Water for Elephants
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Rae_Rae_H thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 13 and 56
friendlyfaceca thinks this title is suitable for 18 years and over
Michelle M. Veilleux thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Keep_On_Rockin thinks this title is suitable for 17 years and over
violet_ant_88 thinks this title is suitable for 11 years and over
corrabelle thinks this title is suitable for 16 years and over
Blue_Eagle_181 thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Readingwriter1998 thinks this title is suitable for 16 years and over
Black_Cheetah_38 thinks this title is suitable for 18 years and over
bookworm356 thinks this title is suitable for 18 years and over
Summary
Add a SummaryJacob Jankowski is just a normal, young adult that is studying at college to become a vet. However, everything changes when both his parents died. Homeless and without any money, Jacob takes his chances by jumping onto a passing train. There he is welcomed as a vet for the animals. As the days go on, he's become great friends with August, a circus boss, and his wife Marlena, a performer. Slowly Jacob begins to fall in love with Marlena and hate August for his cruelty to the animals and other men. Meanwhile, the circus buys an elephant named Rosie, who at first seemed stupid and worthless, was soon a main act of the show, thanks to Jacob. Then August accuses Jacob and Marlena of having an affair behind his back, which made him go into a madmen state, beating up Jacob and hitting his own wife. Suffering enough of the abuse, Marlena divorces him and Jacob was there immediately to support her. As Uncle Al (overall circus manager) realizes that August is becoming difficult to work with due to his hate for himself because of what he did to Marlena and Jacob, he forces Jacob to try to get Marlena and August back together. However, Jacob doesn’t follow the command, still having affairs with Marlena, but when his two close friends gets 'redlighted', he realizes that Uncle Al was going after him. Luckily enough, a terrible stampede happened on the next circus act, leaving many of the workers homeless, and August and Uncle Al dead. Jacob immediately marries Marlena and decide to join Ringling's circus, where they had their first child. As the story goes, another story unfolding as well - the one with Jacob as ninety or ninety three (it's a debate throughout the book) reflecting on what happened through his life in the circus and his life now, in a nursing home with others of his own age or younger. In the end, even though no one came to visit Jacob and take him to the circus near the senior’s home, Jacob was determined and arrived at the circus on his own. There, he meets the manager of the circus who listens to his story and offers him a job in the circus as a ticket holder, and never does Jacob go back to the nursing home.
After accidentally running away with the circus, a young man finds danger, happiness, love, friendship and his future among the animals.
Notices
Add a NoticeSexual Content: alot of sexual content,
Violence: fighting, blood, nothing too bad but may be frightening to young people
Coarse Language: profanity is largely used
Sexual Content: This title contains Sexual Content.
Coarse Language: This title contains Coarse Language.
Quotes
Add a QuoteI hate him. I hate him for being so brutal. I hate that I'm beholden to him. I hate that I'm in love with his wife and something damned close to that with the elephant. And most of all, I hate that I've let them both down.
"I want her to melt into me, like butter on toast. I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin. I lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. I'm afraid to breathe in case I break the spell.”
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Add a CommentGood story, but I wish they had circled back to how he knew the guy who said he carried the water for elephants was lying.
The Angus Glen Book club read this book in May 2013. Everyone really enjoyed it. They loved being swept away with the circus and learning about animals, the depression and prohibition in the U.S. They loved the characters, especially, Jacob Walter/Kinko, Rosemary and Rosie, the elephant. The mix of Jacob's past and current life in the nursing home was a good mixture of story telling. They would recommend this book and author as a great read.
it was an alright book... to be honest i would just watch the movie if i was u... it's a slow read
Loved the quirky storyline (reminiscent of John Irving?) and the time shifting between Jacob as a young and old man.
Jan 31 2013...starting this today, hoping for a fairly fluffy read, my last book (Stolen) was brutal!....Feb 2, not making any progress.....been busy cleaning out my files.....now 2 library books in so this one is going back on the for later shelf!.....Feb 7, watched the DVD, I suspect the book will not have such a happy ending, but here's hoping. Feb 11, starting it again!....Feb 16, finished, I really enjoyed it, and the ending was even better than the movie. Will pass this one on to my sister for sure.
I saw this book on an online list of modern classics, and resolved to read it immediately. I was completely unprepared for the plot that was both fast-paced and entirely unique. The reader identifies easily with Jacob, the main character, and emotionally weighted topics like animal abuse, neglected elderly, prostitution, domestic violence and sexual shame. Every piece of the plot pulls itself together.
"Water for Elephants." And "Night Circus" are two great circus books with all the fantasy and feel of being there as a kid for the 1st time under the big top! I will re-read both sometime.
Like it!
Our book club loved this. Some found the characters to be very stereotypical of what you could expect, but loved the story of the circus and the character development of Jacob.
This was a terrific book!