Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits - the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth - a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student who almost earned his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that 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. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.
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This summary does not do justice to the book. It is not just a love story. Rather it is an intriguing view of a traveling circus set on a train during the depression.
Recently I reread it. I had not remembered that the narrator was a resident of an assisted living facility. A theme of the book is his escape from the social and physical restraints of assisted living into a form of freedom.
Our experiences inevitably color our reactions to prope and events.