Sara gruens water for elephants at the librarys book discussion group, and. Blackandwhite photographs of real american circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed throughout the. What are six character traits jacob jankowski has in water. Its almost like love is a physical thing that he can feel moving through his body. His parents, on his final day of his cornell academy of veteranary science exams, get killed. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse diamond award for most popular book. So an ample water supply is critical for any elephant group. Im not sure if jacob jankowski is a parallel to jacob, son of isaac. It is a book i have recommended to everyone who has asked me what book i would recommend.
Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. To emphasize this, the whole book is written in the present tense. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. Jacob is working overtime as the narrator of water for elephants.
Water for elephants by sara gruen free kindle books. With a showmans expert timing, gruen saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of. When 90something jacob jankowski hears the circus is in town, it brings him back to his younger years, when he. Sara gruens very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring robert pattinson and reese witherspoon. A novel by gruen, sara and a great selection of similar used, new and collectible books available now at. A strange but beautiful combination of animals, romance, and historical fiction, water for elephants tells the story of a man who starts off as a cornell university veterinary student and ends as a tired, old, former circus member. Feb 02, 2012 a strange but beautiful combination of animals, romance, and historical fiction, water for elephants tells the story of a man who starts off as a cornell university veterinary student and ends as a tired, old, former circus member. Oct 21, 2009 water for elephants is the first adult novel ive read and it certainly didnt disappoint. She lives in western north carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the worlds fussiest goat. Jankowski, im going to get you into the show now before theres nothing left to see, but it would be an honor and a privilege if you would join me for a drink in my trailer after the show. Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and. Apr 22, 2011 weve probably all seen a movie and wished it were 40 minutes shorter or read a book and thought, damn, this really could have been condensed and lost nothing. From life on a hectic circus, to life inside of a nursing home, sara gruen finds a way to make it all exciting. Jacob jankowski is a complex character who retains the readers interest because of multiple contradictions in his character, so he can be said to show at least six character traits.
Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month jacob janowskis luck had run out. Is it primarily written for a female audience or will i like it. The circus was the main setting of the book, water for elephants. When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to. The best thing about water is the telling of the story by jacob jankowski, who is a 90 or 93 year old vet depending on how you look at it, now confined in a residential nursing home and looking back into his past. Then gruen shifts readers attention away from the eerie circus to introduce the ninety or ninetythree year old protagonist, jacob jankowski. Read water for elephants a novel of starcrossed lovers perfect for summer reading by sara gruen available from rakuten kobo. So, i read the story of jacob, son of isaac who was the son of abraham, who almost sacrificed isaac. Yet, in spite of the decades that separate younger and older jacob, we realize that jacob. The circus man water for elephants by sara gruen is a fascinating and captivating novel told from the point of view of jacob jankowski, a veterinarian who jumps aboard a traveling circus during the depression in the 1930s. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie.
Jacob jankowski from water for elephants charactour. Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and christoph waltz. Its from this nursing home that jacob tells his story, like he is looking back at all the adventures at the circus. Jacob jankowski, a veterinary student at cornell, discovers that his parents have been killed in a car accident.
An american book association indiebound best seller. I read that the story of jacob is allegedly the backbone of water for elephants. I read water for elephants for our book club, and i expected it to be as slow, dull, and superficial as most of the other books we have read. The ladys in the nursing home treat him like he cant do anything for himself. May 01, 2007 water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and christoph waltz in 2011.
Jacob jankowski is the main character of water for elephants. I decided to not watch the movie when i heard it was coming out simply because i didnt want to possibly ruin the experience id had with the book if the movie wasnt uptopar. Ana is the daughter of matthias, head scribe to herod antipas, tetrarch of galilee. Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. Goodreads members who liked water for elephants also liked. Every time i read this novel i find it more and more intriguing. Jacobs story begins at cornell university where he is studying to come a vet. In the beginning of the novel, jacob mocks another resident of the nursing home who claims to have worked in the circus and carried water for the elephants. From my understanding of both works, the only clear connection is the theme of deception. Water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus.
Water for elephants questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on water for elephants. As a consequence, it is not surprising that the annual cycle of monsoon rains in the weather pattern of asia plays a major role in determining where elephants live and why they move from place to place throughout the. Aug 21, 2009 first let me say this is one of my all time favorite books i would really suggest you reading it if you havent already. Jul 20, 2010 sara gruen is the internationally bestselling author of water for elephants and at the water s edge. Jacob jankowski runs away and joins the circus, proving its never too late to. Water for elephants resembles stealth hits like the giants house, by elizabeth mccracken, or the lovely bones, by alice sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowdpleasing romanticism. Water for elephants by sara gruen is an excellent novel that chronicles the life of jacob jankowski and his experiences in the benzini circus, one that is second rate at best compared to the ringling bros. When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a. The setting of the story changes throughout the book.
Jacob janowskis luck had run outorphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the benzini brothers most spectacular show on earth. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing. This is where almost all of the action of the story took place. Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories.
Water for elephants, published in 2007, is sara gruens third novel. Set during the great depression, water for elephants tells the story of a young man who leaves his life as a cornell university veterinary student after losing both his parents in a car accident, and jumps onto a train that happens to house the benzini brothers most. Jacob jankowski is the main character in the book, water for elephants. He was going to a very expensive school to be a vet. The story follows jacob jankowski who was an old man living in a nursing home, as he looks back about a time that defined his life.
Set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of america during the great depression of the early 1930s, this is a story of love and hate, trains and circuses, dwarves and fat ladies, horses and elephantsor to be more specific, one elephant, rosie, star of benzini bros most spectacular show on earth. Times, publishers weekly, san francisco chronicle, and washington post lists a usa today and wall street journal best seller an american book association indiebound best seller. With lines of startling beauty, haunting and evocative scenes and finelydrawn characters who dance off the page, readers can dip in and out of the novel, immersing themselves in jacob s memories. Water for elephants by 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 secondrate travelling circus struggling to survive during the great depression, making onenight stands in town after endless town. She demonstrates an exceptional aptitude for writing, and matthias, for a time, indulges her with reed pens, papyri, and other 16 c. I have to admit, when our book club picked this book, i thought it was going to be long and tedious. As a young man, jacob jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that. Water for elephants ebook by sara gruen rakuten kobo. Water for elephants is an enchanting pageturner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. Water for elephants by sara gruen examines the life of 93yearold jacob jankowski who worked for years in the circus as a veterinarian. Younger jacob and older jacob each gets to have his say. Charlie enters the book in the secondtolast chapter and plays a small but pivotal role.
Sara gruen is the internationally bestselling author of water for elephants and at the waters edge. First let me say this is one of my all time favorite books i would really suggest you reading it if you havent already. Water for elephants is a novel that you can easily read more than once. The novel has received high praise from numerous critics, and has. Set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of america during the great depression of the early 1930s, this is a story of love and hate, trains and circuses, dwarves and fat ladies, horses and elephantsor to be more specific, one elephant, rosie, star. Heads up folks water for elephants is coming out as a movie soon and i am looking forward to seeing it. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up.
Mar 01, 2011 water for elephants is an enchanting pageturner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. Water for elephants is a treat for the reader, a chronicle of an adventure that permanently alters the life of one twentyoneyearold veterinary school dropout. Water for elephants opens in the present day with a cranky old jankowski living out his last days in the nursing home. We relive jacobs experiences with him as he recalls his past. As an old man jacob jankowski is very misunderstood.
Mar 18, 2008 in water for elephants, deception runs quite rampant, especially from uncle al, who would constantly swindle his own crew and performers. Weve probably all seen a movie and wished it were 40 minutes shorter or read a book and thought, damn, this really could have been condensed and lost. When 90something jacob jankowski hears the circus is in town, it brings him back to his younger years, when he traveled the country working for the circus. To pay for his tuition, his parents had to take out a morgage on the house, causing him to have no home. Find books like water for elephants from the worlds largest community of readers. 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. The novel flashes back to the depression era when jankowskis parents. With a showmans expert timing, gruen saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of americana. Jacob is ninetythree year old and is looking back on his adventures in life while he spends his days in a nursing home.
Water for elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined. The book, water for elephants, starts off in the present day, in a nursing home where the main character, jacob jankowski, lives. Later in the book, it is suggested that he is a paranoid schizophrenic, to explain his violence. Its one of the few books that everyone has come back to me saying, water for elephants was so good.
Blackandwhite photographs of real american circus scenes from the first half of the century are. Water for elephants movie tiein by sara gruen, paperback. Read water for elephants by sara gruen for free with a 30 day free trial read ebook on the web, ipad, iphone and androi. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends. At its finest, water for elephants resembles stealth hits like the giants house, by elizabeth mccracken, or the lovely bones, by alice sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowdpleasing romanticism. Answered questions 22 seen this book around at sales a lotfinally picked it up. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian jacob jankowski, recounts the wild and. Extravagance, elephants and entertainment on the morning of his senior veterinary science exams at cornell, jacob jankowski is called out of the room by the dean. May 22, 2006 jacob janowskis luck had run outorphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the benzini brothers most spectacular show on earth. Youre a living piece of history, and id surely love to hear about that collapse firsthand. With lines of startling beauty, haunting and evocative scenes and finelydrawn characters who dance off the page, readers can dip in and out of the novel, immersing themselves in jacobs memories. Water for elephants begins dark and violent as it braces readers for the tumultuous circus atmosphere during the terrible years of the great depression.
When jacob jankowski arrived for the first time at the circus where he worked, he was in awe. Here he says that hes overflowing, bursting with love. The denver post so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that i couldnt bear to be torn away from it for a single minute. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures.
The inspiration for the book was a chicago tribune article about edward j. The story starts off with ninetythree year old jacob jankowski recounting his life as a young man training at cornell to be a veterinarian. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Beautifully written, water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. Elephants need to drink approximately 40 gallons of water each day. A national bestseller in canada and a new york times bestseller in the united states, this is a book destined to become a beloved fiction classic. Water for elephants is the first adult novel ive read and it certainly didnt disappoint. Several times in the book jacob compares the idea of love rising up in himself to a wave.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The following quote from jacob, taken from the book, describes, in detail, the marvelous scene. In water for elephants, jacob jankowski is portrayed as both a young man and. Tessa fontaines astonishing memoir of pushing past fear, the electric woman, follows the author on a lifeaffirming journey of loss and selfdiscovery through her time on the road with the last traveling american sideshow and her relationship with an adventurous, spirited mother. It was the great depression and for jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. Jacob jankowski, who is currently ninety or ninetytwo, tells the story of how he left his ivy league training as a vet and ran away after.
Sara gruen mines fertile territory in water for elephants. He begins reflecting on this time in his life because a circus sets up beside his assistedliving center. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. And when he speaks up about it they force him to take new drugs because hes acting depressed, when hes actually just tired of the way that everybodys treating him. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it.
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