Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I found this charming novel entertaining. Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob Jankowski's life with a circus. Jacob is a very old man living in a nursing home. He drifts off and memories of his youth return. During the depression he was just about to take his final exams at Veterinary school when his parents suddenly died in a car accident. They had spent everything to put him through school. He has nowhere to go and randomly hops a train. It turns out to be a circus train. He falls in love and various adventures, trials and tribulations unfold.

We also see Jacob trying to cope with the helplessness of his age and situation. Sara Gruen handles this very sensitively. We learn about Jacob's life from each end working towards the middle. We also learn about the depression from the perspective of circus workers and performers.

After hearing so much bad news on TV and in the papers lately I wanted cheering up. While not a comedy at all I was very pleased with the satisfying ending.

Water for Elephants read May '09 - Highly Recommended

This page written 5/11/09. CW

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