ankatriendr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
melagrossi's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fantastic look at the life of a man at a crossroad. Very well written and I'm looking forward to the screen adaptation which I know will disappoint.
mothmans_library's review against another edition
5.0
Can be a little slow at times but an otherwise incredible book.
gjv's review against another edition
5.0
This book was utterly fantastic. I adore historical fiction, but I've been lingering on novels set in King Henry VIII's court and similar eras, and I'd been craving something set in the 20th century for a change. I received a copy of [b:Water for Elephants|43641|Water for Elephants|Sara Gruen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170161179s/43641.jpg|3441236] for my birthday, and it was so wonderful that as soon as I finished the last page, I seriously contemplated flipping back to the front and starting over again immediately.
The narrator is 90-year-old Jacob Jankowski, living in an old-folks' home and hating his life in between the increasingly-infrequent visits from his children and grandchildren. The only bright spot in his life right now is that the circus has come to town, and his family has promised to take him this weekend. This leads us back to the 1920s, during the Depression and Prohibition. A young Jacob drops out of veterinary school and ends up joining a traveling circus. The ringmaster, Uncle Al, doesn't mind that he doesn't have his degree; the animals in the circus are only good to him if they can perform or work. As Jacob tries to find his place in the complicated dynamic of the circus behind the scenes, he falls in love with Marlena, one of the performers. Unfortunately, she is married to August, the head animal trainer, who is charming one moment, and hysterically violent the next.
This book had everything I wanted: romance, heartbreak, murder, quirky characters... but most of all it took me to a period in time that I had not really been to yet. The behind-the-scenes look at a Depression-era circus was so fascinating. But the scenes with Jacob in the nursing home were splendid as well. I wanted this book to never end.
The narrator is 90-year-old Jacob Jankowski, living in an old-folks' home and hating his life in between the increasingly-infrequent visits from his children and grandchildren. The only bright spot in his life right now is that the circus has come to town, and his family has promised to take him this weekend. This leads us back to the 1920s, during the Depression and Prohibition. A young Jacob drops out of veterinary school and ends up joining a traveling circus. The ringmaster, Uncle Al, doesn't mind that he doesn't have his degree; the animals in the circus are only good to him if they can perform or work. As Jacob tries to find his place in the complicated dynamic of the circus behind the scenes, he falls in love with Marlena, one of the performers. Unfortunately, she is married to August, the head animal trainer, who is charming one moment, and hysterically violent the next.
This book had everything I wanted: romance, heartbreak, murder, quirky characters... but most of all it took me to a period in time that I had not really been to yet. The behind-the-scenes look at a Depression-era circus was so fascinating. But the scenes with Jacob in the nursing home were splendid as well. I wanted this book to never end.
ktkilroy's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really good book. Maybe even a 4.5 star book. An easy read, with great characters and story. Would definitely recommend this one!
leilabp4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mwbuntin's review against another edition
4.0
not as good as I thought it was going to be, but still very good.
janko27's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book, even though I think I may have cried through at least 1/2 of it. I'm what some call "animal sensitive" so some of the subject matter was difficult for me, but overall a great book and good reminder of how we treat our elderly.
megea's review against another edition
3.0
I can't decide if this is a 3- or a 4- star read. It is very entertaining, and it baits and switches you with a foreshadowing prologue and a trick ending, but is it good? I'm just not sure. It was certainly melodramatic, and I generally feel that melodrama is unnecessary to quality literature. If a novel is good and well written, it can be gripping without page-turning hijinks. But must literature eschew melodrama? Undoubtedly no. The novels of Dostoevsky and Thomas Hardy were published as serials, which is obvious from the soap opera dynamics of their plots. Yet they still stood the test of time. Sara Gruen, however, is no Dostoevsky. Probably not even a Hardy.
Water for Elephants does begin to touch on some of the devices popular in contemporary fiction, especially the question of narrator reliability. However, I don't think that Water for Elephants accomplishes this as thought provokingly here as other recent novels have and it tends to stretch the bounds of credibility, especially as regards the interpersonal relationships and human interactions it contains.
Oops. I didn't mean for this to be a treatise on melodrama and literature, or even a justification of my rating.
Water for Elephants does begin to touch on some of the devices popular in contemporary fiction, especially the question of narrator reliability. However, I don't think that Water for Elephants accomplishes this as thought provokingly here as other recent novels have and it tends to stretch the bounds of credibility, especially as regards the interpersonal relationships and human interactions it contains.
Oops. I didn't mean for this to be a treatise on melodrama and literature, or even a justification of my rating.