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The Tusk That Did the Damage
The Tusk That Did the Damage: A novel | Tania James
19 posts | 16 read | 39 to read
From the critically acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns and Aerogrammes, a tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.Orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life of labor and exhibition, the Gravedigger breaks free of his chains and begins terrorizing the countryside, earning his name from the humans he kills and then tenderly buries. Manu, the studious younger son of a rice farmer, loses his cousin to the Gravediggers violence and is drawn, with his wayward brother Jayan, into the sordid, alluring world of poaching. Emma is a young American working on a documentary with her college best friend, who witnesses the porous boundary between conservation and corruption and finds herself in her own moral gray area: a risky affair with the veterinarian who is the films subject. As the novel hurtles toward its tragic climax, these three storylines fuse into a wrenching meditation on love and betrayal, duty and loyalty, and the vexed relationship between man and nature.With lyricism and suspense, Tania James animates the rural landscapes where Western idealism clashes with local reality; where a farmers livelihood can be destroyed by a rampaging elephant; where men are driven to poaching. In James arrestingly beautiful prose, The Tusk That Did the Damage blends the mythical and the political to tell a wholly original, utterly contemporary story about the majestic animal, both god and menace, that has mesmerized us for centuries.This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
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review
Robotswithpersonality
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Panpan

Compelling but stressful. Unique set of POVs, but in order to build tension (one of the book's central aims?) the time spent is not divided equally between each perspective. I would much rather have spent more time with the elephant or seen more of the wildlife reserve people (corrupt or not they should have had their own POV) than the filmmakers or the poacher family, but that wasn't the focus the author provided. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I'm trying to have a takeaway beyond 'anyone is capable of poor decisions and/or violence, especially when emotionally distressed/desperate, regardless of their place in the animal kingdom, aka cycle of violence and poverty bad.' 1y
Robotswithpersonality 3/? Unfortunately, the need to set up a couple of love triangles (apparently more tension was needed) I felt distracted from the messaging that might have been completed with a few less characters. 1y
Robotswithpersonality 4/5 And, more fool I, I always hope to leave books of this nature with some edge of hope, of healing rather than just the impact of the worst possible outcome (well-foreshadowed, admittedly) acting as a teaching moment. Can't recommend. 1y
Robotswithpersonality ⚠️animal cruelty, animal death, mention of ED, suicide attempt 1y
7 likes4 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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"Terrible gift." ?

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Robotswithpersonality
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The idea of bird-specific emotions: delineated by bird-only experiences.
A fresh perspective - I love it!

4 likes1 stack add
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LibraryCin
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Panpan

I didn‘t like this. I didn‘t care about the humans and those chapters bored me. I liked the elephant chapters at first, but they went downhill because they weren‘t all from the elephant‘s point of view, but some of those chapters followed the “handlers” more and there was a bit of elephant mythology. The book did pick up in the last 1/3 or so.

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cherinium
Pickpick

For such a short little book, it really packs a punch. It's not one to say I "enjoyed," because the subject matter is so difficult.

Gravedigger is an elephant known for killing people for reasons that are rooted in a past of painful interactions with men. Manu is a young man whose life is deeply and irrevocably changed by him. Emma is a journalist examining human/elephant interactions. This is a story with no resolution, but reflects reality.

17 likes1 stack add
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cherinium
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This is not easy to read. I'm barely 50 pages in, and my heart is already being wrenched to pieces. A fictional story that examines the very real problem of human-animal conflict. I can already tell that the author is purposely painting a picture in which the lines of right vs wrong and good guy vs bad guy are blurred. #currentlyreading #emotionalread #elephant #india 🐘

31 likes3 stack adds
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myexpandingbookshelf
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This week I‘m #currentlyreading The Tusk That Did the Damage. I‘ve been trying to read different genres back to back so I don‘t end up in another slump.

#amreading #fiction #animals #contemporary #india

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PandaPanda
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This is on my TBR and haven't read it yet but I believe that one of the narrators is an elephant, which is definitely an #unusualnarrator! #anditsaugust @RealLifeReading

59 likes2 stack adds
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Alytrue
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This is on my TBR. Told from multiple viewpoints, one of which is a bull elephant. #AndItsAugust #unusualnarrators

readinginthedark I heard this was really good! 7y
25 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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stacybmartin
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Clearly I need a chaperone when I go to the library. This is a ridiculous amount of books to add to the 12 I already had checked out. I. Cannot. Resist. #libraryhaul #bookaddict

MallenNC I have that bag! 7y
Texreader 😂😂😂😂 7y
litmuggle Cute bag I understand I just can't help it there's to many books I want to read. 7y
Suet624 I have enormous compassion for you. I get myself into the same pickle. 7y
62 likes1 stack add4 comments
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MoniqueChristine
Pickpick

Though a small, fast read, I found myself having difficulty getting through this touching, tragic story. The complicated relationship between the elephants, the civilians, the poachers, and the government reveals the raw emotions and desperation of each group.

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valeriegeary
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Went on an 8 mile hike today with friends. Now it's time to put my feet up. Spending the rest of the evening curled up with a cup of hot tea and a good book.

Booksnob Loved this book. 8y
43 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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BooksForEmpathy
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We played with SO many elephants today at the elephant sanctuary 🎉. They are just delightful animals - sweet and playful and protective and very enthusiastic about water and bananas. We fed them, bathed them, and splashed around in the river with them. An amazing experience. They truly are huge and powerful; you never for a moment forget that you are in the presence of the most revered animal in Thailand.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled That is SO cool!!! 8y
mllemay Amazing! Sounds like a great experience! 8y
Cupofjo What an amazing experience! That's been on my bucket list since I was a child!! 8y
See All 10 Comments
KateTheBookworm Is this at the Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai by chance?? I volunteered there in college! 8y
mauveandrosysky Amazing 🐘 8y
Christine Awww, how wonderful. Elephants are my all-time favorite. So glad you had this experience! 🐘❤️ 8y
GlitteryOtters So perfect! You guys are so lucky! Elephants are one of my favorite animals (possibly in part because I, too, really love bananas & splashy baths, so I understand where they are coming from 😂😂). I can imagine that visiting an elephant sanctuary must have been an amazing experience. 💕 8y
Simona Priceless❣️ 8y
MemoirsForMe Wow! What an unforgettable experience. 👏🏻👏🏻Such majestic and sweet animals. 😍 8y
Bette 💕🐘❤️ 8y
102 likes5 stack adds10 comments
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DyAnne
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Pickpick

Conservation, corruption, and the horrors of the ivory trade. Told from three perspectives: a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and an elephant. I was surprised to find I enjoyed the poacher's sections the best.

BookMusings I have this on my shelf. Need to read! 8y
16 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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DyAnne
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"It is difficult to place faith in a man who tells you during a ten-minute phone call from prison not to worry."

9 likes1 stack add
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ReadingEnvy
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I really need to return my public library books so I'm trying to make some headway with these. Not positive I'll read the middle one, does anyone have thoughts? It's simply the last book nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize this year that I hadn't read.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I haven't heard of it, but it looks interesting. 8y
18 likes1 comment
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everfree7
Pickpick

I loved this book and taught it in my Animals in Literature course. The different narrators give you various angles on the elephants and the issues involving conservation, economics, art, and animal emotion.

reluctantangeleno What other books do you teach in you Animals in Lit course?? I would LOVE to take that course!! 7y
everfree7 Hi @mkrautstrunk , the novels I've included (in two different versions) are The Bees, The Great Divorce, The Tusk that Did the Damage, and Unsaid. Definitely read Unsaid if you haven't! It will take your breath away. My students sent copies to friends and families and raved about it. And we all cried. 7y
everfree7 Novels that I would consider for the next time (just since there are so many wonderful ones): Power, The Hungry Tides, White Bone, Just Life 7y
reluctantangeleno @everfree7 Thank you so much for the recommendations! ❤ 7y
2 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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SarahK
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Pickpick

The kind of book that stays with you long after you finish

1 like1 stack add
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readtheworld
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"He remembered the first bewildering time he hiccuped in his mothers womb. He remembered the watery glug of his mother‘s heart, a slow bass to his frantic ticking, and the metallic scent that met him when he emerged into the world."

-- The Gravedigger, an elephant who narrates part of the novel

12 likes3 stack adds