The White Bone

The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
Fiction/Literature

This story is told from the prospective of a group of elephants. Mud is a young female elephant orphaned at birth but blessed with visionary powers. She and her fellow elephants are forced to remain at a watering hole by drought. There, the herd is ambushed by a group of ivory poachers and decimated. They then set out to find the White Bone which will lead them to the Safe Place, an Eden for elephants.

Although a little difficult to follow at first the reader is quickly brought into the elephant lingo and lore. Though visions, memories and other gifts the elephants start on an odyssey of pain, suffering, endurance and hopefully ultimately, joy. I loved this book and was swept up into caring and hoping for the best for these incredible creatures.

First Line: "All day there are glaring omens that go undetected."

Rating:
(4.0/5)