The Magician’s Elephant
I’m still raving about yet another delightful tale from Kate DiCamillo!
The Magician’s Elephant is the story of ten-year-old Peter Augustus Duchene and his search for his long lost sister, Adele. Peter, an orphan being raised by a cantankerous old soldier with ailing health, chances his luck with a fortune teller one day, who tells him that his baby sister, whom his caretaker told him had died in childbirth, is still alive—and that an elephant will take him to her.
And so begins a wonderful fantasy, where a magician miraculously makes an elephant appear in front of nobility, and where the elephant itself is blamed for a crime, and then sold for entertainment; where Peter discovers the truth about his parents, his sister, and his caretaker; and where a policeman and his wife, a hunchbacked gargoyle-maker, a homeless boy, a deaf dog, a nun, a wounded rich woman and her butler all come together with them to help an elephant return home.
Like DiCamillo’s other works, it’s a fast read—not only because of it’s 200-page length, but because it’s an engrossing, enjoyable story that can be read in one sitting—has to be read in one sitting, really, because it’s just that much fun. And like her other works, there is fantasy, animals, misinterpretation, betrayal, forgiveness, redemption, and humor. As usual, there are some seemingly evil acts, mistakes made by regretful would-be villains, and oddball but completely human, enchanting characters that embody the kindness and spirit we like to think exists in everyone.
There are the trademark annoying side characters that serve to make the story funnier and the characters grander. There are loveable characters—even the darker ones are shown to have some merit at various points—and remarkable situations that could only occur in a DiCamillo book. There is pain and death (not violent—the death pre-dating the book’s events), but there is a joyous ending that makes it all worth enduring.
Yoko Tanaka’s lovely illustrations serve to highlight The Magician’s Elephant, their detailed, dreamy, black-and-white presence providing a misty glimpse into the characters and their world, just as fantastic and surreal as the story itself.
Do I sense another fairytale film adaptation from DiCamillo here? I don’t think so, but you never know. The Magician’s Elephant, though enthralling, isn’t as action-packed as The Tale of Despereaux; however, with less animals, and less darkness within the plot, perhaps it’s possible. Of course, in the world of Kate DiCamillo, anything is possible.
