What We're Reading
Sara Gruen,
Water for Elephants
 Reviewed by
Dr. Frank Guziec
Department of Chemistry
Water
for Elephants by Sara Gruen deals with the
life and hard times of Jacob Jankowski, both in the present
as a 90-something resident of a nursing home, and in the Depression
Era as an almost-veterinarian. Jacob, a Cornell vet student
about to take his final exams, has his life shattered by the
death of his parents in an automobile accident. About to join
his father's veterinary practice, he discovers that the elder
Jankowski had treated animals for free in these difficult
times, and thus mortgaged the family future to allow his son
to receive an Ivy-League education. Unable to focus, Jacob
walks out of the examination, out of town and follows the
railroad tracks. Like many young men in this desperate era,
he jumps a train seeking to start a new life. What a life
it turns out to be!
The train he jumps is transporting the Benzini Brothers Most
Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus, where his veterinary
experience comes in handy. In the next few chapters a variety
of extraordinary characters are described - from Kinko the
dwarf, Jacob's 'room mate'; Camel, hopelessly addicted to
rotgut alcohol; August, the brutal head animal trainer; and
the beautiful Marlena, the star animal rider and wife of August.
Uncle Al, the violent owner of the circus, is a professional
jackal, dismembering other circuses that have fallen on hard
times, hiring star performers and animal attractions, and
then leaving the remainder of the bankrupt circus employees
to fend for themselves.
All is not joy in Benzini Brothers circus life either, where
the old and infirm, or simply troublemakers, might be redlighted
by Al--thrown off into the void as the circus train passed
over a railroad trestle. Things get even more interesting
when
Al buys Rosie, the English-challenged elephant. A rollicking
plot of intrigue, violence and infidelity leads ultimately
to the great Benzini Brothers stampede, one of the greatest
circus disasters of all time. Amidst the chaos, the thick-skinned
heroine seizes the day, and does what no one else appears
capable of doing.
Interspersed within this story is that of the current day
Jacob, ornery and unpleasant, who feels he deserves more from
life than meat loaf, reconstituted mashed potatoes and tapioca
pudding. His life becomes unbearable when a rival in the nursing
home claims he 'carried water for elephants' at the circus,
and becomes a celebrity. And the circus is coming to town.
I won't spoil either ending for you, but the book has won
numerous awards and is currently 2nd on the New York Times'
Paperback Trade Fiction Best Sellers list. My wife, Dr. Lynn
Guziec, who has very different tastes from me in reading for
pleasure, introduced me to the book. Both of us found it fascinating
reading. In addition to a beautiful prose style, the book
contains period photographs, and is based on circus fact.
Even the Polish spelling is correct.
The book is not high literary fiction, but if you want an
enjoyable summer read, Water for Elephants
is your book. In current tough economic times, it might even
be a way of remembering how good we have it now.
"I meant what I said, and I said
what I meant . . .
An elephant's faithful--one hundred per cent!"
-- Theodor Seuss Geisel, Horton Hatches the Egg,
1940. |
What We're Reading
features reviews by members of the Southwestern University
community. Some reviews were previously published in the Library's
annual Summer Reading List.
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