WEST WITH GIRAFFES

by Lynda Rutledge

In West with Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge has written the best story I can remember reading since Great Circle by Maggie Showstead (reviewed here). Thank you, Karen, for recommending it! At age 105, our protagonist, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, learns that giraffes may be going extinct. In response, he feels compelled to write down his story from 1938, when as a 17-year-old with plenty of real-life problems of his own, he became part of a caravan that transported two giraffes across country from New York City to the San Diego Zoo.

Based on actual historical events, Rutledge develops memorable characters in Woody Nickel, his cantankerous boss and a young female reporter who becomes part of the caravan. The Great Depression is in full swing, Hitler is rattling sabers in Europe, and the people of the United States are hungry for an uplifting story. As their adventures unfold along the 12-day journey, Nickel’s caravan encounters more than its share of evil characters. But they are also welcomed by people in small towns and large cities along the way who receive them with joy and wonder as the giraffes pass through.

In West with Giraffes, Rutledge has written a beautiful coming-of-age story, one to rival The Lincoln Highway (reviewed here). But the book is much more than that. West with Giraffes is a paean to the love and devotion that can exist between humans and animals and what becomes possible through small acts of kindness. This book is a great story and it will uplift you. I can’t recommend it highly enough. (Liz)