The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh

Even more, her attention and generosity spill onto the page, as you’ll see in her exquisite debut novel. Put simply, Walsh is one of the most thoughtful and giving people I’ve ever met, and I’m certainly not the only one who feels this way. Walsh runs her workshop in a way that, to me, feels both rigorous and nurturing, serious and fun. On top of all that, Walsh teaches a private nine-month writing workshop, which is how I first got to know her. Her own writing has appeared widely in publications such as Longreads, Texas Highways, New York Times Book Review, Story Quarterly, Guernica, and many others. She’s the founder of the nonprofit organization, Austin Bat Cave, which offers writing programs to children and aims to “empower students to find their voices and tell their stories.” Further, she’s worked as a freelance editor and screener for the MFA program at the Michener Center at the University of Texas. In her seventeen years in Texas, Walsh has grown deep roots in the local literary community. Walsh explains that her access to the wartime experiences came from living in Manhattan during the attacks of September 11th.Though originally from Michigan and then hailing from New York, S. The novel vividly evokes the speed with which war makes the commonplace surreal, as Hettie and Violet become fugitives in a ruined city.'

A three-year-old elephant named Violet arrives at Belfast Zoo (formerly called the Bellevue Zoo), where Hettie Quin, a young zookeeper mourning the recent death of a sister, finds purpose and solace in caring for her. It’s heartening to remember that even through the worst sacrifices, love and courage can prevail.' A review in The New Yorker said: 'Based on real events, this engrossing novel takes place a year into the Second World War. Walsh explores love, loyalty, and tragedy at a level that makes walking an elephant seem heartbreakingly simple. Writing in The Christian Science Monitor, Rebekah Denn praised, 'Breathtaking.

The novel was inspired by the true story of Denise Weston Austin, the first female zookeeper of the Belfast Zoo, and how she took care of a three-year-old elephant during the Belfast Blitz in the spring of 1941 (and later became known as the elephant angel ). The novel has also been translated into Norwegian, Romanian, and Persian editions. Her first novel, The Elephant of Belfast, was published by Counterpoint Press and by Hachette/Hodder in the UK, the Commonwealth, and Ireland. Kirk Walsh (born May 3, 1966) is a novelist, a book reviewer, and a teacher living in Austin, Texas. Script error: No such module 'AfC topic'. Script error: No such module 'Draft topics'.

The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh