City News

An Elephant in My Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony is a nonfiction autobiography told through the perspective of the author. This story takes place at Thula Thula: A private game reserve for animals in Zululand, South Africa. Françoise and her former husband, Lawrence, created the reserve with the intent of helping animals who were in danger by rehabilitating them. Lawrence’s sudden death left Françoise with the responsibility of running the reserve alone. This came as quite a shock to Françoise because managing the animals had always been Lawrence’s job, while Françoise took care of guests who stayed at the reserve. Throughout the book, Françoise learns how to manage, protect, and show affection to the animals, all while struggling with many personal problems of her own. In my opinion, one of the most important lines in the book is:

“I don’t believe the cliched platitude that everything happens for a reason but I believe with all of my heart that, when tragedy hits, we have to find a way to give it reason. To do our best to let good come out of it.” 

This part of the book is extremely important because it symbolizes the constant optimism that Françoise and the other people who work with the animals show. Some of the animals featured in the book are hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and elephants. The author does an amazing job showing how difficult it is to be in charge of something when you feel like you are doing everything alone. As a reader it is easy to sympathize with the author because of the details that describe the treacherous work her job requires. In the animal industry, nearly no one is to be trusted. An extreme conflict that is shown throughout the book is constant animal poaching. People around the world believe that parts of animals such as an elephant’s tusks or a rhinoceros’s horn can be used for medical purposes. Another problem presented in the book is the ongoing struggle of not having enough money to cover the many costs of the reserve. Some other problems included in the book are animal sickness and personal issues that the author faces. Throughout the book Françoise learns the important lesson that you do not have to be related through blood or marriage to become family. 

I would definitely rate this book a 9/10. It is an extremely detailed book that teaches lessons about perseverance and finding the good in bad times. Some parts of the book can be a little bit confusing as the author sometimes switches between different times of her life. However, the book is a very easy to read page turner. Because the book takes place over many years, it keeps an interesting plot by only including the most important events since the beginning of  the reserve. Although there are very despairing moments throughout the story, the author always finds a way to bring back the overall happy spirit that the book presents. 

Checkout An Elephant in my Kitchen from the Newport Beach Public Library.