Book: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Age-range: 16 and up
Recommended: Yes, but with reservations
I keep my to-be-read books in red Moleskine notebooks. I'm just starting my third one. So when someone recommends a book to me I write it down, but it make take weeks, months, even years before I get to it. Such is the case with Water for Elephants. This book came out in 2006 and I had a friend recommend it to me that year. So it took me a while to get to it.
The setting is a Depression-era circus troupe. And it's fascinating. Each chapter begins with an actual picture from a circus in the era. It's sort of a hard book to explain, but I'll try. Jacob runs away from his final exams at Cornell University where he has been attending veterinary school. I won't tell you why. He ends up on a circus train where this old man named Camel takes him in. Through a series of events he ends up being the shows veterinarian, even though he doesn't technically have his degree.
There are amazing details, gorgeous writing, and an intriguing story-line. I found the book so interesting that I stayed up late and woke up early just to finish it. My only reservation in recommending it to other people is there are a few sexually charged scenes and events that might not be something that some of you want to read. For the most part I thought they were a little unnecessary, but that's just me. I was also annoyed at the somewhat perfunctory way a key plot point was taken care of, but I've only realized that as I was writing this.
In short, if you have an interest in the circus, the Depression, or in Jacob's story from the Bible and don't mind a little sex in your story, this book is for you!
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1 comment:
Interesting. I read the book too and didn't blog it because I couldn't figure out how to write it. I liked it but for the same reasons you said, I just couldn't recommend it or write about it because I couldn't figure out how to phrase it. But like you I couldn't put it down. It was kind of a puzzle book for me - I hated it and loved it. I don't even think I have told anyone I read it because I am still puzzling how I feel about it. Like you said though, the writing was well done.
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