The Elephant Keepers’ Children

Almost a kids’ book for adults, The Elephant Keeper’s Children is the hilarious story of Peter and Tilte (and Basker) and their excellent adventure as they race to find their parents before they create havoc.

I’m liking

This book was wonderfully written. I can’t read Danish, so I don’t know if it’s Peter Høeg, his translator (Martin Aitken) or both of them I have to thank for this delightful helter skelter ride.

The characters are brilliant and I never knew what sticky situation the narrator and his sister were going to get into next or how they would miraculously manage to get out of it. Would it involve curtains? A monitor lizard? Or perhaps Peter’s skills as a footballer? They also have fantastic names – Bodil Hippopotamus, Basker the dog or Anaflabia Borderrud the bishop, for example.

Things that made me go hmmmm

There really wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. I was worried that the ending would be disappointing, but instead it left me with a delighted smile on my face.

The only slightly negative thing was that I was enjoying the book so much and reading it so quickly that at one point I think I did get a bit confused about what was going on.

The conclusion

I loved this book. I don’t want to give the story away, as I think it’s best to just read it without knowing what is going to happen next, but I think it would appeal to anyone, especially if they are interested in soccer, religion, solving puzzles or voice recognition software.

It would be a good read for adults or young adults, and I think it would make for a good audiobook too.

Be careful about reading it on public transport though – if you’re anything like me, you will laugh out loud!