BOOK REVIEW: ELEPHANT MOON BY JOHN SWEENEY

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! How are you? Are you excited for the weekend? Today I'm back with another book review.   Elephant Moon by John Sweeney is a novel that immediately drew me in with its cover. They say you can't judge a book by its cover and while that is definitely true, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the aesthetics of a well designed cover. While the cover itself was certainly inviting (who doesn't like elephants?), what made me buy this book on the spot was the summary- a tale of mixed race orphans fleeing from war horrors on backs of Burmese elephants. Who wouldn't want to read about that? Plus, I'm trying to to read more from authors new to me.  John Sweeney is certainly a new author for me. All I know about him is that he is an investigative journalist and an author of 12 books (both fiction and non-fiction). This was my first novel by John Sweeney and while I didn't liked it as much as I hoped I will, I still enjoyed it. Moreover, this novel inspired me to read more books focused on this subject so you could say it gave me reading inspiration and ideas- obviously a great thing. 

The novel is based on real events, but so far I've had a hard time finding out how much of the story is actually true. However, I'm greatly indebted to this novel because it introduced me with historical figures and events I was not familiar with. Word War II was such a devastating and tragic historical period, it's hard to keep track of everything that happened during that time. Even for people who like myself are interested in this historical period, there are always new things to discover about it.  I wasn't able to find out in what extent are the events described in this novel are true, but I'm continuing my research. However, that is not as important in the context of this review, because I will focus on the novel itself, not on the broader cultural and historical context of the period it is set in. At the end of the post, I will leave some links with articles for further reading and review, but the post itself will be about this novel.  Scroll bellow to read my detailed review of this novel. For those of you don't have the time to read the review, I summarized the most important points from the review in the subtitles. 

PUBLISHED IN 2012, THIS NOVEL HAS A BRILLIANT PREMISE

 Published in 2012, Elephant Moon is a novel with a brilliant premise. Based on true events, it tells a story of a group of mixed race (mostly children of Burmese women and British officers) and their escape from Burma to India during World War II. The children were ignored by the British government of the time because they were of mixed origin. So, basically the Anglo-Burmese children from this orphanage/school were left to themselves as the war spread to Burma. Once the Japanese started their invasion of Burma, the British government evacuated the British population, but it left the orphans at the mercy of the invader.  This novel follows the story of a school teacher Grace who tried to save the orphans and got them to bus to India, but the final saving was ultimately done with the help of Burmese elephants lead by a British officer. I don't think revealing this plot summary is a spoiler because that's how the novel is advertised.

HISTORICAL FACTS BEHIND THE NOVEL AND FURTHER READING I PLAN TO DO

As I say, I'm not sure how much of the events described is fictional and how much is true. What is certainly true is the historical person of  James Howard 'Billy' Williams who was nicknamed 'the British elephant whisperer'. He is a somewhat forgotten World War II hero. Originally a manager for a British company in colonial Burma, this man fell in love with elephants and ultimately joined a British Special Forces unit that fought in World War II. There is a book dedicated to him titled Elephant Company written by Vicki Constantine Croke that I plan to read. I found about it in this article. Moreover, James Howard Williams also wrote memoirs and I want to read those as well. His wife wrote a memoir and I want to read that one as well. 'Elephant Bill' as he was somewhat called is a character in Moon Elephant, but not the main one. He only appears half way in the story. 

THE NOVEL OPENS WITH BRILLIANT PROSE AND DETAILED PORTRAYAL OF SOCIETY

I don't remember when I liked an opening of a novel as much as I did this one. The beginning of the novel paints a pretty vivid picture. I don't know how accurate it is, but it is a detailed and complex portrayal of the society. You can see that the author did his research. Moreover, no ethic group is represented as being good or bad. There are good and bad individuals in all the major ethic groups that are represented: the Burmese, the Indians and the British. Initially, you have this feeling Moon Elephant is not a novel that takes side but rather aims to show that things aren't always black and white. If only its characters were as well developed as the start of the novel promised, it would have been a great read!

The novel focuses on a female protagonist Grace but it is told in the third person voice. Grace is a young English teacher working in an orphanage/school in Burma. She is depicted as a sharp young lady who dislikes colonial customs and is trying to keep up with the news from the front. Unlike many others around her, Grace is aware of the fact that the war poses risk to all of them. Her financial position isn't exactly ideal, her teaching salary covers for bare necessities and perhaps this is what makes her sympathetic to the struggles of the locals. At any rate, Grace is distinguished from other characters and it is clear she will be the heroine of the book. I didn't have a problem with that, Grace being the 'good girl' but I would have appreciated a bit more complexity in her portrayal. Anyhow, the young girl we meet at the start of the book is likable enough.  Initially, Grace wonders of what use will traditional British education have for their female pupils who are unwanted by either side of the society. However, once she settles into her teaching routine, she starts to enjoy her work and even starts to get along with a rather old fashioned headmistress of the school. As the novel progresses, it is revealed that the orphanage school also accepted two boys: one is quite young and the other is with special needs. 

The beginning of the novel introduces the central character:  teacher Grace and a young British officer who is trying to help her in a number of situations. At times it seems like he is helping Grace navigate the society. Both of them are characters with great potential. Grace first meets him when she comes to file a complain against a Burmese man. Grace then finds out this young man used to be a judge but he was removed from his position when he sentenced a British man to jail for running over two Burmese woman. This little episode and some other are meant to show why the population in Burma felt hostile towards the British Empire and wanted independence from them.  Grace seems to understand both sides and is trying to find her ground. Early into the novel,  while on excursion with girls from her school, Grace experiences an attack from local Burmese men who want British out of the country but is saved from harm by a local Burmese woman. Prior to attack, Grace had warned the headmistress the girls could be harnessed, but the headmistress didn't pay any attention. On multiple occasions it is stressed that Grace is more aware of the current affairs then other British people living there. 

What I liked is that the author doesn't seem to paint the local population in a negative light, rather he shows there are two sides to the story and that the Burmese had their reasons to be discontent with British occupation. I felt like the author really put some effort into portraying pre-war Burma. However, this quality of writing was not consistent and was restricted to the first part of the novel. Once the school bus leaves Burma, the locals aren't really mentioned. As far as I remember, the author failed to mention that some Burmese actually fought on the side of the British and against the invaders. I suppose he can be forgiven because it is not in the focus of the story, but there were ways he could have incorporated Burmese characters in the novel and he didn't. 

UNFORTUNATELY, SOON THE STORY SHIFTS TOWARD MELODRAMATIC

The opening to the story was extremely promising, but as the story progressed I was surprised to find characters completely lacking depth including our protagonist Grace. I felt like the author wanted to make this story more melodramatic, perhaps to make it appealing for a wide audience, but the quality of writing dropped significantly as the story progressed. The characters that were introduced were mostly two dimensional. Moreover, many events were too convenient to be credible. There were altogether too many 'deux en machina' moments and convenient plot turns. The author soon fell victim to stereotypes and cliches. 

THE GRACE AND THE ORPHANS

Grace soon turns into a two dimensional character. She is supposed to be the heroine of the book, but she tails after the headmistress and when sh does take over, it doesn't seem so credible. Despite being aware of the danger from the start, Grace doesn't do much expect to wait. Supposedly this is because the headmistress is formally in charge of things and she is this old fashioned lady who keeps waiting for the British Empire to save her, but still it is hard to understand how Grace waits so long. Obviously the organized evacuation of school orphans doesn't happen. Nobody wants to do anything for these Anglo-Burmese children because their existence shames everyone. So, when Grace and the headmistress look for help, it seems it is already too late. 

One thing I felt was a missed opportunity was that the orphans themselves were so poorly represented in the novel. There are two boys, one of whom is with special needs and the other much younger, but that is about all we learn about them. The girls are hardly mentioned. Only two or three girls are mentioned as being a bit older (about seventeen) and occasionally helpful to Grace but we don't learn much about them as well. The children are described as a group, with no individual voices of their own. Even as a group, we just don't learn that much about them. While it is understandable that in some situation the children must have been in shock, surely there were spaces in the novel that could have been filled with some dialogue or description, anything that could tell us something about the kids. Even in the beginning of the novel, the author doesn't really describe the orphan pupils of this school. Sweeney explains the origin of the children, but he doesn't show the personality of any of the children, either as individuals or as a group.  That's really a wasted opportunity I think. 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD...

So far I managed to avoid the spoilers, but to really dig into the plot, I will have to reveal some things. So, Grace proves the hero a few times during the evacuation of the orphans and they all manage to get on a bus together. Despite Grace being the hero of the moment a few times, she didn't strike me as such a strong character. Somehow I found it hard to really understand her as the events took place. Grace is depicted as too ideal perhaps. At any rate, her character isn't given depth. There is no explanation about how Grace is able to easily handle 62 orphans while they are on the bus, driving through enemy fire and seeing destruction everywhere around. The author tells us that Grace cares about the orphans, but he doesn't really show any deeper insight into their relationship. As I mentioned before, the author didn't really develop the personality of any of the pupils (either the girls or two boys). During their run from the war and the impending Japanese invasion, the elderly headmistress is killed in bombing. It appears the headmistress just have up and didn't run from the bombing, so it was kind of a suicide. When the headmistress of the school dies, Grace feels both sorry and relieved with her death. That part I could understand, but by that point it started to feel to me that the characters were too black and white. It seemed to me that the death of the headmistress was a bit too convenient- and the same goes for some other deaths that were to follow. Characters being killed just to propel the plot and others being saved when it didn't seem possible- again to serve the plot. 

THE INDIANS MARCHING HOME- A REALISTIC MOMENT IN THE BOOK

One thing the novel does describe realistically are Indian people heading home and running away from the Japanese invasion. From what I found online, this is based on truth. About half a million Indians marched home from Burma on foot. They were forgotten by the British who did nothing to help them and many of them died of exhaustion and hunger before reaching India. The author does describe the starved Indians they meet along the way. Some passages describing Indians who were killed by some of the Burmese (who hated them because they associated them with the British) were really unsettling.  As hard as those descriptions were to read, they sounded realistic.  Compared with the plight of Indians, the situation Grace find herself in seems less desperate in comparison.  As dire as they situation is, Grace and the orphan pupils at least have the bus and some food provisions, but the Indians they drive pass are walking their way home with no food or water on them. That moment in the book was quite realistic, but as I explained soon the novel turns melodramatic. 

IF I WERE TO DIVIDE THE NOVEL INTO THREE PARTS, I WOULD LOVE THE FIRST THIRD, ENJOYED THE SECOND THIRD AND FELT DISAPPOINTED BY THE FINAL THIRD 

Indeed, if I were to describe this novel it would be as a book that had great potential but failed to live up to it. I think the author choose to play on emotion and deliver some cheesy cinematographic moments. At about half of the book, I started feeling like I was watching a blockbuster. Sure, it was interesting and the writing was descriptive, but I wanted to know more about Grace and the kids. 

MOON ELEPHANT IS A PAGE TURNER, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF WRITING? 

I think the novel can be described as a page turner. It keeps you wanting for more, even when it gets predictive. I mean the idea behind this novel is great. However, the quality of writing isn't consistent. The characters are not as developed as they could have been. While the novel does provide some background information, it is hard to establish a real emotional bond with the characters. Right from the start it is easy to see who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. The initial portrayal of the pre-war Burmese society was pretty good, but soon into the story the novel turned too melodramatic and sentimental.

THE LOVE TRIANGLE (and another spoiler alert!)

I mention there is a young British officer who helps Grace on a number of occasion. Well, he is in love with Grace but she doesn't share his feelings. Their paths go separate ways when he stays with the army and she flees with the children. Another love interest appears soon. When Grace finds herself is a desperate situation, an Indian guy appears and helps her and the children. There is a whole subplot involving these two. For a while, the Indian guy becomes an important character in the story. The author introduces him and his history to readers. I liked this character and I felt it gave the story some depth. When he and Grace fall in love, things gets interesting and there is a promise of chemistry between them.  However, the Indian character is unfortunately killed just as things get interesting. His murder was so melodramatic and useless. Well, we just cannot have an Asian guy as a love lead, can we? I think it's really unfortunate how the author decided to kill the Indian guy. It is obvious from then on that our female lead will end up with the nice British guy. 

THE WONDERFUL WHEN THE KIDS AND THE ELEPHANTS COME TOGETHER

The moment when the kids meet the elephants was lovely. The author introduced the character of  British 'elephant whisperer' there and he becomes the protector of children. He is described as man who loves and respects elephants. In general, the elephants are portrayed in a very positive lights. Naturally, I loved reading about them. I do believe that elephants are one of the most evolved life forms on the planet. The intelligent and sensibility of these gentle giants is amazing. The novel does capture some of that. Sadly, the author decided not to dwell on the elephants and the children too much. Instead, he decided to introduce this horrible cardboard villain that completely takes over the story. 

THE CARDBOARD VILLAIN AND HOW HE BASICALLY RUINS THE STORY

Who kills the Indian guy? Why, it is a psychopathic killer who soon takes after the story. The best way to describe him is as a cardboard villain. This villain basically ruins the novel and I kid you not.  Once he joins Grace, the elephant troop and the kids, he starts to molest everyone around. Grace knows he killed the love of her life (as the author melodramatically puts it), but nobody believes her, not even the Elephant Bill (nice way to shame a heroic historical figure, Sweeney). Even worse, the author introduces the whole backside story to this villain- and it's ridiculous.   He overshadows the whole subplot about the kids and the elephant. How I wish the author had a good editor who would knock the idea of this stupid villain from his head. 

THE ENDING AND MY FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT ELEPHANT MOON

The ending was a bit of a disappointment. It felt too convenient and it lacked a sense of closure. As I explained in this review, the author didn't really develop his characters. The final part of this novel was dominated by a sociopath killer who is a typical cardboard villain. Such a shame for this novel had great potential. Sure, I was expecting a happy ending but I wish author put more effort into making it look credible. With Billy, John Sweeney had such an amazing historical figure at his disposal and he turned him into a grumpy man. Ultimately, this novel failed to provide a realistic or coherent narrative. While the novel does keep the readers interest, it lacks the depth and the artistic sensitivity that can be found in great novels. Elephant  Moon fails to be a  truly touching and memorable read.  Nevertheless, despite all of its shortcomings, this novel makes for an interesting and at times quite a rewarding read because it contains a few interesting facts and some memorable passages. Plus, there are elephants in it. So, it was worth a read!

LINKS TO INTERESTING ARTICLES RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT

SEARCHING FOR BURMA'S FORGOTTEN WAR HEROES---Focusing on Burmese who stayed loyal to the British Empire and fought on their side but received no reward for their loyalty ( SOURCE BBC) 

HOW BURMESE ELEPHANTS HELPED IN WORLD WAR II?  (SOURCE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)

THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER OF WORLD WAR TWO (SOURCE WBUR)

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