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A review by jnikolova
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
3.0
"Carnivale", "The Night Circus", "Joyland", "The Carnivorous Carnival", "Cirque Du Freak", the upcoming "American Horror Story: Freak Show", and also many more that I have neither read, nor watched... What's the common denominator? CIRCUSES.
Just about everyone and their grandmother has written a book about a strange circus and a hero or heroine's tale of misfortunes in a circus. This theme is much too exploited. Frankly, I am fed up with circuses, especially ones in America during the Great Depression. I had a great depression of my own, watching "Carnivale", and "Water for Elephants" brought me right back to that place.
What is the story of this book, you ask. Is there anyone left who hasn't seen the movie where dreadful Pattinson ruins yet another role? If so, let me explain.
It's the Great Depression. A boy loses his family and completely on accident jumps the train of the not-so-spectacular Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He, of course, manages to convince them to keep him, in a time when everyone is looking for a job with much less success. After that he randomly has a love-at-first-sight experience with exact woman that is completely forbidden to him. She is, in fact, married to a cruel and vicious schizophrenic who seemingly befriends our misguided hero, Jacob, but later it is revealed that August actually sees Jacob as a rival and is ready at any moment to have him thrown off the train if he but looks strange at his maaarvelous wife. So, Jacob has to fight for Marlena and for his right to be the circus vet.
With me so far?
Now, Jacob is depicted from the first three pages as a die-hard virgin and throughout the book it is his most consistent personality trait. He acts brave at some moments, then he completely chickens out, then he is cocky, after that he is a total looser.
And that's Jacob in the past. In the present, 90 or 93 three years old Jacob is telling this entire tale, and he is a completely different person. He stands up for himself much more, he is also very cranky and an actual pain in the butt. But as a result of this narration of sorts, we very well know that nothing really happened to Jacob and there is no reason whatsoever to be worried about him or even care, considering that he is alive and in his 90's.
Not to mention that the prologue to the book pretty much makes reading the rest of the story pointless because it actually shows what happens in the most crucial scene in the book. Once you know which character is who, there is really no point reading on. Unless you expect something to change in that scene. Which does not happen...
Marlena is the lovely, charming, perfect and astonishing love interest of the protagonist and the antagonist. But if you skip the pompous descriptions made by Jacob, she is quite a nothing. She lacks personality beyond the fact that she really, really, and take me seriously here, she really loves her horses. She left her family to join the circus and not to get married to a fat old guy, to instead marry a crazy old guy. O-okay. But she is fascinating and beautiful and marvelous and spectacular. Yeah?
Despite the book being about the story of young Jacob, the story which made me actually care was the one about old Jacob and his struggles with old age, his family which doesn't really care any more, and the actually amazing finale of the book. Whereas the prologue scene which I talked about already, was totally spoiled when it was repeated in the end, the really last scene had me clapping for old Jacob. He was a total asshole, in my opinion, but nobody deserves being left and forgotten by the people he loves, so I was really proud of him at the end.
As far as the writing goes, there were moments when I enjoyed the way the author tells stories and describes things, at that she is good. But the story itself was not that good. Maybe if she had a truly great idea, she could write something fantastic. Sadly, I could compare this book to a vulgar teenager, still a child but trying through false and forced vulgarity to try and look older and more mature. That's what Gruen does. She talks about sex so much that she seems to forget that our dear Jacob is still a virgin! And for a virgin guy in his twenties, he is much too unimpressed at certain moments, and only in some does he act as virgin guys usually do.
ON THE OFF-TOPIC SIDE: Please do take a look at this gif of Pattinson doing what he usually does while acting: stare. And stare some more. Have you seen The Twilight Saga: Just the Stares! IT'S 26 FUCKING MINUTES OF STARES.
I also highly recommend this: haven't laughed so much in my life.
Just about everyone and their grandmother has written a book about a strange circus and a hero or heroine's tale of misfortunes in a circus. This theme is much too exploited. Frankly, I am fed up with circuses, especially ones in America during the Great Depression. I had a great depression of my own, watching "Carnivale", and "Water for Elephants" brought me right back to that place.
What is the story of this book, you ask. Is there anyone left who hasn't seen the movie where dreadful Pattinson ruins yet another role? If so, let me explain.
It's the Great Depression. A boy loses his family and completely on accident jumps the train of the not-so-spectacular Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He, of course, manages to convince them to keep him, in a time when everyone is looking for a job with much less success. After that he randomly has a love-at-first-sight experience with exact woman that is completely forbidden to him. She is, in fact, married to a cruel and vicious schizophrenic who seemingly befriends our misguided hero, Jacob, but later it is revealed that August actually sees Jacob as a rival and is ready at any moment to have him thrown off the train if he but looks strange at his maaarvelous wife. So, Jacob has to fight for Marlena and for his right to be the circus vet.
With me so far?
Now, Jacob is depicted from the first three pages as a die-hard virgin and throughout the book it is his most consistent personality trait. He acts brave at some moments, then he completely chickens out, then he is cocky, after that he is a total looser.
And that's Jacob in the past. In the present, 90 or 93 three years old Jacob is telling this entire tale, and he is a completely different person. He stands up for himself much more, he is also very cranky and an actual pain in the butt. But as a result of this narration of sorts, we very well know that nothing really happened to Jacob and there is no reason whatsoever to be worried about him or even care, considering that he is alive and in his 90's.
Not to mention that the prologue to the book pretty much makes reading the rest of the story pointless because it actually shows what happens in the most crucial scene in the book. Once you know which character is who, there is really no point reading on. Unless you expect something to change in that scene. Which does not happen...
Marlena is the lovely, charming, perfect and astonishing love interest of the protagonist and the antagonist. But if you skip the pompous descriptions made by Jacob, she is quite a nothing. She lacks personality beyond the fact that she really, really, and take me seriously here, she really loves her horses. She left her family to join the circus and not to get married to a fat old guy, to instead marry a crazy old guy. O-okay. But she is fascinating and beautiful and marvelous and spectacular. Yeah?
Despite the book being about the story of young Jacob, the story which made me actually care was the one about old Jacob and his struggles with old age, his family which doesn't really care any more, and the actually amazing finale of the book. Whereas the prologue scene which I talked about already, was totally spoiled when it was repeated in the end, the really last scene had me clapping for old Jacob. He was a total asshole, in my opinion, but nobody deserves being left and forgotten by the people he loves, so I was really proud of him at the end.
As far as the writing goes, there were moments when I enjoyed the way the author tells stories and describes things, at that she is good. But the story itself was not that good. Maybe if she had a truly great idea, she could write something fantastic. Sadly, I could compare this book to a vulgar teenager, still a child but trying through false and forced vulgarity to try and look older and more mature. That's what Gruen does. She talks about sex so much that she seems to forget that our dear Jacob is still a virgin! And for a virgin guy in his twenties, he is much too unimpressed at certain moments, and only in some does he act as virgin guys usually do.
ON THE OFF-TOPIC SIDE: Please do take a look at this gif of Pattinson doing what he usually does while acting: stare. And stare some more. Have you seen The Twilight Saga: Just the Stares! IT'S 26 FUCKING MINUTES OF STARES.
I also highly recommend this: haven't laughed so much in my life.