that the book erred on the easier side. Even though it uses unrestricted grammar the words are very restricted. The book is also very repetitive meaning that once you've read the first chapter or two you have seen most of the sentences in the book because they are structured similarly.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tragic story of the loss of XXXVI elephants in Hannibal's crossing of the alps. Exciting but sad and a great book for improving Latin reading skills.

[Sophia Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending was so sad. Ily Surus