Reviews

The Secret of Elephants by Vasundra Tailor

all_books_great_and_small's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

_readingwithemelia_'s review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

anacloudniine's review

emotional informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The Secret of Elephants began incredibly interesting — time skips from different POVs and tragedy lurking in every corner, from very early on. The author pulled on heart strings and toiled with mystery until about halfway though the book, in which there was a sudden tone shift and the story fell incredibly flat. The author gave away all her heavy hitting cards way too early, and it quickly became a descriptive sight-seeing story as the MC traveled. I enjoy detailed imagery, but not without movement. It took me longer than it should have to finish this book, simply because I got bored and it was disappointing to be let down that heavily. Eventually, the story slightly picks up again but it is only for a rushed resolve, some of which would have been nice if it happened earlier in the story. All in all, I don’t think this book was for me, being that it was more so historical than anything. 

amy_j18's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

worldsokayeststepmom's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

vwannamaker's review

5.0

This is a brilliant read from Vasundra Tailor. This book goes on a secret-filled adventure of a heartbroken woman trying to figure out how to move on from a bad relationship. The main character Nirmala receives a letter addressed to her father who has passed on. Within the letter, she finds that she has relatives in Africa. This is where the character takes a leap of faith and leaves with her son to start a new life. This life is soon filled with more secrets and will pull on your emotions. You will never see the ending coming and it's perfect. This book is recommended to all readers because it is a story you will love and want to read more than just once.

queenbae's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

faith_bookluvr's review

informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

traceylouise1980's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Just a lovely, warm hug of a book!

crafalsk264's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Nirmala is a poor Indian woman is in an arranged  marriage to a sari maker (Ajay) and they have one five year old son (Varun). Varun has just been diagnosed with a form of childhood epilepsy. Ajay controls all of the family money and he refuses to provide money for his medicine. Nirmala  owns the house they live in but she lives next to a mansion owned by her aunt who inherited the bulk of the estate instead of Nirmala’s father. A letter arrives from an Indian man living in Zimbabwe. He is looking for Indian people who may be relatives. When she contacts him, he invites Nirmala to come to Zimbabwe so Varun can get superior medical care and meet her African family members. The grandfathers separated in the 50s and never saw or spoke with each other again. The family secret stems from this separation. The secret switches roles, names, and households.

This book is a look at how secrets and injustices from one generation to another. Nirmala uncovers the acts of selfishness, revenge and greed and how they impact people’s ideals in the here and now. The plotting is complex. There are a lot of characters and only the main characters are deeply developed. The relationships of mothers to their children are explored. The setting of India and Zimbabwe are pleasant. I enjoyed this book and recommend to readers of historical fiction, India, Zimbabwe, Africa and contemporary adult literature.