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| Lynda Rutledge's white board for 'The Hurricane Giraffes' |
Dear Bookclub,
The ragtag cast of characters in Lynda Rutledge's "West With Giraffes" would have surely stood out amid the elegant evening Diane created to honor the bookclub discussion of their tale. Sadly, I was unable to be present, so in addition to her outstanding efforts for the meeting, Diane provided the following delightful summing up:
From Diane:
June Book Club Recap
Our small, but mighty, group of book club members unanimously gave a 5-star review to Lynda Rutledge', West with Giraffes! Our discussion ping ponged between the endearing narrator/protagonist, Woody, and his lobe for the giraffes and a certain young lady; the Depression Era setting; and the origin of the nobel which was planted when the author, by invitation from the SD Zoo, was researching and compiling the Zoo's history for its 100th anniversary in 2016. Of course we all lauded ober the fact the we have THE best zoo in "All the land", and Sue even shared some of husband Dave's experiences over his many years of volunteering at both the Zoo and Safari Park. Speaking of animal experiences, we spent a great deal of time talking about members' safari trips. Sue, Lori, and Kate, all shared terrific stories of seeing these wild and magical creatures in their native habitats. Sue even brought along a fabulous collection of decorative giraffe items she acquired in her travels to Africa. While we all recognized the references to Dr. Harry Wegeforth in the book, it was esciting to learn more about Belle Benchley, the zoo director in 1983 (a female!) and the "Old Man's" direct report.
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| Sue's collection |
Other personal observations from me that we did not get to discuss as a group:
-Woodrow Wilson Nickel. Loved how the author used a famous depression era saying as the name of the protagonist; and it made me think on a deeper level: should the "old man" have taken the "old man" as his driver??
-How Margaret White, the 30's female photojournalist for LIFE magazine, was the inspiration for the character, Red: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Bourke-White
-Personally, I enjoyed the religious reference to the beauty and majesty of animals, in particular the frequent description of "God's pure Eden", and when one of the characters (I believe it was Woody) heard the hymn, All Creatures of our God and King, being sung at a tent revival. Very cool.
-For those who haven't had a chance, be sure to visit the author's webpage and especially the West with Giraffes Q&A with the author. I really enjoyed it: https://www.lyndarutledge.com/events.htm
Also, this blog entry from a site called Zoo Histories provided actual pictures and news clippings of the exciting cross country journey: http://zoohistories.com/2021/02/11/west-with-giraffes
Lastly, I felt pretty lucky that the book provided some food inspiration to fuel our discussion via the giraffe's favorite snacks: onions (a caramelized onion and blue cheese puff pastry appetizer), apples (an apple butter rose tart for dessert), and tree leaves (an all green charcuterie board).
Thank you Diane!!
Diane's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"The Last Ballad" Wiley Cash *chosen
"The Editor" Stephen Rowley
"Anxious People" Fredrik Backman
Up next:
Happy reading!
LK
