I appreciate the opportunity to win a copy! Just as Romeo and Juliet are born to rival families, Tony and Maria are associated with rival gangs. In the novel West with Giraffes, Woody Nickel, is a seventeen-year-old dirt-farm rowdy, pure as a cow pie, cunning as a wild hog bound to escape the Texas Panhandle (and any law enforcement that might be looking for him). On the surface a road trip coming of age novel, but down deep an aching meditation on loss, time, and hope", Many readers have asked to see an image of the real-life traveling rig. Sherr, Lynn. And unlike the typical Broadway musical of the 1950s and before, West Side Story does not offer audiences a happy ending. Recently, one particular work of historical fiction captured my interestthe fact that the title contained the word giraffes certainly helped, but upon reading the description I discovered that its based on actual events revolving around the San Diego Zoo in 1938. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Quotes and a Free Quiz on According to Benchley, Our relations as Boss and Man-Friday are ludicrously funny, and when he thinks he is working for me I am overjoyed. If youre looking for a good read where you dont need to think too much, except maybe to daydream about your own cross-country adventure, this novel is an excellent choice. The animals were loaded onto the S.S. Robin Goodfellow in Mombasa, British East Africa (present-day Kenya), for a 52-day, 3,200-mile journey to the coast of New York. In the novel, Woody is able to stop chasing the truck as, after much begging and pleading, he is offered the driving job by Old Man after a falling out with Earl. I highly recommend complementing the book with photos and/or audio. He has no money, no possessions, and no real direction for his life. San Diego Zoo. 25 Feb/23. She also had a vocabulary that she kept in reserve that the [former] circus men could understand. The keepers came to call her Boss. She let them know that she admired their work, and responded to her with both respect and affection. 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. Some people value zoos as a place to help individuals connect with animals they may never otherwise meet or a place to safeguard an animal from extinction. Official Guide Book of the San Diego Zoo. outline:none; Perhaps you will fall in love with those giraffes and enjoy the adventures of Old Man and Woody as much as I did. What we called highways were barely tolerable for transporting people much less chauffeuring giraffes. Release : 2021-02. After three days of being fed pancakes (and the giraffes are indeed fed pancakes at one point in the novel), she mustered up the energy to pull herself up. The author added a bit of suspense that could have been more well-thought out and sure, a 105-year old man couldnt have reasonably written, let alone recalled, the events in the novel. Seattle, WA: Lake Union Publishing. Thank you. Lets face it, the backstory leading to that appointment with Mother Nature at her most furious would almost certainlybeyond any doubthave to be a pretty great tale to tell. Lake Union. The first giraffes could be seen in Central Park in 1872 and in Philadelphia in 1874, and the first baby giraffe in captivity was born in Cincinnati in 1889. Historic Fiction embellished. Wild Girl and Wild Boy are at the heart of this novel and throughout and directly in her Authors Note following the novel, the author shares her views of how we can be charmed and inspired by animals. Sharon's Book & Wine Club - May 2021 West with giraffes by Lynda Rutledge "A perfect balance between history and fiction Rutledge blends fictional characters with real historical personalities to create a story that is equal parts educational, quirky, and romantic." -POPSUGAR.com West with Giraffes is Austin writer Lynda Rutledge's second novel, preceded by Faith Bass Darling . The tone is so well-crafted, the dialog so realistic. I wasn't excited about reading it, but I wanted to stick with the theme. The road to California leads straight through Woodys hometown of Arcadia, Texas. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. So I'll give a SPOILER WARNING HERE. } So very touching and heart wrenching!! I dont know how I was led to this book.Thank you to whomever suggested it. -moz-box-shadow: none; But Charley Smith couldnt start the journey to San Diego just yet. font-size: 14px !important; At the end of the novel, she sits down to read the true story of her mothers amazing journey across the continent with the giraffes. Two huge broken-up crates are lifted off containing amazing cargo: two Baringo giraffes. But this book is VERY adventurous and kept me on my toes the entire time. 1944. Thanks for the review, I'm definitly going to read it now! I can't stand reading about animal cruelty, but this book is overall a feel-good adventure story. Which is why we're providing you with this list of top book club questions that will generate general discussion whether you're focused on nonfiction, a self-help book, a juicy historical romance novel, or one of Reese's, Jenna Bush Hager's or, of course, Oprah's favorites. Other than the female hurting her leg in the hurricane, they are uninjured. } Spies, Wars, Winners and Losers, It's All So Intriguing To Me! Thank you so much for the feedback! Reading it was like falling into another world. . With Woody behind the wheel, true to the actual events, the giraffe truck stopped regularly at auto camps under appropriate trees with the top of the crates open to let Boy and Girl reach up and browse. matlab app designer popup message female comedians of the 90s kalena ku delima west with giraffes ending explained. Maybe, like me, you have a story you want to share and make it come to life like Woodys story comes to life in West with Giraffes. .printfriendly { The Great Depression lingers. 25 Feb/23. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds . You can carry around a heavy load only for so long, though, before youve got to set it down, and that does double if youre only eighteen. page 277, The thing about knowing youre doing something for the last time is that it takes the joy right out of it. page 301. When have you created a new story for yourself? The Modern Ark: The Story of Zoos: Past, Present and Future. However, as soon as she was upright the crew could see that her left rear ankle was severely injured. Giraffes evolved to have longer necks so that they could reach the leaves at the tops of trees. I was sad when the book ended but my heart was full. She loses all of her photographs in the flood and her car is destroyed. . You made the people come alive as you filled in the lives to match the historical facts. In Tennessee, Woody and the Old Man get the giraffe rig stuck in a precarious position beneath a low bridge and are unable to get it out by themselves. West with Giraffes: A Novel Lake Union Publishing Hardcover (also available as an e-book, an audiobook, on audio CD, and in paperback), 978-1-5420-2174-6, 356 pgs., $24.95 February 1, 2021 "That's your first story, but it doesn't have to be your only story. Lofty and Patches lived at the San Diego Zoo for nearly 30 years. I love giraffes and I feel I would really enjoy this book. The description kind of lost me because of the historical references--I'm NOT a history buff and I was afraid I'd be bored reading it. and ocean . How can you share your story and with whom? Memoirs. After reaching California, Woody steals a motorcycle and tries to follow Red back east. Two giraffes miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic and end up in New York. How do you feel about zoos? While the cars and signs and lodgings have changed, there remains something special about a cross-country road trip. Vol. Staff would often sneak in some of the animals when visiting herbaby foxes, binturongs, and other small mammals . } I did some research too and found a website that gave me an idea of what the two crates looked like. "West With Giraffes Study Guide: Analysis". ISBN : 9781542023344. west with giraffes ending explained west with giraffes ending explained. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. Have you shared it? What happens thenwhat is the actual meat of the matter, as it wereis a cross-country trip via what amounted to little more than a tricked-out pickup truck from New Jersey to the San Diego Zoo. html:not( .jetpack-lazy-images-js-enabled ):not( .js ) .jetpack-lazy-image { "A boy running from his mystery past, two giraffes, a gruff old zoo keeper, a red headed photographer and an adventure so extraordinary it has given me goosebumps", "West with Giraffes, along with Water for Elephants, The Last Bus to Wisdom, News of the World and Where the Crawdads Sing are the kind of books that the reader wants to devour in a dayonly to immediately turn back to the beginning to savor each page.", "This is a book unlike any I have ever readThere is black humor, heartbreak, and hope all balled up into a crazy road trip and a story that spans 100 years that will touch heart and soul", "Read this book. Benchley also once caught a rattlesnake by grabbing it by the back of the head. "Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes" Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. It was a wonderful novel. Virginia Beach: The Donning Company. Hence, West with Giraffes. The events of the twelve-day cross-country drive are difficult to decipher outside of what Smith revealed to journalists and The Boss Lady. He did not keep a journal, so Lynda Rutledge takes creative license to fill in the blanks for us. It sounds like a really interesting book! And it is through the construct of historical fact and modern-day fiction that this remarkable story which captivated a nation before fading away into almost a forgotten legend is made tangible for todays reader. That the animals survived at all was, as the headline rather politely insists, miraculous. a woman on the running board of the truck feeding a giraffe in the crate, the crates being loaded with a giraffe leaning out the window of one crate, listen to giraffes humming in this YouTube video, 2-minute video of murmuration of starlings in the Netherlands, How to Tell Better Stories: 4 Simple Tips for Introverts from Introverts, Dear, cience of People shares tips from the science side. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. I'll stop here, because I don't want to give anything away. The Old Man reluctantly accepts, but only wants Woody to stay on for the first part of the journey. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge tells the great adventure story of 17-year-old Woodrow Wilson Nickel, who drives two giraffes cross-country in 1938 America, finding himself along the way through the joys and conflicts of the voyage. Woody accepts his bribe, nearly killing Wild Girl in the process. 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