kendyl180's review against another edition
4.0
Very good read. Enjoyed learning about a culture and area that I know very little about. Different setting than usual. Some parts were difficult to read as far as the content, some horrific things are described.
amy_j18's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jlworley's review
3.0
Enjoyed overall but found some of the key characters to be very one-dimensional.
buuj's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
yvo_about_books's review
3.0
Finished reading: March 26th 2018
"Sometimes it's very hard not to follow the path of revenge."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and AmazonCrossing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
I have a weak spot for historical fiction, especially if they are set in an era or country I'm not all that familiar with. I was instantly intrigued when I first read about The Elephant Keeper's Daughter, with its promises of a country/culture I don't know much about as well as the era the story takes place. The 19th century history of Ceylon (now called Scri Lanka) is a fascinating background for this story and the descriptions of both the country itself and the customs and culture are lavishly and thoroughly described. It is really easy to imagine how Ceylon would have looked like from the descriptions alone! And it also shows the background for this story was very well researched and put together. Sadly, somehow I didn't manage to get a proper feel for The Elephant Keeper's Daughter though. While I love thorough descriptions, especially of places that are foreign to me, I started to wonder about the balance of those descriptions and the actual plot. It is true that the descriptions help set the right atmosphere and foreign setting/era, but they also slowed down the pace considerably. And not just the pace, because I also felt the transition from background descriptions to the more active parts was quite haltered and as a consequence the story didn't really flow. I can't put my finger on the why exactly, but I think my mixed feelings had a lot to do with the general tone and writing style as well. Both seemed distant and not natural, and the second especially stood out in the dialogues. And in general, even though they story describes some pretty barbaric events, it doesn't seem to be able to provoke true emotions due to this feeling of distance. The Elephant Keeper's Daughter has a lot of potential and the main characters have an interesting story, but sadly I wasn't able to enjoy this story better. I'm still wondering if part of my problem with the tone and writing style could have been due to the fact this novel is a translation though, and some of its original charm might have been lost.
In the royal city of Kandy, the king's elephant keeper's wife gives birth to a daughter the same day the king's favorite elephant gives birth to her young. The couple was desperate for a boy to ensure the line of succession, and the mother hides her daughter's gender by raising her as a boy. Phera and her elephant Siddhi become close friends and spends most of her time with the animal. Phera realizes she is not like other boys, but her parents force her to keep her true gender a secret... Until the British colonists invade Ceylon and they have to flee the capital.
I really wanted to like this one and I still think the plot itself has a lot of potential. The worldbuilding and descriptions of the era and setting are thorough and it shows the background of The Elephant Keeper's Daughter was very well researched. Sadly, I'm still on the fence about this one, as I didn't manage to enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Part of the problem was the tone and writing style as well as the fact the story didn't really flow... Which made it hard to properly connect to the story. The setting is fascinating though as well as the time period the story is set in with its consequences of the British invasion.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
norahs_reading_room's review
4.0
This book was a joy to read. I have actually been to Kandy and inside the Temple of the Tooth which made the descriptions of these places very real. Parts of the book seemed aimed at a YA audience and then other parts were definitely not as they quite graphically described the atrocities of war. Sometimes it felt like the book just skimmed over details and the narrative could have been more developed in places. The story is quite predictable and the characters were fairly two-dimensional but the story still managed to wrap itself around me. I keep downgrading this to a 3-star review then changing my mind back to a 4-star one, lol.
monerl's review against another edition
5.0
Wieder einmal hat mich das Autorenpaar in eine hinter uns liegende Zeit entführen können. Diesmal spielt die Geschichte vor dem historischen Hintergrund Ceylons, dem heutigen Sri Lanka, einem Inselstaat im Indischen Ozean. Mit Julia Drosten begeben wir uns in das einstige Königreich Kandy, das sich bis 1815 noch erfolgreich gegen seine Eroberung und Kolonialisierung behaupten konnte. Doch alles begann in 1803, als eine kleine Truppenabteilung des britischen Heeres die Hauptstadt Kandy einnahm. Hier beginnt auch der vorliegende Roman.
Die Brüder Charles und Henry Odell gehören zu so einer kleinen Truppe, die von der britischen Krone nach Kandy geschickt wird. Zwei Brüder, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten: Der eine selbstverliebt, brutal und ehrgeizig der andere ein Mensch mit Herz und Verstand. Einer möchte das Land erobern, der andere das Herz einer Frau.
Als Leser verfolgt man interessiert und gespannt dies geschichtliche Entwicklung Ceylons und ist ob der gewalttätigen Behandlung der einheimischen Bevölkerung von den Briten sehr betrübt und berührt. Mit viel Gewalt und Desinteresse für Bräuche und Lebenswandel der Menschen wird die Kolonialisierung durchgeführt.
Dies ist der Rahmen, in dem wir auch Phera und ihre geliebte Elefantenkuh Siddhi begleiten. Ich fühlte mich wundervoll in die faszinierende und exotische Welt und das Leben in Ceylon eingeführt. Gespannt verfolgte ich Pheras Geburt und die Hintergründe, warum sie dem einstigen König als Junge vorgestellt wurde. Pheras Schicksal und das des Königreiches Kandy gingen mir sehr ans Herz. Phera entwickelt sich zu einer starken Frau, die dennoch weiblich bleibt und nicht kitschig verklärt wird.
Vor jedem Kapitel gibt das Autorenpaar sehr interessante Informationen an den Leser weiter, die zur Recherche und nach mehr Wissen wollen verführen und anleiten. Das ist ein Erkennungszeichen von Julia Drosten. In jedem Buch des Autorenpaars kann man diese Informationen finden. Das schätze ich sehr und macht das Lesen zu einem ausergewöhnlichen Erlebnis. Hier, in "Die Elefantenhüterin", sind es geschichtliche Hintergründe zu Ceylon / Sri Lanka, zu Elefanten, zum Buddhismus unvm., das den Horizont des Lesers erweitert.
Fazit:
Ich habe dieses Buch sehr gerne gelesen, da es mich durch die bildhafte und flüssige Sprache der Autoren sehr gut unterhalten hat. Mit großem Interesse verfolgte ich die Entwicklung des Landes sowie die Liebe von Phera und Henry. Ich habe viel dazugelernt und sehe auch Elefanten wieder mit etwas anderen Augen als vorher. Insgesamt ein tolles Buch, das zwar an einigen Stellen vorhersehbar ist, was aber dem Lesegenuß keinen Abbruch tut, da die Geschichte insgesamt eine ganz runde Sache ist.
Bisher hat mich noch kein einziges Buch von Julia Drosten enttäuscht und ich warte schon sehr gespannt auf das neue aus der Feder von Julia und Horst Drosten!
Die Brüder Charles und Henry Odell gehören zu so einer kleinen Truppe, die von der britischen Krone nach Kandy geschickt wird. Zwei Brüder, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten: Der eine selbstverliebt, brutal und ehrgeizig der andere ein Mensch mit Herz und Verstand. Einer möchte das Land erobern, der andere das Herz einer Frau.
Als Leser verfolgt man interessiert und gespannt dies geschichtliche Entwicklung Ceylons und ist ob der gewalttätigen Behandlung der einheimischen Bevölkerung von den Briten sehr betrübt und berührt. Mit viel Gewalt und Desinteresse für Bräuche und Lebenswandel der Menschen wird die Kolonialisierung durchgeführt.
Dies ist der Rahmen, in dem wir auch Phera und ihre geliebte Elefantenkuh Siddhi begleiten. Ich fühlte mich wundervoll in die faszinierende und exotische Welt und das Leben in Ceylon eingeführt. Gespannt verfolgte ich Pheras Geburt und die Hintergründe, warum sie dem einstigen König als Junge vorgestellt wurde. Pheras Schicksal und das des Königreiches Kandy gingen mir sehr ans Herz. Phera entwickelt sich zu einer starken Frau, die dennoch weiblich bleibt und nicht kitschig verklärt wird.
Vor jedem Kapitel gibt das Autorenpaar sehr interessante Informationen an den Leser weiter, die zur Recherche und nach mehr Wissen wollen verführen und anleiten. Das ist ein Erkennungszeichen von Julia Drosten. In jedem Buch des Autorenpaars kann man diese Informationen finden. Das schätze ich sehr und macht das Lesen zu einem ausergewöhnlichen Erlebnis. Hier, in "Die Elefantenhüterin", sind es geschichtliche Hintergründe zu Ceylon / Sri Lanka, zu Elefanten, zum Buddhismus unvm., das den Horizont des Lesers erweitert.
Fazit:
Ich habe dieses Buch sehr gerne gelesen, da es mich durch die bildhafte und flüssige Sprache der Autoren sehr gut unterhalten hat. Mit großem Interesse verfolgte ich die Entwicklung des Landes sowie die Liebe von Phera und Henry. Ich habe viel dazugelernt und sehe auch Elefanten wieder mit etwas anderen Augen als vorher. Insgesamt ein tolles Buch, das zwar an einigen Stellen vorhersehbar ist, was aber dem Lesegenuß keinen Abbruch tut, da die Geschichte insgesamt eine ganz runde Sache ist.
Bisher hat mich noch kein einziges Buch von Julia Drosten enttäuscht und ich warte schon sehr gespannt auf das neue aus der Feder von Julia und Horst Drosten!
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
Phera, the third daughter of the royal elephant keeper, is raised as a male so that there is an heir. (Okay, side note: great now they have an heir! But how are they expecting the line to live past Phera?) However, when the British invade and the king is forced into exile, Phera's life is turned upside down and her family flees. Now Phera can enjoy being a female but misses the freedoms of being male! That all becomes a moot point when the British track down her family. The writing in this book is rich and descriptive, the setting is beautiful. This provides a stark contrast to the actions of the invading British. Phera makes for a strong female character and it was enjoyable to read how she overcomes her struggles and protects her family!
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and AmazonCrossing in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and AmazonCrossing in exchange for an honest review.
ellie_bell's review
3.0
Three stars for the writing, which felt at young teen-YA level a lot of the time and for a while there I really felt as though I'd accidentally picked up a YA book. But then came some graphically described events which made it clear that it was not YA at all. At this point I decided that the writing style was possibly due to having been translated.
Rounded up to three and a half stars because I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit predictable and lacked depth.
Rounded up to three and a half stars because I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit predictable and lacked depth.
gretel7's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.
Set in 1800's Sri Lanka, the story follows Phera. To ensure the family line, her parents raise her to believe she is a boy until she is 12. Then the British invade and destroy their way of life so she no longer needs to be a boy.
Some of the conversational language was rather sophomoric and stilted. And I never understood why Charles was so purely evil. His hatred made no sense. Was the character made a villian just to have a really evil villian in the story? His brother Henry was completely the opposite and reminisces about their pleasant childhood. Ying and Yang? Good and bad?
There was some pretty graphic scenes of rape and torture. Appropriate for ages 15 and above.
3☆
Set in 1800's Sri Lanka, the story follows Phera. To ensure the family line, her parents raise her to believe she is a boy until she is 12. Then the British invade and destroy their way of life so she no longer needs to be a boy.
Some of the conversational language was rather sophomoric and stilted. And I never understood why Charles was so purely evil. His hatred made no sense. Was the character made a villian just to have a really evil villian in the story? His brother Henry was completely the opposite and reminisces about their pleasant childhood. Ying and Yang? Good and bad?
There was some pretty graphic scenes of rape and torture. Appropriate for ages 15 and above.
3☆