Official Review: When The Elephant Rumbles by John Bottern
Posted: 25 Dec 2018, 21:42
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "When The Elephant Rumbles" by John Bottern.]
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
When the Elephant Rumbles, by John Bottern, is a story replete with love, admiration, nature, and conflict from start to finish. The novel follows a young boy, Onkolo, and his father Tuli, both rangers, on a life-threatening quest to protect the endangered species of Tanzania from poachers; specifically, to protect the matriarch of the elephants - Mama Akili. Battling tragedy, excruciating pain, and maniacal adversaries, Onkolo finds himself surrendering to nature as he struggles to avenge, protect, and survive.
Bottern's novel had quite a few qualities that excited me. Bottern has a way of slipping factoids into his storytelling while grabbing his readers’ attention. Likewise, by using and instantly defining Swahili words in a very neat way, I understood clearly what I was reading. Something I also enjoyed was Onkolo’s characterization (mostly his emotions and thoughts). He was relatable, emotional, and fierce; but he was also clumsy and vulnerable - a boy. Bottern did very well in depicting Onkolo’s humanity as well as his growth from a boy to a man.
On a related note, Bottern does extraordinarily well in utilizing nature (both physical and within). His personification of the animals extends humanity’s and nature’s roles. Not only does the wildlife captivate the story’s characters, who learn to appreciate animals’ existences, the readers are wholly taken aboard this ride. I particularly liked Mama Akili, the story's center, who is early-on given a distinct character apart from the rest - a clever and gentle matriarch who protects her herd. While I enjoyed many other small things, what I enjoyed most was Tuli’s characterization. Actually, I thought it was a shame that the novel followed Onkolo! In the beginning, Onkolo's character was a bit bland while I found Tuli exceedingly wise, experienced, witty, and kind.
However, this preference I had for Tuli over Onkolo also affects my opinion of Onkolo’s characterization. I feel that the beginning of the story was very Tuli-centered. While reading, I felt like Onkolo, although the main character, was only focused on when I started forgetting about him, which helped me slide into the #TeamTuli department. Other small things that bothered me were that, in many cases, words and phrases seemed unnecessarily repeated, dimming the effect of some very big scenes. It also became evident to me that the amount of grammatical and plot mistakes accelerated the closer to the end I read, such as switching frequently from 3rd to 2nd person - speaking indirectly to readers - in odd places. What bothered me most was Onkolo's being “slapped” by a bullet while remaining totally unaware of pain or blood until several paragraphs later. No mention of a possible adrenaline rush or of being figuratively numb on Onkolo’s part helped to redirect my thoughts of a considerably unrealistic scene.
While I maintained a few misgivings about When the Elephant Rumbles, I’ve decided to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, as it was certainly entertaining and packed with just about as much fact as there was fiction. I would recommend this story to those interested in wildlife protection, survival stories, culture, and thrilling action scenes.
******
When The Elephant Rumbles
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Tamorie21's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
When the Elephant Rumbles, by John Bottern, is a story replete with love, admiration, nature, and conflict from start to finish. The novel follows a young boy, Onkolo, and his father Tuli, both rangers, on a life-threatening quest to protect the endangered species of Tanzania from poachers; specifically, to protect the matriarch of the elephants - Mama Akili. Battling tragedy, excruciating pain, and maniacal adversaries, Onkolo finds himself surrendering to nature as he struggles to avenge, protect, and survive.
Bottern's novel had quite a few qualities that excited me. Bottern has a way of slipping factoids into his storytelling while grabbing his readers’ attention. Likewise, by using and instantly defining Swahili words in a very neat way, I understood clearly what I was reading. Something I also enjoyed was Onkolo’s characterization (mostly his emotions and thoughts). He was relatable, emotional, and fierce; but he was also clumsy and vulnerable - a boy. Bottern did very well in depicting Onkolo’s humanity as well as his growth from a boy to a man.
Tuli had smiled and said: I am a weak man, capable of doing unworthy acts. Well, the circumstances were different, but he, Onkolo, was also a weak man, capable of doing unworthy acts. Given the chance, he would kill Shetani.
On a related note, Bottern does extraordinarily well in utilizing nature (both physical and within). His personification of the animals extends humanity’s and nature’s roles. Not only does the wildlife captivate the story’s characters, who learn to appreciate animals’ existences, the readers are wholly taken aboard this ride. I particularly liked Mama Akili, the story's center, who is early-on given a distinct character apart from the rest - a clever and gentle matriarch who protects her herd. While I enjoyed many other small things, what I enjoyed most was Tuli’s characterization. Actually, I thought it was a shame that the novel followed Onkolo! In the beginning, Onkolo's character was a bit bland while I found Tuli exceedingly wise, experienced, witty, and kind.
However, this preference I had for Tuli over Onkolo also affects my opinion of Onkolo’s characterization. I feel that the beginning of the story was very Tuli-centered. While reading, I felt like Onkolo, although the main character, was only focused on when I started forgetting about him, which helped me slide into the #TeamTuli department. Other small things that bothered me were that, in many cases, words and phrases seemed unnecessarily repeated, dimming the effect of some very big scenes. It also became evident to me that the amount of grammatical and plot mistakes accelerated the closer to the end I read, such as switching frequently from 3rd to 2nd person - speaking indirectly to readers - in odd places. What bothered me most was Onkolo's being “slapped” by a bullet while remaining totally unaware of pain or blood until several paragraphs later. No mention of a possible adrenaline rush or of being figuratively numb on Onkolo’s part helped to redirect my thoughts of a considerably unrealistic scene.
While I maintained a few misgivings about When the Elephant Rumbles, I’ve decided to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, as it was certainly entertaining and packed with just about as much fact as there was fiction. I would recommend this story to those interested in wildlife protection, survival stories, culture, and thrilling action scenes.
******
When The Elephant Rumbles
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Tamorie21's review? Post a comment saying so!
