Elephant Winter

I read this book a few years back and loved it. Have recommended it to many friends. A beautifully told and moving story.

'Elephant Winter' is about a young woman who returns home to Canada to look after her ailing mother. Her mother is dying of cancer but is determined to continue to do things she would normally do. The daughter, tired of being inside the house with artwork and bugies, soon becomes friends with Jo, the keeper of the elephants. He's a quiet, shallow man who worms his way into Sophie's effections. A novel about love, lust, family and elephants, it is amazing to see the sameness that mammels and humans have. I loved Saba, Keiaz and Lear, the elephants. The elephants were not protrayed as animals but as humans with feelings and understandings. It would be so lovely to be an owner of an elephant and feel the fingers of the trunk on your skin. To become to understand this great beast of nature. The majestic creatures were interpreted by Echlin through sounds and songs. I particularly enjoyed the dictionary that she provided so that we could learn along with her. Although we will never be able to understand an elephant, it was interesting to learn nonetheless.The relationship between Jo and Sophie was incredible, rich with agony and love. Nearly pure love. Read this tale for yourself and you too will fall in love with Echlin and elephants.

A fine story, wonderfully told, by a truly accomplished writer. Deeply moving tale seems more real than fiction. About a young woman who returns home to help her mother go through the last dying stages of cancer and herself becomes involved with a small herd of captive elephants living nearby at a private tourist attraction. I won't give away the details but urge you to read this book if you enjoy elephants and experiencing emotions.

How could any reader fail to be impressed by the originality and beauty of Ms. Eichlin's novel? A friend who has devoted his life to elephants gave me the book in Botswana's Okavango. I was immediately captivated by the author's almost mystical feeling for elephants. Her dictionary of elephant sounds is a triumph which several people who have spent their lives around elephants attest to. Altogether, this is a breathtaking opening act for a talent who will be around for a long long time.