The Tusk That Did the Damage (Vintage Contemporaries)

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Tania James is the author of three works of fiction, most recently the novel The Tusk That Did the Damage (Knopf). Tusk was named a Best Book of 2015 by The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, and NPR, and shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her short stories have appeared in One Story, The New Yorker, Granta, Freeman's Anthology, Oxford American, and other venues. James is an associate professor at George Mason University, and lives in Washington DC. Her forthcoming novel, Loot, will be published by Knopf in June 2023. The second viewpoint is the poacher, Jayan. This section is narrated by his younger brother Manu, who has been asked to look after his older brother. Jayan is attracted to the money he can make through poaching, although he tries to hide his illegal activities from his family at first. They would prefer he worked hard at farming. Gravedigger has already killed one member of their family. Discuss the conclusion of the story. Did the revelation of the fate of Manu at the conclusion of the story change your feelings or your interpretation of the book? Were you surprised by this conclusion? Why or why not?

Occasionally, Manu makes a comment or gives a command directly to the reader: “See the spectacle of us standing outside our house in the night.” Again: “Imagine her on that moonless night.” While he is being filmed, Ravi says that “fear and worship are two sides of one coin” (171). What does he mean by this? Do you believe that he is correct?Two more helpful texts: Deeper Roots of Historical Injustice: Trends and Challenges in the Forests of India—in particular, the chapter by Ashish Kothari and Neema Pathak: “Conservation and Rights in India,” and Elephant Days and Nights by Raman Sukumar. These last two were helpful in constructing the world of the poacher sections, which are set around a South Indian wildlife park in the year 2000. Consider the various points of view represented in the novel. The voice shifts from first person to third person between chapters, allowing readers to access the innermost thoughts of many different characters. What effect does this have on the reader? Does any one point of view ultimately seem to dominate the story? How might your interpretation of the book have differed if the story had been told in a single voice or from a single perspective?

He was speechless so long I thought he hadn’t heard me. “I know the elephant,” he said finally. “Everyone does.” James is an excellent writer and the prose flows beautifully, managing to portray each individual, their struggles, pain, and confusion, along with the questions of morality the narrative begs we ask. She manages to capture the clash of man and nature in an individualized way, but, in the end, it is also a rather depressing tale. The discussion questions and suggested reading that follow are designed to enhance your group’s discussion of The Tusk That Did the Damage, a captivating new novel by Tania James. Introduction The Tusk That Did the Damageis an utterly contemporary story about an ancient and majestic elephant, and his dangerous connection to the land and the people around him. Orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life of labor, Gravedigger has broken free of his chains and is terrorizing the South Indian countryside. Caught up in the violence are the studious younger son of a rice farmer drawn into the sordid world of poaching; and a young American documentary filmmaker engaged in a risky affair with the veterinarian who is her subject. In three intertwined storylines—own of them narrated by the elephant himself—Tania James crafts a heartbreaking tale of the ivory trade, exploring the porous boundary between conservation and corruption. It is a wrenching exploration of love and betrayal, duty and loyalty, and the vexed relationship between man and nature. Questions and Topics for DiscussionAnd what heroic feats had the cow doctor performed to deserve Raghu’s worship? Pulled an elephant calf from a tea ditch, where the wee thing had tripped and fallen much to its mother’s distress.