The Magician's Elephant

I recently read this book, "The Magician's Elephant" by Kate DiCamillo and I loved it. I compare it to reading a CS Lewis book. You can read the storyline how it is and take it how it is written and it will be a very simple, fine book to read. However, if you read it with symbolism in mind I found there is a much deeper meaning. The funny thing about symbolism, as we can all agree, is that we usually don't know the real intent of the author so my mind tends to relate to maybe something I am really seeking. For example, I found so many allusions to Christ, faith, and hope- probably because I need extra spiritual enlightenment.

The boy in the story is faith and hope who is seeking the elephant (IMO representation of Christ). If we find what we are looking for depends on the effort we put forth to really seek Him and the "help" (prayer) that guides us.
The storyline of the woman in the wheelchair and the magician represents one of giving and seeking forgivenss. Are we going to let our physical incapabilities (or whatever weakness we have) keep us from living life? And do we use that as our answer to always describe how we feel instead of forgiving the situation to move on. And will we be willing to forgive the one who might have caused our weakness or situation? The Magician is rationalizing his constant behavior and really just wants forgiveness to move on with his life- once he gets the forgiveness he can proceed with the "repentance" process.

Anyway, brief summary: a boy is given money to go buy food and instead he decides to pay a fortune teller to see if his long-lost sister is alive. She tells him to follow the elephant. The rest of the story is him trying to find an elephant and bizarre little stories of different characters all intertwined.
If anything, it's a short read and you might get something else out of it.