Monday, September 19, 2011

Water for Elephants


Did you ever find a book that you just couldn’t get into?  That’s how Water for Elephants was for me.  Geez, I think every book-lover I know has read it and has seen the movie but I still couldn’t get past the prologue.  Now that I have finished it, I can’t believe I had this problem!  The book is story-telling at its best.  Unique but believable characters, an intriguing setting (the circus), an interesting format (it’s told alternately by 23 year old Jacob and Jacob at 90), and a story that will knock your sox off.  A blend of love story, adventure story, and cultural study, once past Chapter 1, I couldn’t put it down.

Following the death of his parents, Jacob Jankowski drops out of college and life and accidentally joins the circus.  He becomes the veterinarian for Benzini Brother’s Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  It is “not” the most spectacular show on earth, but rather a Ringling Brothers wannabe during the depression era.  Through author Sara Gruen’s clear writing and thorough research, the magical, glamorous, seedy, and vicious underworld of circus workers is brought to life.  An Amazon editorial review explains “She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch.”  Jacob falls headlong into this world and into love with the boss’s wife. 

As Jacob and Marlena’s relationship develops, along comes Rosie.  Rosie is an elephant purchased by Uncle Al, the despicable heartless owner of the circus.  Rosie is to be the financial savior of the circus but unfortunately she is under the tutelage of August, Marlena’s abusive husband, whose brutality does not endear him to the bull.  Rosie gets her revenge in a rather predictable ending.  I say predictable because Gruen builds the story like a house of cards as she provides bold hints of the big collapse. And big and glorious it is; a satisfying ending for both the 23 year old Jacob and the 90 year old Jacob.

If you would like to participate in a discussion of this book, please come to the MUSE group on September 27, at 6:30 in the Main Building of Kent State, East Liverpool.  Lemonade, although not the circus variety, and other circus fare will be served.  The program is free and open to the public.  Call or email Susan Weaver for more information:  330-382-7432, sweaver@kent.edu.    

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