The Rundown
Set in Ceylon almost 200 years ago, Padma and the Elephant Sutra has anthropomorphically treated Elephants laboring for thousands, perhaps millions, of years to fulfill an ancient covenant after an alien from another dimension breaches our universe.
Humans are encroaching on “Paradise” and all the elephants are worried about how this will impact their mission to protect paradise, their sacred duty to bring the rains, and, of course, the necessary return of the alien to his home. The alien changed humanity into what it is today and the elephants expect the humans will return to the normal “peaceful” selves once the foreign influence is gone.
Padma is born from the river and mud, without parents or even so much as a clan, setting off a series of events just before a blue moon appears. The elephant society is upended as secret prophesisies are fulfilled in Padma’s wake and a dangerous quest is given to her.
An old human soldier enters the pictures before Padma encounters human society as a whole. Together, they travel some terrible miles until the missions of her quest are completed.
The Recommendation
If James A. Michener decided to write the history of Ceylon from the point of view of the elephants, you’d have something very close to this novel. This sums up much of the greatness and flaws I discovered in Padma and the Elephant Sutra.
Great swaths of this book dragged a bit, bogged down with minutia of the elephants’ mythos and history. I found it hardest in the first third of the book, as reader me sat wondering when the “old soldier” mentioned on the back cover would show up.
Once I forgot about that silly old man, I got what I came for, namely the anthropomorphic elephants. It was very realistically accomplished. Instead of feeling like a fantasy adapted race of creatures who just happened to have trunks, the Elephants of Ceylon and Kandy come to life as the very smart creatures they really are.
The human race did not do so well. They broke my heart throughout the final chapters.
Padma’s adventures seemed much too straightforward until she met the old soldier, George. Maybe it is the human arrogance in me, but I think I would have liked meeting the crazy man sooner. Or, perhaps, that’s the point of the tale. Padma’s people are much better stewards of the world than man ever was and will, perhaps, never be.
This may be the best magical realism book that I’ve read this year.
The Rating
4 Stars (out of 5): Recommended. For the right audience, this book is a great read. It can hold its own against any traditionally published novel in its genre.
The Pros & Cons
Pros: Characterization, Prose, Strong World-BuildingCons: Slow in Places, Wordy
The Links
The Reviewer
Bill Kieffer
Visit Bill Kieffer‘s website.I got what I came for, namely the anthropomorphic elephants. It was very realistically accomplished. Instead of feeling like a fantasy adapted race of creatures who just happened to have trunks, the Elephants of Ceylon and Kandy come to life as the very smart creatures they really are.
The human race did not do so well. They broke my heart throughout the final chapters.
Padma's adventures seemed much too straightforward until she met the old soldier, George. Maybe it is the human arrogance in me, but I think I would have liked meeting the crazy man sooner. Or, perhaps, that's the point of the tale. Padma's people are much better stewards of the world than man ever was and will, perhaps, never be.
This may be the best magical realism book that I've read this year.
Read Padma and the Elephant Sutra
