It’s like a koan wrapped in an elephant. Except more pleasant than that. And more accessible.

These were quiet, sweet little stories about a curious elephant with a very personal relationship with his god, who appears as a cloud or a rock in a river. While I read them all in a sitting or two you could probably pick and choose your way through like some all-you-eat buffet. If you are doing that, here’s where I think the bacon and sausages are (but there are few, if any, runny plates of scrambled eggs or sawdust biscuits, really):

“Love” – my favorite line from this one is:

“What the hell?” asked the cloud.”

“Jealousy” – God’s reaction to the elephant’s dramatic sighing is worth the price of admission for this one

“Pots O’ Clay” – a lovely story about the butterflies and elephant conspiring to make pots from the clay in the river.

“I’m God,” said God. “I do know what pots are and how they are used.”

I loved the characterization of God, in Its many (2) forms, the elephant, and the elephant’s jungle roommates. You could pick a worse book to center your religion around, for sure.

Excerpts From: Estey, Dale. “The Elephant Talks to God.” Goose Lane Editions, 2006. iBooks.

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