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The Elephant of Belfast
The Elephant of Belfast: A Novel | S. Kirk Walsh
15 posts | 8 read | 14 to read
"The Elephant of Belfast chronicles a seven-month period of time when the Germans unexpectedly bombed Belfast, Northern Ireland, also known as the Belfast Blitz. Through the lens of the Bellevue Zoo and one of its zookeepers, twenty-year-old Hettie Quin, the novel animates how the war irrevocably impacted-and shaped the lives of Belfast's citizens in broad and intimate ways. In October 1940, Hettie meets Violet, a three-year-old Asian elephant arriving at the Belfast docks from Ceylon. Soon, she becomes Violet's dedicated zookeeper at the Bellevue Zoo. At the same time, Hettie continues to experience the grief related to the recent loss of her beloved older sister, Anna, and the abandonment of her father, Thomas, who left her mother, Rose. On April 15th , 1941, Belfast is attacked for five hours, with 674 bombs falling, and almost a thousand civilians being killed. During the bombings and its aftermath, Hettie does all that she can to save her elephant, and survive the destruction and escalating sectarian unrest of the city. Even though Hettie is still only twenty years old by the novel's end, she's aged at least a decade, her life and perspective transforming in tragic and unexpected ways. Taken altogether, The Elephant of Belfast reflects a complicated portrait of loss, grief, love, and resilience, and how the zoo and the city of Belfast suffered during these catastrophic attacks. At the narrative's heart is a changing relationship between a young woman and an elephant: At first, it seems that Hettie saves Violet, but in the end, Violet saves her"--
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Tattooedteacher
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@Bookwormjillk picked up yesterday‘s mail this morning and found this. I couldn‘t wait to read everyone‘s comments so I stood by the car and read through them. #lmpbc

Bookwormjillk Glad it made it!! 3y
38 likes1 comment
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Bookwormjillk
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Mehso-so

This book had a lot of promise, but didn‘t really deliver. #LMPBC round 12.

Thanks for a great round of reading @Tattooedteacher @Jerdencon @BethM

I‘ll put this in the mail Thursday WITH TRACKING!

Crazeedi Kitty looks very comfortable!😻 3y
Just_reading At least you had a great reading buddy! 3y
52 likes2 comments
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BethM
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Mehso-so

Great imagery, subpar plot and MC. It really irritates me when women write poor female MCs. I also prefer the actual history to be noted in the back, as a lot of historical fiction usually does.

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Jerdencon
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Just starting this today - hoping to get through it and get it in the mail by the end of the month!
#lmpbc #groupa @Tattooedteacher @Bookwormjillk @BethM

shawnmooney Oooh I‘ve been so curious about this one! 3y
Bookwormjillk I need to start mine tomorrow. This month went too fast! 3y
Jerdencon @BethM I‘ll be putting it in the mail by Thursday! 3y
BethM @Jerdencon I‘m not back from vacation until 9/11 so no worries! 3y
43 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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Cathyloves2read
Pickpick

I always look at books ratings before I read it. I feel this book was underrated. While it was a little predictable, it was a very good story. It helps that I love animal stories. There are spots that were herd to read involving animal cruelty, so consider that a trigger warning. All I all, this was a very good book.

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Tattooedteacher
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Sending the tagged book tomorrow to @Jerdencon Happy reading. #lmpbc @suvata

Jerdencon Looking forward to it! 3y
Jerdencon @Tattooedteacher It arrived the other day. 3y
Jerdencon @BethM I sent your book out today 3y
48 likes3 comments
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Tattooedteacher
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Mehso-so

Just finished this fir Round 12 #lmpbc. It was lovely writing and beautiful imagery. Won‘t say too much and spoil it for my group members.

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Tattooedteacher
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So in love with my new outdoor reading spot. Although I‘m certain I‘ll find one of the cats in it very soon.

DinoMom That look delightful 3y
BennettBookworm Love!! 3y
Ruthiella Nice! 😍 3y
See All 6 Comments
Hooked_on_books I‘ve been looking for a hammock chair. Where did you find this one? Do you like it? It looks fabulous! 3y
CoverToCoverGirl How lovely! 3y
Laughterhp That looks so cozy!! 3y
63 likes6 comments
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BookishTrish
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Mehso-so

Encouraged by Leaving Time, I went for another book about elephants. This one was set in WWII in Belfast. The story passed the time enjoyably enough. I wasn‘t always sold on the characters‘ motivations and am not sure I‘ll remember much about it in a month‘s time. Just okay for me.

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Tattooedteacher
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Take it from me… teachers know crayons. #thinkpositivebepositive @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

mandarchy I actually had a custodian ask me if the students really needed them because he was sick of sweeping them up. 3y
54 likes1 comment
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Tattooedteacher
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Waiting for tires and an alignment at the shop. Brought the tagged book and a pen. No, I don‘t mind waiting at all. #LMPBC

Bookwormjillk Overachiever! It‘s not July yet! 😂 3y
Tattooedteacher @Bookwormjillk I couldn‘t help it. Plus I‘m thinking ahead… I‘m also doing a Thorn Birds #buddyread 3y
BethM I‘ve started mine too! 3y
48 likes3 comments
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Tattooedteacher
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Looks like we‘re all set for our Group A Historical Fiction #LMPBC. Thrilled to be a part of this group.

BethM 🎉 3y
Bookwormjillk Woo hoo! Looks like a great round! 3y
Jerdencon Looking forward to all of these! 3y
47 likes3 comments
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ElleSkel
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Pickpick

It took me a while to get through this one, but it was really good. A brutal moment in history is shared with us from a very unique perspective that focuses on the unique relationships between animals and humans. This book makes it impossible to ignore that all living things are affected by war.

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FelinesAndFelonies
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I stumbled across this on someone's blog today and I think it sounds so good. I think it comes out in April, so not too terribly long to wait. 😁

Ncostell I‘ll have to check this out. I watched a movie called Zoo a few months ago which was also based on this story and I would definitely like to read about it as well. 4y
FelinesAndFelonies @Ncostell I didn't know anything about this event until I saw this book. I'm excited to learn more about it. 4y
28 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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GerardtheBookworm
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Pickpick

Loosely based on a real life female zookeeper, protagonist Hattie takes charge of a three year old elephant named Violet at a Belfast zoo. As the war rages during the 1940's, Hattie must find a way to protect Violet and the other animals from German air raids and Irish bombings in this story of human animal friendship.