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The Secret of Elephants

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The Secret of Elephants

By: Vasundra Tailor
Narrated by: Sharmila Devar
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About this listen

Navsari, India. Penniless and trapped in a loveless marriage, Nirmala spends her days anxiously caring for her sick young son, Varun. Looming over Nirmala’s impoverished home is an imposing mansion built by her grandfather, and from its balcony her cruel aunt scorns them, refusing to help in any way.

But when a mysterious letter addressed to her long-dead father arrives from Zimbabwe, it opens a door to a past Nirmala never knew existed and a future she never imagined possible. If the contents of the letter can be believed, not only does she have family in Africa, but they might also hold the answers to a family mystery that spans three generations.

While travelling to Zimbabwe might lead to a brighter future for Nirmala and her son, it could also reignite the bitter family feud that condemned her family to poverty. Nirmala is ready to risk it all to uncover the truth, but how will she cope when this journey changes her life forever?

©2022 Vasundra Tailor (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Africa

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Critic reviews

“Tailor’s thought-provoking, sophisticated debut is so engaging it is hard to believe writing wasn’t this UK pharmacist’s first career.… Listeners will ache for Nirmala as narrator Sharmila Devar imbues her, and all of Tailor’s wonderfully drawn characters, with genuine emotional depth. Devar’s nuanced performance smooths transitions from past to present while gradually building suspense toward a shocking climax. Devar’s performance of this riveting, cross-continental, generational family saga, with its sharp explorations of class, income, and gender inequality, should make Tailor’s debut a hit with armchair travelers as well as contemporary-fiction fans.”—Library Journal

“Tailor’s debut is both evocative and intriguing.”—Booklist

“The Secret of Elephants is a novel of beauty, wisdom, and discovery. Prepare to fall in love with Vasundra Tailor’s writing, I know I did…”—Amanda Prowse, international bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner
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The story is really good, touching and relatable. However the ‘Indian’ and ‘Zimbabwean’ accents are really awful. That’s not to say the whole story is hard to listen to… it’s just when she does the various accents.

Great story but the narration is awful

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...about the heartbreak and joy of family bonds.Highly recommended for likeable characters, insight into life on two different continents and for being a great story.

Beautiful story....

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The story is essentially good, although a little anticlimactic. However, what absolutely ruined the audio experience for me was the awful narrator who recorded this audiobook. Other than Nirmala, the main character, everyone else's voice was this weird phoney posh voice that pronounced words very oddly like "caaaarsh" instead of cash and "baaarck" instead of back and "paaaaark" instead of pack. Not to mention the grating pronunciation of divorce as DIE vorce. It got to the point where the narrator's voice totally detracted from the story. So all in all an average story ruined by a terrible narrator.

Ok story ruined by a poor narrator! (audible)

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sometimes the story was slow with unnecessary repetition but narration and accents were awful

enjoyed the twist in the story

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An unexpected storyline, that emerged well into the plot, which was good as sometimes the main plot becomes evident far too early. Only thing I struggled with was the names/relationships between family members and I think this might have been easier with a written word version

Interesting storyline

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Very relaxing It flowed well I enjoyed it very much . The story was believe able and Shamila voice so clear and calming Great

Great to listen too

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Lovely story about family disputes from the past and how they were overcome. A heartwarming story of kindness and compassion

Lovely evocative story from India.

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Nice novel for a relaxed listen, bobs along with some nice cultural elements. Seemed to just roll into an ending which was disappointing.

Nice listen / for a relaxed listen

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