Monday, January 14, 2008

Water For Elephants



Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Copyright 2006
331 pages
Reason for reading: This is one of my TBR Challenge books.
Days to finish: 1


I adored this book. I absolutely loved it. A lot of people said that I would but I was a little skeptical going into it. The premise seemed weird. It was about a guy that joined a circus as the veterinarian. Sounded cheesy to me. Boy! Was I ever wrong. The book was so much more. It was about love, the circus, animals, betrayal, loss, aging, and excitement.


Jacob, the main character, deals with the loss of his parents and, thus, the world as he knew it or thought it was going to be, by running. Not knowing where to go or what to do next, he jumped a train that happened to belong to a circus. Set in the 1930's this book takes place when circuses still travelled town to town by train. Despite the dirt, the smells, and the hardships, the circus was glamorous and the reader is taken along on a very bumpy ride.


The story goes back and forth between Jacob at 23, full of life, and a circus vet to Jacob at 90 or 93 (he isn't sure of the year) and in an assisted living facility. It's a very sharp contrast between seeing him as someone in control and someone at the mercy of others. The things that happen to him at the home and his trials that come from being old make you wonder if that's how we really treat our elderly. Is that what we have to look forward to in our golden years? One passage in the book describes how he gets upset at having to eat mushy food every day. He becomes vocal in his protestations. As a result, and against his wishes, he's given antidepressants. The staff and his doctor didn't listen to him; they just saw a crotchety, old, depressed shadow of a man.


Jacob's time with the circus was full of drama. He sees and immediately falls for Marlena, one of the performers who also happens to be married to August, the man in charge of the menagerie. Jacob is immediately met with confrontation when forced to bunk with another performer who hated Jacob on sight. He also has to deal with August's volatile nature. Lastly, there's Rosie. Rosie is the seemingly untrainable circus elephant that is oftentimes the object of August's vileness. Jacob sees more in her than just a "dumb" elephant.


This book truly did have everything including one of the best endings I've ever read in a book. If you know me, you know how much endings are important to me. As soon as I was finished reading it, I had the urge to turn back to page one and start all over again which isn't something that happens often with a book no matter how much I like it. Sara Gruen is a magnificent author who paid much attention to detail and the history of circuses. If you haven't read this book, you're missing out on an experience.

4 comments:

  1. That's quite a glowing review! I am glad you enjoyed it, Trisha. I've heard that come up a lot, that people are skeptical and then end up loving it in the end. I've been one of the skeptics, I admit, but I am looking forward to reading it. Great review!

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  2. I knew you would like it, Trisha! Reading your review reminds me of all the things I loved about it.

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  3. Hands down one of the best books I read in 2007! So glad you liked it. Many people recommended it to me but it wasn't until a friend literally placed it in myhands and said "read" did I finally take the plunge. It was excellent!

    Your review was spot on...it was so much more than what you think.

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  4. LF~~I can't wait to read what you think about it when you get to read it.

    Jacki~~I know! You were one of the people who said I would like it before I read it. And with all I said, it still didn't really convey how much I enjoyed the book.

    Pam~~Thanks. It was def about more than just elephants, lol. The title is misleading. I don't know about other editions, but mine didn't have a synopsis about the book anywhere on or in it.

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