Water For Elephants: Mystery and Mayhem at the Circus
Posted by Cami Eslick on
September 2, 2008
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
PLOT
The circus comes to town right next door to 93 year old Jacob Jankowski’s nursing home setting off a string of memories. When Jacob was 21 his parents were killed in a car accident and he ended up running off and joining the circus. Jacob’s memories give the readers a behind-the-scenes peek at the greatest show on earth. Like any workplace the circus Jacob works for is full of politics, a pecking order, backstabbing and fighting. When Jacob falls in love with his boss’s wife, he learns that the circus he joins has dark secrets.
SCOOP
This is the first book I’ve ever read that involves the circus. It is not the circus I remember going to. Gruen does a great job researching the circuses that travelled the country on trains back in the 1920’s and 1930’s. This story has great twists and turns and chracters to root for. Guren does a great job describing the acts, I was able to picture the acts in my mind easily. Although the story has some dark parts, it is a fun book to read.
