Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2007, Paperback, Reprint)

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 with

I loved it! Her characters were impressive and her descriptive narrative provides a vivid setting. Both Jacob's young life as a student and a vet for a traveling circus and, as we first meet him, in his 90's in the nursing home are set before you in beautiful, & sometimes heartbreaking detail.

Benzini Brother's circus is portrayed in all it's glory and in all it's horror. The Depression era, and circus life at the time, is richly described and well researched. It is a murder mystery whose ending is both surprising and yet somehow righteously predictable. Still,... it was FUN! You see the murder in the beginning, but not until the end when you have all of the story behind you, do you get to see the truth. I cheered, as did many in my book club! We all agreed that we had never LAUGHED when a murderer was revealed in a novel, until Water For Elephants!

I suppose that the best way to describe this story is that it is a paradox. Our book club enjoyed it very much, with few exceptions. It was a surprising story and one that stays with you. You will never look at the circus, or a nursing home and its residents the same way again!

I've alwasy had a soft spot for circus related material - from Mary Ellen Mark's photographs to Geek Love - so I was drawn to Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.
This book was completely mesmerizing. The story is told from the point of view of a man who joins the travelling show during the depression. It flips between the present and the past. The writing is great, you don't want to put the book down. It has a action, adventure, comedy & tradegy.
I can't wait to read more by Sara Gruen. In the meantime, you should give this book a read....Highly recommended.

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.

Water for Elephants was recommended by our local book club. When I read the mixed reviews, I became interested. The book is a wonderful tale of an older person in a nursing home with all his faculties. He revisits his earlier time with the circus and his falling in love with a woman married to another. The writer has a thread of humour going through the story. I have recommended this book to all my family and friends.