#20 WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

Number of Book #20
Date Began and Finished 4/4 - 4/7 2008
Genre - Fiction
Year It Was Published - 2006
Publisher - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Number of Pages 331
Hardcover
Reason for reading: Tbr, Group Read
Rating 4.5/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: This book had a lot of hype the year it came out, and I usually don't like to read books like that until the fuss has died down a bit. A friend sent this to me and I finally found the time to read it (it was also a group read). The book definitely does live up to its reputation, and I will most likely put it down as one of my favorite reads in 2008.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is the story of a man, who now in his golden years, is reminiscing about his past and his days in the circus. The book goes back and forth between the two time periods, the present and the past (Depression era), and I think it was done quite nicely. Jacob Jankowski is the narrator and old man that is looking back on the eccentric life he had in the circus, about the people he met and knew, and the woman that changed his life. While Jacob sits in the old folks home, his mind wanders back to those days, often confusing the present with the past.

His past takes us to his story of how he ended up with the circus, just a few exams short of a degree. His future was that of a veterinarian, but that dream was cut short when his parents die suddenly, and he doesn't have the focus to continue. He loses the family home, loses his bright future, and has nowhere to go. Luck brings him to the train that carries the circus from one town to another. He hitches a ride, and thus begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The reader will discover that this book is not really about the circus. Yes, most of the story line does take place behind the scenes of a circus, but what WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is really all about is loyalty, and friendship and love, and the relationships that Jacob develops during these years in the circus. I think while comparing Jacob's current life in the Seniors home to what he had in the circus, is almost akin to that of a caged animal locked up. Jacob's time in this Seniors home is stagnating him, and he continues to look back at his younger years with longing. He remembers all that had transpired, his relationship with his fellow circus entertainers and workers, the circus ringmaster, a cruel and dangerous man who had his gentle side, and the ringmaster's wife, Marlena, who is in a way imprisoned in a marriage that she can't get out of. In the middle of it all is a gentle elephant named Rosie, who becomes an integral part of the circus and an animal that Jacob takes under his wing. It is Rosie's relationship with several of the main characters that helps tell the story of these people, leading back to Jacob's present state and where his last remaining days on earth will take him.

I highly recommend WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. It's an insightful story about people, in an unusual setting.