A review by dwdillydally
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

adventurous hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In a nutshell, if you wish John Steinbeck wrote uplifting stories about the Great Depression, try this. 

I don't know if the story is tight enough to be my 'book of the year,' but overall, I loved it. Many parts of this book appealed to me:
- Historical fiction
- Road trip story
- Features animals. SPOILER
the titular giraffes live!
(see also https://www.doesthedogdie.com/ )
- Main character is a curmudgeon 
- Set during the 1930s / Great Depression
- Variety of scenes set in rural America and a revolving door of interesting weirdos 

Two criticisms:
1. The ending rambles a little, but I forgive it because by then, the POV is from an old man with slight cognitive problems. So the tone matches the main character's state-of-mind, but I'm not sure if that was the author's intent or not. 

2. The only woman character (human; one of the is female) SPOILER...
dies by the end. Her character was a little shallow, but all the supporting characters are that way. But it was let-down to learn her fate second-hand.
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