Official Review: Love is Like an Elephant by Becky Walters

[Kristy Khem]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love is Like an Elephant" by Becky Walters.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sri Lankans revere elephants because they are synonymous with the Buddhist qualities of gentleness and hard work. Elephant designs can be found in Sri Lankan temples, stone carvings, and batik prints. These animals also participate in religious parades. Love is Like an Elephant is a travel memoir by Becky Walters who is an independent, free-spirited woman in her fifties. This book is both a product of Becky’s self-expression and a tribute to her time spent in the beautiful country of Sri Lanka. Here, she encounters a whole new world brimming with intriguing history, language, culture, and wildlife. Surprisingly, she also strikes up a thrilling romance with a young Sri Lankan guy named Lucky. Becky ultimately recognizes that living life and loving someone takes work and strength, a thought which is closely linked to elephants and their natural abilities.

I am a huge fan of travel memoirs so I jumped at the chance to read and review this book. I really enjoyed experiencing Sri Lanka through Becky’s eyes. She was very candid about her experiences as she expressed both positive and negative things about the way of life there. For instance, she spoke about stressfully navigating through the streets, sorrowfully seeing the mange-ridden dogs that occupied the walkways, paying high tourist fees, encountering tsunami memorials, and witnessing poor Tamil laborers striving on the tea plantations. In contrast, she wrote about Sri Lanka’s tasty cuisine, the local language, historical sites, Ayurvedic treatments, and her sweet romantic experiences. I appreciated that she gave a balanced account of her time there because it made her story credible and interesting.

One of the things I especially adored was Becky’s romance with Lucky. The pair’s camaraderie and natural chemistry flowed through Becky’s descriptions and dialogue. I chuckled every time Lucky warned her to stay away from the wild monkeys because he was afraid she would get bitten. Throughout the book, she expressed her sensual interest in him in the most amusing ways. For example, when she returned from a jungle safari, she bragged to him about seeing a real leopard while secretly she thought, ‘if only he knew a cougar had him in view’. I laughed aloud at this because she was indeed older than him. Lucky was also a likable character. Although he spoke poor English, he had a poetic side to him. I felt my heart melting when he told Becky, ‘sometimes love is black and white couple, sometimes love is old and young couple. Love is big, age is small’.

Pictures were included in the book which I particularly liked looking at. Some resembled watercolor artwork while others were realistic photos of things like temples, tea fields, Buddhist statues, and gardens. I was also pleased with the book’s easy-to-read layout. Moreover, it was edited well since I picked up on only a few insignificant typographical errors.

There was nothing that I disapproved of in this book. It provided an excellent account of Sri Lankan culture, lifestyle, and places of interest while including exciting anecdotes from the author’s personal life. Moreover, it cohesively linked travel, adventure, and romance which allowed me to experience a brief insight into the author’s life. It definitely deserved a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. Ideally, older women may enjoy this book the most, since they will be able to relate to Becky. However, most persons who enjoy reading travel memoirs will find it appealing. This may also be a helpful book for people who want to learn more about Sri Lanka. Since adult intimacy was suggested, it may not be appropriate for younger readers.

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Love is Like an Elephant
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Like KristyKhem's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I love that the book includes pictures! Since I know little of Sri Lanka, that would be very interesting to see. I'm not sure I'd particularly be interested in the romance aspect with Lucky, though. Thanks for the review.

[ChydeanmahE95]

I think I'd love to read this book. I definitely want to know more about Sri Lanka.

[clancy8]

linked with travel, adventure, and romance? definitely going to read this sounds so interesting.
nice job for the review.
kudos!!!

[randompersonavility]

Awww... I liked Lucky's dialogue that you cited. From your review, I feel like the author is free spirited and warm hearted. Thanks for a wonderful review!

[tranquilwaters86+2]

The book seems intriguing indeed. It makes me want to travel to Sri Lanka and made me thought about food. I have never tasted any Sri Lankan dish before. I wonder if their language has any kinship to my own native language? I believe my native language is kin to most East Asian languages.

[Jack bean stalk]

This was at sri lankians. Also it was about Becky life experience at the park with animals. She made a great expression and tribute, people. Maybe meet someone there you never know.

[Delaney35]

I think I'd really enjoy this book. Travel memiors can be super interesting!

[chiefsimplex]

I like the acknowledgement that love is really hard work ,nothing kills love so quickly than negligence. I find the metaphoric symbolism of the elephant in this case ,so appropriate and impressive.Thanks for sharing.