Elefant

Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch

2020 Longlist

Schoch, down-and-out, alcoholic and living on the streets of Zurich, wakes one morning to see a small pink elephant hiding out at the back of his shelter. Understandably, he thinks he is hallucinating and resolves to consider it no further but when he returns later, the little creature is still there and is clearly in need of his help. Schoch subsequently discovers that the small elephant is a product of genetic engineering and that the evil scientists who created her are hell-bent on recapturing her and using her to make themselves rich. Schoch, with the help of his friend, Valerie, nurture Sabu and do everything they can to protect her from exploitation.

About the Author

Martin Suter is a novelist, screenwriter and newspaper columnist. He has written a dozen novels, including Small World and A perfect friend, many of them best-sellers in Europe and translated into 32 languages. He is well known for his weekly column “Business Class” in the weekly newspaper “Weltwoche” (1992-2004) and in the daily “Tagesanzeiger”.

Librarian’s Comments

A deeply touching story of friendship and solidarity in an endangered world. A homeless man finds a little pink and glittering elephant and begins to look after him. But a troop of geneticists tracks them intending to capture the living result of their genetic experiments. The famous Swiss author once again connects different explosive social subjects like genetic manipulation and homelessness in the rich western countries to an engrossing plot. An exciting story. Stadtbücherei Heidelberg, Germany