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The title of my review pretty much says it all. This was a very easy, enjoyable read full of characters you can't help but love - and love to hate. There were some inconsistencies in details, but most of them would sail right past the average person and weren't a big deal to me. It is almost always hard for me to initially get into a book, I don't know why, but it is. This book was different, it had my rapt attention from start to finish - though the end was disappointing to me. After chapters of such a great story, I found the almost ridiculous improbability of the ending to be quite out of place. I also could have happily lived without the animal abuse and the unnecessary deaths of Walter & Camel, but the ending sat particularly poorly with me. In addition, the final chapter seemed to bring the previously well paced story to a very abrupt halt that felt all wrong. I enjoyed the rest of the book, however, and feel it's well worth the read.Read full review
The story line takes you in right away. It gives one a surprising look into the past and what circus life most likely was like for those traveling from place to place. The characters are rich and complex in their own ways. You like some, you can't stand others. The book evokes many human emotions and also gives one some thoughts to ponder over. Life certainly can change in an instant for any one of us. Are we prepared? What would we have done? And old age...lawdy be, please let me be surrounded by those with patience and understanding! This book will evoke sadness, dispair, happiness, joy and gives one hope too. A great read and a real page turner!
The Entertainment Critic Book Review, By James Myers WATER FOR ELEPHANTS By Sara Gruen Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill A Division of Workman Publishing 350 Pages ISBN # 978-1-56512-499-8 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LOS ANGLES TIMES BESTSELLER WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST SELLER A NEWSDAY FAVORITE BOOK OF 2006 USA TODAY BESTSELLER AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ALEX AWARD WINNER ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY NOMINEE FOR BEST NOVEL BOOKSENSE # 1 PICK FOR JUNE, 2006 WINNER OF THE 2007 BOOKBROWSE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR BOOK Four Star Rating**** I’ve read close to 100 books so far this year, and I have written reviews for many of those books. The publishers, when the send review copies to a reviewer, also send promotional material. I’m rarely surprised by the content that I read. Every once in a great while, something comes in from left field that you read, and re-read, and re-read again. Such a book that keeps you awake at night, in deep thought. It’s new, fresh and so original, that you have read nothing like it before, and probably will not again. Sara Gruen’s new novel, now in affordable paperback, Water for Elephants, came as a complete and total surprise. I love this book! This historical romance novel is set in the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Jacob Jankowski, 23 years old, is a veterinary student at Cornell University, just days from finishing his studies. His life seems neat and orderly, and worse yet, ordinary. His future has been laid out for him. He will return to his sleepy hometown and practice veterinary medicine with his father in a joint practice. Unexpectedly, his parents are both killed in an automobile accident. He return to his home to find everything is amiss. His parent’s lawyer tells him that his folks were broke and they had taken a mortgage out on their home, which has failed. All is lost. Told from Jacob’s prospective as a older man, (93 or 96, he can’t remember) who is now in a nursing home, the memories of his actions are triggered when a new resident(another lawyer, and god how Jacob hates lawyers) in his nursing home claims to have watered elephants in his youth, a statement Jacob takes very strong exception to. Jacob recalls that he was in the middle of taking his final, final exams and just walked out of the classroom. He then jumps a train, which happens to be a circus train. Once the owner of the circus, Uncle Al, learns he has experience as a vet, he hires him to take care of the circus animals. The book traces Jacob’s experiences in the circus, as he gives us a bird’s eye view of the brutality of circus life (unwanted worker can be redlighted, or thrown off the train while it is still moving), the circus workers and performers, while he struggles to maintain his own sense of right and wrong. Jacob also falls in love withRead full review
I decided to purchase this book after reading a portion of the book on another site. Immediately I thought of my Grandfather and what life may have been like for him as a young man in the 30's. I loved the way the author weaved in an out of the main character's youth and advanced age memories. I cried when I read the end of this book....I love the elderly, and think they should all be treated with dignity and kindness. This is to me an adult read for sure due to the very discriptive sexual experiences and the violent happenings of the story. I think this is a nice rainy day read for anyone wanting to go back in time. I would recommend this book to a friend or book club...I definately enjoyed it.
Following the life of Jacob Jankowski from old age to youth and back again was an adventure. The transition from youth to old age is believable and as natural as reminiscing or dreaming about times of your own youth. This is a book for anyone with aging parents, relatives and friends. It makes the reader look at the elderly in a different light. Hopefully it will make some people stop and listen the the stories and life experiences of the elderly. The story of a second rate circus during the depression is so very interesting. From the roustabouts to the performers to the animals, every character had their own quirks, egos and place in the hierarchy of the circus. Rosie the elephant is one of my favorite characters--A very smart animal who only understands Polish commands when she is purchased from a bankrupt circus in Joliet. You have heard it before, but I couldn't put it down. It's a quick read that I hated to see end.Read full review
