Book Journal: Water for Elephants

So...I think there's a reason why most of the people who know and love this book are...older.


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Okay, let me start off by saying: I liked this book. I did. It's incredibly well-researched; not once do you feel like this is fabricated or a stretch. Gruen really did her stuff, and I admire her for it. The characters are engaging and the environment rich. It was a good book. I am not 100% sure why it is as beloved as it is, and I'll say that now. BUT, it has everything that makes it a good story, and I'll certainly praise it for that.

The story follows this young vet who loses his parents and then his money. Then he runs away and joins a circus. Yes, it's kind of like that. But it's pretty realistic nonetheless. He lucks out because he's educated during the Great Depression/Prohibition, and he meets all these wacko circus people, the most enchanting of which are the midget and August, a schizo who isn't quite as engaging or interesting a schizo as Nathan Landau but come on, that's hardly a fair comparison. Jacob Jakowski is pretty cute as well, and Marlena, though not exactly the greatest female protagonist, is certainly sustainable in her role. I also quite liked the elephant in the story, and while I do believe it was a bit of a wasted opportunity for deeper symbolism and theme, it certainly served as a good indication about the characters of Jacob and August.

I think why older readers enjoy this so much is that there is a powerful element of nostalgia in the book--which, of course, is something I'm tackling in my own draft. I liked how Gruen handled it; it wasn't overly sentiment, and it wasn't nauseating, but it was real and truthful and I liked it a bit. However, it doesn't represent a part of me I can focus on now. Leaving home and being stripped of all they love--it's a story that, on some level, everyone can relate to, including myself, but in this time of positivity and forward-thinking and excitement and hopeful attempt, I perhaps didn't connect with it quite as much as I could have--though that isn't any fault of Gruen's.

I think this may be a case of that rare "the movie is just as good or even better" than the book.

6.5/10