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Soul of the Elephant
(The Kind Mahout #1)
by
When fifteen-year-old Hemit breaks family tradition by learning the mysterious soother's gentler ways of training elephants, he unleashes his own mystical powers—powers his parents have tried to conceal, and which are capable of destroying his entire family.
South India, 1870s. At the family elephant camp, Hemit's father insists on quashing their elephants' spirits to gain ...more
South India, 1870s. At the family elephant camp, Hemit's father insists on quashing their elephants' spirits to gain ...more
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Kindle Edition, 266 pages
Published
May 6th 2019
by Evolved Publishing LLC
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Start your review of Soul of the Elephant (The Kind Mahout #1)

Soul of the Elephant is a beautiful story that takes place in a stunning and unique setting - the jungles of southern India in the 19th century. Hemit is a young man learning his family's business of rearing and training elephants. Soft-hearted yet strong-willed, Hemit is a highly relatable protagonist.
A central theme of the book is Hemit's extremely complicated relationship with his father. Hemit defies his father's ways by learning to train elephants using compassion rather than domination. T ...more
A central theme of the book is Hemit's extremely complicated relationship with his father. Hemit defies his father's ways by learning to train elephants using compassion rather than domination. T ...more

In the first book of The Kind Mahout Series, entitled Soul of the Elephant, we are introduced to Hemit, a boy who lives during the British occupation of India. Hemit is rapidly approaching the age when he will choose his own elephant, and is at odds with his father over their training—Hemit believes that kindness will get better results than cruelty. While his father clings to the old ways, Hemit finds a kindred soul in the form of a mysterious hermit called The Husher who, with a mystical proce
...more

This is an enjoyable young adult novel set in a small jungle village in British Colonial India. The story centers around 15-year-old Hemet and his family, mahouts, who train elephants. Hemet wants to connect with the elephants on a spiritual level and forego any violence in the training. It's a tale with lots of action, including encounters with elephants, tigers, monkeys, mongoose, and more, with a touch of magical realism. I learned a lot of interesting things about Indian gods and customs. A
...more
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Pam Laughlin is the author of Soul of the Elephant, the first book in the Kind Mahout series. She is a former technical writer and reporter who has written non-fiction for more than thirty years.
Her short stories have appeared in Folio Oak Literary Magazine, Edify Publications and Blink Ink. Her short story, Combat Paper, won the short story contest in Writer’s Village University. Soul of the Ele ...more
Her short stories have appeared in Folio Oak Literary Magazine, Edify Publications and Blink Ink. Her short story, Combat Paper, won the short story contest in Writer’s Village University. Soul of the Ele ...more
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Mateo Askaripour is a Brooklyn-based writer whose bestselling debut novel, Black Buck, was published in January. It's been a Read with Jenna...
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