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The Elephant Keepers' Children  By  cover art

The Elephant Keepers' Children

By: Peter Høeg, Martin Aitken - translator
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
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Publisher's summary

Told from the perspective of precocious 14-year-old Peter, The Elephant Keepers’ Children is about three siblings and how they deal with life alongside their eccentric parents. Peter’s father is a vicar, his mother an artisan, and both are equally and profoundly devout. The family lives on the fictional island of Finø, where people of all faiths coexist peacefully. Yet nothing is at it seems.

When Peter’s parents suddenly go missing, Peter and his siblings fear the worst - has their parents’ relentless quest to boost church attendance finally put them in danger?

Told with poignancy and humor, The Elephant Keepers’ Children is a fascinating exploration of fundamentalism versus spiritual freedom, the vicissitudes of romantic and familial love, and the triumph of the human spirit.

©2010 Peter Høeg and Rosinante & Co., Copenhagen. Translation 2012 by Martin Aitken (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Under the madcap adventure story Høeg poses serious issues about neglected children, venal church officials, and the paths to intellectual and spiritual freedom." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A picaresque tale that probes society’s little hypocrisies while offering an original array of characters. At first glance, an utterly fun, absorbing read." ( Library Journal)
"Part comic teenage adventure story, part intellectual debate, the best-selling Danish author’s sixth novel is a shaggy-dog story with a unique vision.… Høeg has an endless menu of oddities to stir into his story; whether thriller, fantasy, or disquisition on spiritual belief, love and parenting does successfully invent an inexhaustible landscape all its own." ( Kirkus Reviews)

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