Rating: *****
Tags: Fiction, Circus Performers, Historical, Coming of Age, Lang:en
Summary
Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell
inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind.
Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a
rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most
Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with
freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and
passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its
own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the
circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out-orphaned and
penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this
locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the
Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was
lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the
equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the
wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak.
And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great
gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of
the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act-in
fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that
grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and
ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. Surprising,
poignant, and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel
with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down;
with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after
the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder,
a world so real, one starts to breathe its air. **