Book: West With Giraffes

 Book: West With Giraffes

Author: Lynda Rutledge

Pages: 372

This is my 121st read for the year

This is the story of Woodrow.  In 1938 He is a young man that has been recruited to help get two giraffes across the country to the San Diego zoo.  Accompanied by an "old man" who is responsible for the delivering the giraffes to the first female zoo director, the two find a country in awe as they travel.  They draw crowds whereever they go, everyone wanting a peek of the two.  Followed by a woman who claims to be a photographer for Life Magazine and a dangerous circus master, they race against the clock to get the giraffes to safety before something happens to them.

This is an excellent book.  I have had it on my shelf for awhile and I finally got to it.  It is well written and a fast moving story of two men - both with pasts they would like to forget - taking a long and harrowing journey across the US.  The story is told in journal form from Woodrow who is now a 105 year old man at the end of his life - desperately wanting to get this story down into words before he dies.  There is good character development.  Woodrow and the old man are well developed and you root for them to finish their task before the circus steals the giraffes.  I like that there is back and forth between present and past.  There is a great epilogue where Woodrow's story unfolds and he is reconnected with the giraffes of his past.  Great book.

Stars: 5