All reviews for The Elephant Keepers' Children (2012)
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This had some potential, but I feel Hoeg didn't quite achieve it. This is a comedic parody poking at such things as the smart adult behaving kids as sleuths genre in film & books, the G7 or G20, eccentric village inhabitant genre - think Proulx' The Shipping News, and contemporary Copenhagen.There are certainly some wonderful one liners scattered through the book, but I found it a little heavy at times and too long. I hit the halfway point (200 pages) & really only wanted to read another 50 pages to get to the end. I persevered but it was painful. For me, the stupid slapstick and 1960s clunky comedy film gags fell flat. There's even a cake throwing scene which was just plain unnecessary. There was much more, but I think you get the drift.This is not Hoeg's better work & sadly, the parodies had so much scope, but were let down with the plot and the weak comedy.
Peter Høeg constructs a story of three children on the fictional Danish island of Finø. The two brothers and sister one day find that their parents have disappeared and strike out to track them down while navigating through a collection of odd inhabitants of the island. In classic Peter Høeg fashion, the story is often just a framework for digressions on life, relationships, and philosophy. For readers willing to travel slowly through the story, savoring the atmosphere and imagery, this book is a treat.
Persistently dreamy, riding the edge of magical realism in a very Danish way.
I think this could have been very clever but I really didn't enjoy it.
Excellent book!