West with Giraffes: A Novel
An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.
"Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes..."
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world's first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late.
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Readers say *West with Giraffes* is a heartfelt and engaging historical adventure featuring compelling animal-human bonds and vivid descriptions. Revi...
I went back and forth with really enjoying and really hating this book. I settled on 1.5 - 2 stars.
I liked the plot line more in the beginning: the developing back story on Woody was introduced, we didn’t know what journey lied ahead with delivering the giraffes, and we were waiting to see what happened with “Red”. However, as the story developed it just seemed TOO much.
I liked the development of Woody’s relationship with the giraffes, and more importantly, himself. Wild Boy and Girl helped Woody come into himself and really lean into his connection, love, and respect for animals and ultimately come to terms with his past and breaking his old beliefs.
But that was about where my enjoyment ended.
For a cross country round trip, there was a LOT of peril. To the point of being unnecessary. Honestly, how many catastrophic events can there be? The near end encounter with “Coot” seemed especially redundant, as if we weren’t close enough to California to end it but not far enough away to introduce an entirely new event. I thought the circus was going to be a much bigger problem than it ended up being, not to mention we never got ANY clarification on the Old Man’s story or why he was claimed to be a murderer. (Which was a pristine opportunity to build emotional relations between he and Woody.) I seemed like every state had a very dramatic, potentially course changing situation that did not feel believable or interesting by the middle of the book.
Don’t get me started with miss Augusta Red. I understood there was to be some romance themes in the book…but I would have rather been off without this woman who had no one’s interest but her own and seemed to be a weird filler character by the end. We never got any sort of real romance or connection with her and Woody other than that sort of “puppy love” fascination middle schoolers have with someone they have never talked to. Red was a predictable character and I was rolling my eyes with every word whenever she felt the need to join Woody in the middle of the night. She played with his emotions, lied the whole way through, and ultimately disappeared at the end of the trip with not much more than a wave goodbye and a weirdly placed kiss for a boy she didn’t want any relations with anyway. She seen what Woody could do for her (get her “in” with the giraffes and cover her from Riley Jones) and capitalized on that fact by leading Woody on until she had to fess up to not only being MARRIED but also PREGNANT.
Woody didn’t ever make it to California, not for his own good anyway, and ditched the delivery soon as it was done to “see how Red’s story ended” which was a total waste because he never reconnected with her anyway and couldn’t get back into California after crossing the border. And it was strange to me that by the end, he was writing to Red’s daughter whom she was pregnant with during the trip, and he leaned into wanting to make the story about Red and what adventure she went on rather than his own…which seemed out of place because Woody was still just a stranger to the girl and we barely knew a thing about Red in the whole book.
I liked some of the descriptions throughout the book, and liked how Woody developed personally by its end. I even liked the way he and Red were developing in the beginning but was ultimately let down by the lack of depth in their “relationship”, the lack of closure with the many inner storylines with the Old Man, the circus, and Red, and the unnecessary drama along the way to California. A lackluster read at best.
What’s it about?
Woody Nickel is well over 105-years-old and feeling nostalgic. When he looks back on his life one grand adventure stands out. In 1938 two giraffes arrive in New York harbor after sailing through a hurricane. They are loaded on a truck and driven across the country to the San Diego Zoo. In one final last burst Woody frantically writes down how he came to know the Old Man, Red, and the giraffes.
What did it make me think about?
This is definitely the sweet, folksy story your grandmother would love. What a different world it was in 1938.
Should I read it?
Although this book seems to be loved by all- I feel pretty lukewarm about it. It is interesting, entertaining, and just a little too folksy for me. However I recommend it to anyone who likes light historical fiction.
Quote-
“Time heals all wounds, they say. I’m here to tell you that time can would 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.”
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