Book Review-Water for Elephants

I just finished a book that was on the New York Times best seller list for 12 weeks in 2006 and is back on the list now, and is being made into a movie.  Of course, it is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

The story is told by Jacob Jankowski, the main character, in flashbacks.  Jacob is currently living in a nursing home and is reminded of his circus days when a circus sets up across the street and another resident claims that he carried water for elephants when he was a boy.  Jacob, being a exotic animal veterinarian, questions the man's claim, which sets his memory in motion.  He tells the story of how he joined the circus, and what circus life was like in Depression era America.  Many of the stories about the circus are based on actual events that Sara Gruen, the author, learned about as she was researching the story.  This is also a love story: Jacob falls in love with Marlena and with Rosie the elephant. 

I liked it because the story moved along at a good pace, the characters were complex, the circus stories were interesting, and it was exciting.

Water for Elephants By Gruen, Sara 2006-05 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781565124998 Check Our Catalog Alex Award Winner - 2008 BookPage Notable Title A veterinary student during the Great Depression who almost earned his degree, Jacob Jankowski is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. There he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. …More

Blue Moon Circus By Raleigh, Michael 2004-03 - Sourcebooks Landmark 9781402202384 Check Our Catalog A carnival of wild and wondrous characters from another time, in an absolutely unforgettable place. …More

The Circus in Winter By Day, Cathy 2005-07 - Harvest Books 9780156032025 Check Our Catalog In her astonishing debut, Cathy Day follows the everyday lives of the people of the Great Porter Circus, as they make the unlikely choice to winter in the town of Lima, Indiana, a place that feels as classic to readers as Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio." …More

The Untouchable By Banville, John 1998-06 - Vintage Books USA 9780679767473 Check Our Catalog One of the most dazzling and adventurous writers now working in English takes on the enigma of the Cambridge spies in a novel of exquisite menace, biting social comedy, and vertiginous moral complexity. The narrator is the elderly Victor Maskell, formerly of British intelligence, for many years art expert to the Queen. Now he has been unmasked as a Russian agent and subjected to a disgrace that is almost a kind of death. But at whose instigation? As Maskell retraces his tortuous path from his recruitment at Cambridge to the airless upper regions of the establishment, we discover a figure of manifold doubleness: Irishman and Englishman; husband, father, and lover of men; betrayer and dupe. Beautifully written, filled with convincing fictional portraits of Maskell's co-conspirators, and vibrant with the mysteries of loyalty and identity, "The Untouchable places John Banville in the select company of both Conrad and le Carre. Winner of the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction "Contemporary fiction gets no better than this... Banville's books teem with life and humor." - Patrick McGrath, "The New York Times Book Review "Victor Maskell is one of the great characters in recent fiction... "The Untouchable is the best work of art in any medium on [its] subject." -"Washington Post Book World "As remarkable a literary voice as any to come out of Ireland; Joyce and Beckett notwithstanding." -"San Francisco Chronicle …More

Beautiful Maria of My Soul: Or the True Story of Maria Garcia y Cifuentes, the Lady Behind a Famous Song By Hijuelos, Oscar 2010-06 - Hyperion Books 9781401323349 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" is a Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American classic. Now, in his new novel, Hijuelos returns to this indelible story, to tell it from the point of view of its beloved heroine, Maria. …More

The Elephant Keeper By Nicholson, Christopher 2010-07 - Harper Paperbacks 9780061651618 Check Our Catalog "A sensitive boy suddenly becomes groom to Timothy and Jenny, the first pair of young elephants brought into England in the 1700s. This informative, engaging and moving book has clear insight into the impact of poverty, alienation and isolation that is as relevant today as it was then."--"San Francisco Chronicle Book Review." …More

The Elephant's Journey By Saramago, Jose Translator Costa, Margaret Jull 2010-09 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780547352589 Check Our Catalog In 1551, King Joao III of Portugal gave Archduke Maximilian an unusual wedding present: an elephant named Solomon. The elephant's journey from Lisbon to Vienna was witnessed and remarked upon by scholars, historians, and ordinary people--and serves as the foundation for this witty tale of friendship and adventure. …More