Water for Elephants

Gruen, S. (2004). Water for elephants. Chapel HIll: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Annotation: Ninety-three year old Jacob Jankowski relives his years working as as a circus veterinarian during the Great Depression.

Summary: Jacob Jankowski has lived a good life. Now he's parked in a nursing home, always living by someone else's rules, waiting to die. The monotony of routine is disturbed by the arrival of a Circus tent within view of the home's windows which has Jacob reliving his his past, beginning with his final days as a student at Cornell University and including the months when he was employed as a circus veterinarian with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob is unaware of the social structure of the Circus and manages to cross social lines, often upsetting others and drawing attention to himself. He is initially embraced by the head trainer, August and his wife Marlena, but August is a cruel and mentally ill man who is suspicious of Jacob's relationship with Marlena. Eventually many things go wrong with the circus, ending in some of the men releasing the animals. In the ensuing stampede an elephant that August was particularly cruel to drives a stake through August's head killing him. In the final chapters we find that Jacob has left the nursing home unattended to visit the circus and ends up convincing them to take him on the road to sell tickets.

Review: I loved this book! It's exploration of life in during the Great Depression was fascinating. Gruen's use of chapters which alternate between the past and the present worked well and created a sense of mystery. They allowed you to see that Jacob survived, but kept me guessing who it was that Jacob was protecting and wondering if the wife that he mourns would turn out to be Marlena. The entire story is bittersweet, with Jacob struggling to maintain his humanity and morality in the face of the brutality of circus life. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Possible recommendations: The aerialist by Richard Schmitt, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Rating:5Q, 5P