This is the story of the American Dream told from the perspective of a centenarian on his deathbed looking back on a life-shaping adventure he had as an adolescent when he drove two giraffes across the country on the back of what amounted to not much more than a pick-up truck. Honestly, for whatever reason, the title didn’t grab me on this one, and I put off reading it a lot longer than I should have because I really ended up loving this book.
Loosely based on the true events surrounding two giraffes being transported across the United States to the San Diego Zoo during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, West with Giraffes tells the story of fictional character Woody Nickel (yes, really), a boy just entering adulthood, who is running from an unspeakable something that still haunts his sleep. He manages to finagle his way into a temporary position as the driver of the giraffes, one of which has a serious injury and must cross the country before it’s too late.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that they can just sit with and enjoy for a little while. It’s not particularly fast-paced and the (seemingly required) love story is more the story of a first crush than a true romance, but the story is sweet, and the reader will root for the characters to succeed. Some of the conflicts are a bit unbelievable, but even the ones that were a bit out there (being chased by a circus?!) just added to the character development and allow the reader a deeper glimpse into their backstories. Overall, I highly recommend this book and
And while I really savored my time spent reading this book and was sad when it was ended, when I was finished reading, I had fun doing a slightly deeper dive on some of the true story surrounding the giraffes and Belle Benchley, director of the San Diego Zoo. If you have a chance, the San Diego Zoo publishes some of its archives on its website, and you can read more about the development of the zoo from the time of this book in real time. It will definitely add even more depth to your enjoyment of this story.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.