Skip to content

Opening book details…

Can I read Giraffe on EtoBox?

Giraffe by Ledgard, J M is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Giraffe about?

An astounding novel based on the true story of the life and mysterious death of the largest herd of giraffes ever held in captivity, in a Czechoslovakian town sleepwalking through communism in the early 1970s. In 1975, on the eve of May Day, secret police dressed in chemical warfare suits sealed off a zoo in a small Czechoslovakian town and ordered the destruction of the largest captive herd of giraffes in the world. This apparently senseless massacre lies at the heart of J. M. Ledgard's haunting first novel, which recounts the story of the giraffes from their capture in Africa to their deaths far away behind the Iron Curtain. At once vivid and unearthly, Giraffe is an unforgettable story about strangeness, about creatures that are alien and silent, about captivity, and finally about Czechoslovakia, a middling totalitarian state and its population of sleepwalkers. It is also a story that might never have been told. Ledgard, a foreign correspondent for the Economist since 1995, unearthed the long-buried truth behind the deaths of these giraffes while researching his book, spending years following leads throughout the Czech Republic. In prose reminiscent of Italo Calvino and

Who reads Giraffe?

It is typically read by readers looking for immersive, entertainment-first reading.

Common subject areas: fiction, literature, genre fiction.

Author
Ledgard, J M
Publisher
Penguin Group
Published
2007
Language
EN
Category
work of fiction
Rating
3.32 / 5 (45 ratings)
Updated
2026-03-14

More by Ledgard, J M

Browse all works by Ledgard, J M

Similar books