West with Giraffes - First Reads Review

 

A pleasing mix of survival, altruism, history, geography, life and earth, all  woven around two towering creatures of God's pure Eden! The American North East is ravaged by a hurricane, the magnitude of which, they say repeated after about a century, in the form of the hurricane Sandy. It is 1938, era of the Great Depression and the second world war clouds looming. And here, the hurricane has added its share and two giraffes from Africa are not spared either. Caught up in the hurricane, while being locked in their crates, the giraffes are now in the harbour in New York.  

Woody, the main character who survived the dust storms of Texas moving East to his cousin's place is hit again by nature's fury, this time the hurricane. The 17 year old teen wanders through the devastation only to lock eyes with the giraffe. He would later say, "whenever I locked eyes with an animal I felt something more soulful than I ever felt from the humans I knew, and what I saw in that sprawled giraffe’s eye made me ache to the bone." 

And there arrives an old man from the San Diego's zoo on the instruction of Mrs. Benchley, the first female director of the zoo, to transport the giraffes cross country to the zoo. The novel unfolds from thence, a truck with two towering giraffes in a rig, traveling to San Diego, under the supervision of the old man Mr. Jones, in those not so good road days, through the country where there were so many orphaned kids scrambling to survive, not to mention goons and guns. Oh yes, and some heartless circus folks with no love for animals coveting to own the giraffes were out there as well. The novel pictures that period of utter poverty in the words of Woody, "During the Hard Times, being hungry was a basic state of being, least for most folks I knew. After the dust killed off the livestock, Dust Bowlers were eating prairie dogs and rattlesnakes and making soup from tumbleweeds. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, that’s all life is—you’re nothing but a feral thing chasing your hunger every minute of the day."  Woody with his dream of going to California, the land of milk and honey, he says, grabs the giraffes' transportation cross country as his chance of safely making his dream come true. He could not make it alone. So he follows the truck, stealing and hiding, eventually on the way becoming the driver himself. 

The journey of the giraffes  becomes a widely reported, eye-gawking news across America. A young woman, Red, who wants to be a photo journalist with a heart for the giraffes follows along taking pictures. The encounters she has with Woody and the old man, how their ways entwine making a lasting mark in the lives of each gently rolls as the truck passes town by town, stop by stop towards the destination. A woman traveling alone those days draws outrage and ridicule, with law chasing behind her. Yet, Red has her dreams, her ambitions, her soft gentle heart melting to see the giraffes, to touch them.  Her pain shown in her words, “Home’s not the place you’re from, Woody. Home’s the place you want to be.” 

Woody has a past, the old man has a past, and they are destined in the present to travel together, the goal being  transporting the giraffes safely to  San Diego. The giraffes, Boy and Girl, as Woody names them, go through their own shares of emotions, fear, pain and love. Girl is injured and its imperative she reaches the zoo as soon as possible. “Animals are complete all on their own, living by voices we don’t get to hear, having a knowing far beyond our paltry ken. And giraffes, they seem to know something more. Elephants, tigers, monkeys, zebras . . . whatever you feel around the rest, you feel different around giraffes. It’s sure true of these two, despite the hell they’ve been through.”  Humans think we are superior, but the above words hammers right on our heads. Life, be it human or animal or worm, its significant and precious. The old man puts it this way, “Life is life no matter who or what is living it, boy—a thing to respect,” he said. “You don’t get that, then you’re just a waste of skin.” With all the damages done by humans we can think most of us are just a waste of skin.

As the truck travels cross country, Woody, now a 105 years old man in a senior living home, is writing the story so that it is carried over past his grave. The news reports that the giraffes are extinct along with elephants, tigers. Reading that I felt my heart sink! And it did for Woody as he sat in his wheelchair watching the news, and in his fury he punches the television. Then he trembles and struggles to put everything in paper. before he is gone. "​Because if ever I could claim to have seen the face of God, it was in the colossal faces of those giraffes. And if ever I should be leaving something behind, it’s this story for them and for you. So, here and now, before it’s too late, I am writing it all down on the chance a good soul reads these words and helps them find their way to you​​.", he says. 

His words, "Time heals all wounds, they say. I’m here to tell you that time can wound you all on its own. In a long life, there is a singular moment when you know you’ve made more memories than any new ones you’ll ever make. That’s the moment your truest stories—the ones that made you the you that you became—are ever more in the front of your mind, as you begin to reach back for the you that you deemed best." resonates well after I finished reading. What are the stories that make me who I am! The giraffes in their own way, teach forgiveness and love. I did fall in love with them, as I followed them from New York to San Diego. Yes, also I did get a glimpse of the misery of that depression era, of all the violence and crimes. But yet, the giraffes showed hope and resilience as they did for all those who laid eyes on them, a wonder by itself, African giraffes traveling the roads of America, ocean to ocean!

The novel seems bit slow at places stretching and crawling, especially in the last few chapters. 

The author, Lynda Rutledge, an animal lover herself, uncovered a batch of yellowed clippings in San Diego zoo's archives. She was enthralled about that, and later in the 21st century when giraffes are threatened by what's called the sixth extinction, she had to write this story. The novel has excerpts from newspaper clippings, the western Union telegrams, which kind of gives a picture of communication those days. The author has also brought snippets of history about the female zoo director, the second world war, sundown towns, etc., from her research. She says, " Storytelling matters now. Emotion matters." It is true! The book is to be published this February. 

I got to read this book as a Kindle  First Reads choice and am glad I chose this book. I liked it, as it showcases human emotions and life, especially during  a tough time, the great American depression, yet lacing with love, forgiveness, hope, purpose, and what we as humans can do for better, for both animals and us! Yes, there is bad but there is lot more good out in the world, and it is beautifully captured in this novel. Life and Earth is to be respected! I would say it is a good book to read, experiencing the cross country travel way back in 1938 along with nuggets of life lessons.