Review: Elephant Song

Nobody else can do justice to Africa than Wilbur Smith. By reading these books you can feel the sun baked, rusty red earth under your feet and smell the musk of new rain pondering down on the same. Unforgiving nature and remorseless man of this land will touch everyone to the core. Even the animals, whether it is an elephant or a leopard carry the mark of this land.

As usual plot opens grand, with culling of an elephant herd and moves to the international ivory poachers. First time I read a Sikh as bad man in Smith fiction. The story evolves to the revenge of the killing of park warden and his family by one of his friend, Dr. Armstrong. We follow Dr. Armstrong throughout half of the book and then we change to an Environmentalist who is trying to save Africa from exploitation. Plot moves at moderate pace till the half of the book and then slow down. However, in the last few pages of the book, it rushes forward and looses familiar touch of details and featureless climax ends in just fewer than 10 pages.

Things captured my attention in this book is how world exploits Africa to the core! From Taiwanese to Indians to Englishmen, everyone wants a share of Africa’s nature, where none cares to give it back. I am in agreement with Dr. Armstrong’s views of using the nature and giving it back or controlled exploitation. But, the world does not seem to care. From diamonds to timber comes from this wonderful land and everyone still uses the old “Divide and Rule” policy in Africa. It touched me, and will sure next time I meet a person from Africa, I will be tempted to bow down to him/her, just for the wonderful and beautiful land from where he/she is.

Smith’s fascination to brutal sex is evident in this book too, like in his Egyptian series. If any of these books has to be made to a movie, director needs to do a lot of work revolving around this aspect, just to get the nod of the censoring authorities. Another aspect in smith’s book is his detailed description of the murders and killings. Same goes with his understanding of animal mind. At least two times in this very book we will see the “human” world through the eyes of animals; one time as an elephant and another time as a leopard. Though Smith do write about lion and its mentalities, this is the 2nd time I am reading about elephant thinking and I loved it as I myself from elephant land.

Overall score on a 1 to 5 scale will stand somewhere in 4.