Home › Books › A Training School for Elephants
A Training School for Elephants
by
56/99
Critics' Rating Index
27/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
84/99
Volume of Reviews
54/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
Out of a sidelined, colonial-era expedition in Africa comes a new history of cruelty, deception and adventure from the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa's resources. The key to cracking open the continent, or so he thought, was its elephants—if only he could train them. And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants. Following in the footsteps of the four elephants, Roberts pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition, in travels that take her to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania, and Congo. The storytelling brings to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns, set against rich descriptions of the landscapes travelled. In an original weave of past and present, she digs deep into historic records revealing an extraordinary—and enduring—story of colonial greed, hypocrisy, and folly.
Reviews
"Roberts...writes eloquently about the landscape at times, and A Training School for Elephants is an accessible primer on African colonial history and Leopold's depredations ..."
"Superbly quixotic ..."
"And then, through research in archives as well as on the ground, for uncovering sparky details that bring the story to life ..."
"[Roberts] has an eye for the encounter but struggles to connect the parallel worlds of her narrative (past and present, Europe and Africa) ..."
"It's a tour de force."
"Any account of a journey in the footsteps of another is bound to be elegiac, but rarely has an elegy been so suffused with drama and pathos."
"A little-known episode of colonial African history paired with a conceptually problematic personal account."
"The risk, therefore, is of a somewhat dutiful book, suitable for our times."
Preview
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!