"When the mind wanders, when it carries us off on the wings of daydreams, we do not even notice the distances traveled."
King Dom Joao the Third of sixteenth century Portugal and his wife have no idea what to gift the Archduke of Austria. "Solomon!" the queen exclaims. Solomon, the elephant they had received from India two years prior, has merely set in his enclosure and done little else. The king agrees and once the archduke accepts the gift, arrangements are made to transport the elephant to his new of Vienna. What transpires is the journey Solomon takes with the mahout Subhro over many lands and how a single elephant can change someone in each convoy's mind.
The first group travels by foot from Lisbon to Valladolid where they meet a group of Austrian soldiers halfway. Once in Valladolid, the king's convoy is sent back to Lisbon. From there, the elephant and the mahout, now named Suleiman and Fritz, continue traveling across Europe, through the Alps and finally arriving in Vienna.
I bought this book simply because it was about an elephant. What? They're my favorite animal and any reason you find for reading is good enough. You're still reading, right? Exactly. Anyway, I think this was an interesting read. Something that was definitely not something I would have normally read. There are paragraphs that can last for thirteen pages and dialogue is woven in throughout separated only by commas. There was also a bit of religion and as I am not generally all about that, it was interesting to say the least. It bounced around at bits, but it was still a good read.
(Sidenote: At one point, they arrive in Mantua and I found it incredibly hard not to scream about Romeo being banished. Sue me.)
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