Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Plot

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

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To begin with, let me tell you why I chose this book.  To put it simply, I saw the trailer for the movie based on it.  Prior to that, I really hadn't given the idea of reading the book much (if any) thought, but I caught the trailer and it actually piqued my interest, so I decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad I did.  I really enjoyed it.  It was a lot like The Green Mile (one of my favorite books) in the structure of the storytelling: An elderly man in a nursing home, reflecting back on an important time in his life.  I only just now realized that simialrity.  Subliminal messages luring me in, perhaps?  The book was a pretty fast read.  I mean, I do tend to breeze through books, when I enjoy them, but even I was surprised by how easily I read this (12 hours off and on).

The subject matter was fascinating.  The fact that Gruen actually took the time to heavily research travelling circuses just made it even more interesting, because it was accurate (allegedly.  Can't say I've been involved in too many circus acts, so kind of have to take her word for it).

Complaints?  The plot was a little lost on me.  It just seemed like there were events that occured but nothing really pressed the story forward.  That's not to say it was boring, but it just seemed a little flat.  No real rise and fall.

Bottom line, I'd recommend it.  Especially if you plan to see the movie.  I've heard they're changing the ending (to what, I don't know), so it presents a good opportunity to see whether or not Hollywood can manage to change without ruining.  In my opinion, the ending doesn't need changing, but...we'll see.

~Missy