Elephants in the Hourglass: A Journey of Reckoning and Hope Along the Himalaya

In this disjointed blend of memoir and reportage, journalist Frank (coauthor of Amaze) recounts traveling throughout northeast India to study the uneasy relationship between humans and Asian elephants there. She explains that human development has divided large swaths of jungle and depleted natural food stores, forcing elephants to cross towns and highways in search of scarce sustenance. Surveying efforts to protect the mammals, Frank details how the 101 Corridors campaign aims to ensure elephants can safely migrate without inadvertently wreaking havoc by having to pass through populated areas, and how an initiative to fence in tea plantations on four sides rather than the more common three hopes to reduce the number of elephants who get accidentally trapped. Unfortunately, these stimulating accounts of humanity’s attempts to live in harmony with elephants are overshadowed by dull descriptions of Frank’s reporting process. For instance, much of the book’s first 100 pages recreates the convoluted steps Frank took to gain an audience with the elusive Parbati Barua, a traditional elephant caregiver. Frank also makes the ill-conceived decision to frame her travels as a tale of personal growth after her divorce (“I need to close the open wounds, to heal”), at times relegating the elephants and their protectors to supporting characters in their own story. This misses the mark. Agent: Felicia Eth, Felicia Eth Literary. (Jan.)