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I finished Diane Hammond's novel, "Hannah's Dream," with a lump in my throat and joy in my heart. "Hannah's Dream" is a well-crafted, heartfelt story of a 41-year love affair--between an elephant named Hannah and her long-time keeper, Samson "Sam" Brown. The tale is set at the fictional Max L. Biedelman Zoo in Washington State. The zoo was the proud creation of Maxine (Max was a woman, the daughter of a lumber magnate) Biedelman, who found her greatest joy in the green hills of Africa. The zoo was bequeathed to the local city after her death, and its glory days are clearly behind it. Hannah isn't faring much better, despite Sam's loving attention, which includes regular treats from Dunkin' Donuts. She's got bad feet from spending most of her days (and nights) standing on concrete and seems to long for the company of other elephants--something she hasn't enjoyed in decades. Sam's health is poor and he clearly needs to retire, but won't give up his "sugar" until he knows she's going to be well-cared for. A couple of pivotal characters in the story are a new keeper who seems to be the answer to Sam's prayers--and a zoo director who sees Hannah as the key element in her plans to resurrect the fading institution. We get to know the lead characters, their families, other zoo staff, an ambitious reporter and others in Hammond's richly-drawn portraits that make these characters truly three-dimensional. One of the author's gifts is an ability to see even the less sympathetic players in this drama in a light that shows their humanity. Hammond used to be the public relations officer for the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, and was intimately acquainted with the world's most famous killer whale. As she explains in her introductory acknowledgements, she drew on that experience to help shape this wonderful, heartfelt story. As I said earlier, this is a love story--a story that shows the power of hope, the power of dreams, and one that illuminates one of life's bittersweet lessons--that sometimes true love involves letting go of the object of your love.

This book, set in Dublin, is about the pain of betrayal and the healing powers of true friendship. It reinforces that true friendship is precious and may be found in unsuspected places and in strange ways, i.e. the house swap. It also reinforces that "friends" in name only can be a most dangerous enemy. In the end the pain endured through betrayal can lead to a stronger, more independent, more productive and confident self. Great storytelling, good development of characters.