Water for Elephants was an extremely entertaining read. It flips back and forth between 90 (or 93) year old Jacob Jankowski during his days in an assisted living facility, and his 23 year old self in the 1930s. Tragedy strikes young Jacob when his parents both die just before he takes his vet exams. He does the only sane thing — he accidentally runs away with the circus. He becomes the show’s veterinarian. There he meets and falls for Marlena, a performer who is already married… to Jacob’s boss. We also meet Rosie, a pachyderm with quite a personality.
There are several different themes in the book which show up in many different ways. For example, the theme of being trapped: Jacob is trapped in the nursing home, Marlena is trapped in her marriage, Rosie is trapped performing for a crazy & violent man.
The descriptions of the circus seems true-to-life. I have seen one other depiction of circus life in the 1930s – on the HBO series Carnivale. One thing that struck me in both of these depictions is just how dirty everything and everyone is.
The story is written very well – i couldn’t put it down. The story of young Jacob was certainly the most interesting, but old Jacob is quite a feisty fellow and i was curious what would happen to him, too. The ending surprised and amused me.
I would definitely recommend it. It would be an excellent book club book.