Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I dive into something a bit different from what I usually read an adventurous historical fiction novel Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Water for Elephants was very popular at the time of its release and has continued to be loved by readers all over the world for years now. It’s a riveting timepiece taking place in the 1930’s focusing on a time of probation, and people just trying to get by with what they can. When a young man is placed in the lap of the circus after losing everything he knows, he finds a new world unlike one he has ever known before. With elements of friendship, romance, grief, and mental health, the book connects you to the characters with their reliability and rawness.
Main Characters:
- Jacob: At 23 Jacob thinks he has life figured out as he’s in the last year of veterinary school and planning to take over his father’s practice, everything turns around when his parents die in an accident and he is left with no one and nothing, only able to find a place in the circus as a veterinarian Jacob discovers a world filled with people so much like him but also unlike any people he has ever known
- August: Is one of Jacob’s bosses working with the animals at the circus, husband to Marlena, becomes clear that August has many issues some of which include a temper
- Marlena: August’s wife and one of the fellow animal handlers for the circus, performs with the animals at the show, and makes a connection with Jacob when he joins their show but fears her husband and what he could do to them both
- Uncle Al: Runs the show that Jacob works on and is well known for being a mean son of a bitch who will stop at nothing to get his money, made his show by racing to other shows that were going under and picking up the talent who needed a new job
- Walter “Kinko”- A dwarf performer for the circus who has Jacob invade his space when he comes to join the circus, although he seems to dislike Jacob quite a bit the two grow to respect each other and what each is doing at the circus
- Campbell: An older gentleman who brought Jacob to the circus to work in the first place, when he gets sick it’s Jacob who takes care of him and keeps him from getting thrown out of the show
My Review
I’ll be honest I don’t tend to love historical fiction books, I often just find them a bit of a bore and can’t tend to get hooked on the story. I went into Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen not thinking exactly that I would hate it, but I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I was given this book a while back and kept avoiding getting to it on my shelf. I am not exactly sure why I decided to get into it but I am definitely glad I did. It reminded me that maybe I don’t need to be so closed off sometimes to genres I’ve checked out before and haven’t liked as much as others. Going into Water for Elephants I just wasn’t sure what exactly about the story was going to be interesting. I mean yeah a circus in the 30’s of course is an interesting story to tell no matter what way you look at it, but I just wasn’t exactly certain how the story would pick up. Openly as well I think I didn’t have as much of an understanding as to just how gritty the circus life is. Sure I was well aware it wasn’t all daisies and roses but I didn’t realize just what difficult work it is. Circuses as well have completely changed from what they are now to what they were back then. It was more so the people who did the acts that were interesting rather than the acts themselves being the main thing like it is today. To be successful in the circus you had to have something different about you, a physical abnormality, a crazy talent, or something strange about yourself, aside of course from all the maintenance staff like Jacob as a vet. Aside from the incredibly interesting characters in this story, it is also filled with plenty of drama and intense moments to keep you locked in and interested in following along with the story. Given that there is a decent amount of romance in this book as well I was surprised I didn’t dislike that as much as I usually do in other books. It may have been because the romance in this book has this kind of grit behind it. It’s not exactly pretty but it does bring this beauty to an overly dark and kind of sad book.
Overall I gave Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen a 9/10 rating. It’s just such a solid read all around and I found myself being drawn in by both the past and present perspectives of Jacob. Water for Elephants follows a young and old Jacob as he looks at his life, the things that have happened, and the choices he has made. In the present Jacob is in his late 90’s and reminiscing on the life he had in his youth due to the circus being in town and his family coming to take him from the elderly care home to go and see. The circus means more to Jacob than anyone could understand, and that is because it was his life for many years. In the past, after losing both of his parents in a surprise and shocking accident Jacob is left without anyone or anything. Having to drop out of college in his last year he has no clue what to do with himself. After jumping in what he thought was an empty train car, Jacob’s life would never be the same. After being introduced to Uncle Al and his spectacular show Jacob is called on to be the show’s vet for all of the animal acts. A daunting, gritty, and disgusting job, Jaco is forced into a life and lifestyle that he could have never imagined for himself. Dealing with the frightening Uncle Al who has no fear of throwing anyone off the train of his travelling show if they aren’t making him money, the moody August who is happy and friendly one moment and then abusive and accusatory the next, and the beautiful Marlena who doesn’t know he owns worth, Jacob is placed with personalities unlike any he has had to tackle before. As things continue to process with Marlena and Jacob’s relationship after the two take on Rosie a dancing elephant, they are forced to question if they can ever escape the life of the circus or if they are bound to be tied to the lifestyle forever. With hardships, friendships, and love all around, it’s a dynamic book that keeps you pulled to this interesting family of misfits that Uncle Al has created.
I found Jacob to be such an interesting character to follow along in this story, and I have to say I loved the ending. It was just the perfect ending to this long story about a man who had lost so much, but also gained so much along the way. Jacob’s complex relationship with his emotions is an interesting one, and one that makes him so different from a lot of the characters in the book. While he has seen pain and hard times it’s almost nothing compared to the people he meets once he joins the circus. It doesn’t make Jacob’s pain invalid at all, but more so just gave him a space to see that he wasn’t alone in this life when it came to pain and suffering. Before getting to the circus he was lost because no one around him could comprehend or deal with the pain he was in. Whereas at the circus losing both of your parents and ending up homeless was just a Tuesday for the other people around him. Furthermore, this helped him connect to who he really is as a person, and what he really wants from life. Jacob was very sheltered before losing his parents so he is forced to grow up quick and see what the world is like outside of his own. I liked however that in working with the animals on the show we get to see this softness to him that isn’t in the other people that work on the show. He has this compassion and ability to connect to what others are feeling that others don’t, and it makes him rare in a place like that.
Overall Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was a great read that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did. It’s a really sweet heart-warming story that like real life is also filled with pain and suffering between the pages. I really enjoyed the time frame the book was in and felt like it placed this riveting story about a group of people just trying to make it through in this interesting setting that anyone can sink their teeth into. With interesting characters filled with strengths and flaws, I would definitely recommend checking out this book if you’re looking for a dynamic historical read. It’s definitely not a soft read as there are aspects of human and animal abuse in the book, but these things also just made the story come to life even more.
Have you read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen before? What did you think?
Thank you for checking out this review I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to check out my socials @baddiebookreviews to be kept up to date for when I release a new review!
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