Water for Elephants ~ Sara Gruen

Jacob Jankowski is about to graduate from Cornell with a degree in veterinary medicine, but a terrible tragedy befalls him, and suddenly all he wants to do is run away from everyone and everything he’s ever known. He finds himself hopping on board a passing train without knowing what the train holds or where it’s going. Jacob discovers that the train is a circus train. To save himself from getting thrown from the train (and killed most likely) Jacob says that he is down on his luck and needs a job. He is quickly thrown into a world that is far from the glamorous, fun-filled façade one sees during a circus performance. Life behind the scenes can be absolutely terrifying. The work is dirty, sometimes disgusting. The people are often ruthless, malicious and deceiving. Jacob does back-breaking manual labor for a short time, but the boss soon discovers that Jacob is (almost) a veterinarian. He is quickly put to work in the menagerie. His job is to take care of all of the animals who perform and are on display at the circus. His work puts him in close contact with Marlena, a young woman who performs nightly with her group of horses. Jacob is intrigued with Marlena from the first moment he sees her, but she is married to a volatile man named August. August oversees all of the animals at the circus, so Jacob’s job depends on him. If August isn’t happy with him, he could find himself thrown from the train in the night. “Red lighting” is the preferred method of the circus bosses for getting rid of employees who are causing a problem. (Sometimes the problem is that they just can’t afford to pay them!) Jacob finds life with the circus so horrible and stomach-turning that he would probably quit (even though during the Great Depression that isn’t a very wise idea). Then, Rosie enters his life. Rosie is the first elephant the Benzini Brothers’ Circus has had since the owner, Uncle Al, took over. When Uncle Al buys the elephant, the previous caretaker tells him that she is the stupidest animal he has ever worked with. Jacob falls instantly in love with her, but August, who can’t make her do anything, quickly becomes her most feared and hated enemy. August is inexcusably cruel to Rosie. As much as Jacob would like leave the Benzini Brothers’ Circus (and maybe take Marlena with him) he can’t leave Rosie with August. It seems that a happy ending for anyone involved is virtually impossible. The story comes to an incredible climax and one of the characters finally snaps.

This book actually contains two stories. The entire book is narrated by Jacob, but the story switches back and forth between Jacob’s story of his life with the circus in his early twenties and his current life as an unhappy ninety-something year old man in a nursing home. In modern times a circus has set up right next to the nursing home where Jacob lives. This sparks his memories and makes him determined to go to the circus with or without his infrequently visiting family members.

This is the second time in a year’s time that I have seen a trailer for a movie that made me want to read the book. First it happened with Eat, Pray, Love and now it has happened with Water for Elephants. I saw a trailer online, and thought, “Wow! That sounds like a great story. It’s got romance, betrayal, danger, and a CIRCUS!” I remembering picking up this book in an airport years ago and deciding not to buy it even though I was really wanting to buy something to read. Whatever synopsis was written on the back of the book certainly didn’t depict the story very well. But the movie trailer hooked me.

I have to begin my commentary by saying this is one of the best books I have read in a LONG time! It is on my list of new classics (along with the likes of the Time Traveler’s Wife- which was absolutely BUTCHERED by Hollywood, by the way.) The characters are so wonderfully full of life. I truly came to care about so many of the minor characters as well as the major ones. The villains are real enough to be even scarier than your run of the mill bad guy. The time period (The Great Depression) is almost a character itself. It permeates the entire story. I love the way the author pulled you back and forth from the past to the present. I would get so caught up in the romance of Jacob’s thrilling life as a young man. It was like being doused with cold water coming back to his life as an old man. But I loved the way that felt. And is that what it’s like to be old? Inside you’re this young person, who has had all these adventures, but your body has betrayed you, and people treat you not like a stupid child? All your rich experiences are completely ignored? It makes me shudder. Another thing I loved about this book was the way the author began the book with an excerpt from the climax at the end of the story. Number one: the excitement of it completely pulled me into the story right away. Number two: the whole time I was reading I knew that these characters were headed for a disaster. I just didn’t know how they would get to that point and who would survive. It was a brilliant choice by the author! I also loved reading the interview with the author at the end of the book, too. It turns out she did extensive research on circuses and elephants while writing this book. And some of the craziest things that happen in this book are actually events that (reportedly) really happened in circus history. Makes the book even more interesting, doesn’t it? I know I’ve used the word “love” a few times already, but here it goes one more time. I LOVED this book, and I think others will too. It is very rare that I read a book, finish it, and know for certain that I will read it again someday. But this book is one of those books! If I had borrowed it from the library I would be searching for a copy to buy. But as luck would have it, I did buy it already. I can begin reading it again anytime I want to!

P.S. Parents and teachers, be aware that this book contains some very adult content (some violence but mostly that of a sexual nature). I would not feel comfortable recommending it to a student who wasn’t an adult.