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.I'm very excited about discussing this fascinating and moving story - but maybe not as excited as Mia, who emailed me her comments to post to the blog. Check out what she has to say about the story by hitting the Comments button below...
3 comments:
Comments from Mia on Water for Elephants:
Enjoyed more than I thought I would!
Interested in hearing a man's view of her portrayal of a male voice. Love some of her perspectives-
pg 13-I used to think I preferred getting old to the alternative.... All I can do is put in time waiting for the inevitable...
pg 109-I hate the bizarre policy of protective exclusion...it writes me off the page. ...it's a protective mechanism...against my future death...
About the truth of August's death, I believe the prologue to be true, and what Rosemary says to him on pg.177, at top, tells why his story changed.
...things you think on and wish on start to seem real...become a part of your history...
Glad to see that I wasn't loosing it... When my book club discussed the book I seemed to be the only one that thought the story the first time around had the girl not the elephant committing the crime.
Enjoyed the book!
agree with both of you on the seeming differences in August's death from the begining version and the later version - but if you reread the first chapter again - he uses the ambigous "she" pronoun throughout.
Some in our recent discussion though tthe elephant - some thought Marlena...
Great book and an overwhelming favorite for the group this year!
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