
Jacob, who is 23, is just about to finish his veterinarian studies at Cornell University. Unexpectedly, he is thrown into a horrible predicament. After a sudden tragedy, he is left with no family, no home, and no money. Not only does he not have any money, but he has no way to make money. In a time of desperation, Jacob hops on a moving train, having no idea where it is going and no idea what he is going to do once he gets on. Much to his surprise, the train is a traveling circus, one of the most famous circus’ in the country. With nowhere to go, no money to his name, and no clue what to do next, he hopes for the best and tries to become a circus man.
Jacob, the protagonist of the novel, tells the story from his point of view. The novel switches back and forth between present day Jacob, who resides in a nursing home, and Jacob from the past, a lost boy trying to find his way again. Marlena, the show’s main female performer, catches Jacob’s eye right away, too bad for him she’s married to August, one of the meanest men I have ever encountered in literature; I loathed him throughout the entire novel. There are a few other quirky characters in this novel: Camel, Walter, Uncle Al, and Barbara, all of whom made me laugh from time to time.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a fascinating novel. I have never read anything like it. I know I am one of the last people to jump on the Water for Elephants bandwagon, pun intended, but to be honest, I have been afraid to read it. I hated the idea of a “circus book.” I hate the circus, and more specifically I hate clowns. Much to my surprise, I was intrigued by the circus life; it’s so mysterious and magical. Circus people belong in their own category of life. Most of them don’t have a place to call “home.” They live in trains, RVs, or hotels, and wander around the world aimlessly, setting up one day, and leaving the next. Okay, so maybe being in the circus is kind of like being in the military, “Not all those who wander are lost…”
Usually I read books about subjects I know about: love, high school, friendship, family, military life, etc. Water for Elephants was a completely new world for me to disappear into. I was able to visualize the performers and workers living on a train, eating in a tent, and becoming a family of their own. To these people, the circus is their family. They love each other, fight with each other, depend on each other, and form strong bonds that last a lifetime.
I loved all of the circus animals the most. Rosie, the elephant, is my favorite, for the obvious reasons. I also loved Bobo, the orangutan. I never realized how hard it would be to take care of all of the animals in a circus; it seems to me that they require more work than the humans. I was sad and disgusted at many parts because of the way the animals are treated if they misbehave; I hate reading about animal cruelty. I was almost brought to tears on several occasions.
Uncle Al is a pretty awful circus manager. He is money hungry and doesn’t take care of anyone on the team, except for himself. He calls the circus his family, but all he wants is to be better than the Ringling Brothers. He often puts the entire circus in danger because of his crazy ideas and doesn’t let anyone talk him down from his schemes. I wish he was the one who got sick from the alcohol. The majority of the story is based during prohibition, when alcohol was highly illegal. The circus managed to get alcohol here and there, which only caused more trouble for them all.
I would recommend this book to men and women ages 14-adult. It’s an easy book to read cover to cover, and that’s basically what I did. After finishing the book, I watched the movie and I must admit, it was a pretty good adaption. Of course, many scenes felt rushed, and a lot of facts were left out, but for the most part, I enjoyed it. Robert Pattinson even impressed me, although sometimes I just thought he was Edward from Twilight,