Gruen, Sara (2007). Water for Elephants: A Novel. New York, New York: Algonquin Books. ISBN: 9781565125605
350 pages
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 17-19
Stars: 4 stars
Subjects: Circus, Relationships,
Reader's Annotation
90- or 93-year-old Jacob Jankowski tells this story of his incredible adventures with the Benzini Brothers Circus and his adventures through the Depression, his care for teh circus animals, and his misadventures with love in a narrative flashback that skips back and forth across time.
Summary
At the beginning of this story, Jacob Jakowski is an assisted living home and he is reflecting on his adventurous days with the Benzini Brother Circus. He skips back and forth between the Depression Era and the present and his complaints of his failing body and his slow reveal of the secrets of the past is equally gripping and heartbreaking. As a young man, after the death of his parents, he dropped out of veterinary school at Cornell and began working for the circus. He explores his close relationship with the animals there, in particular Rosie, an elephant that almost seems human, and in this process, exposes the cruelty at the circus for humans and animals as well as the emotional heart of the novel.
Notes
This story can be dark at times, and it is a book written primarily for an adult audience, so it has been recommended primarily for older teens and those with the emotional maturity to handle graphic descriptions of animal cruelty and physical relationships.
Other Information
Readers may enjoy exploring Gruen's other books, Riding Lessons, Flying Chances, and coming in spring 2009, Ape House. These also explore close relationships between humans and animals, and Riding Lessons, in particular, has a gripping story of an equestrienne's relationship with horses and a past she must contend with as her father lays dying.
Author Information
