Very interesting book indeed. The way the author went back and forth of when Jankowski young and old. Sometimes it was hard to follow, is it when he was young that I'm still reading? Oh no, he's in his 90's. I like how she put it when he was older."Ghosts of my past rattle around my vacuous present". I think the memories that we have of the past are more precious of the memories of the present.
Old America when funny things are said that you would never think about doing now like "You should take it up. It's good for your health". Yeah not now would someone say that about smoking.
As the circus went to town to town Uncle Al would pick up animals from other companies when they couldn't make it financially. Nice to see Jacob suddenly feel soft toward all the animals.
Although I didn't like how August treated Rosie. It broke my heart to read of the horrors he put on her. I did learn something about this elephant, had a language barrier. She only knew Polish.
We all know that elephants just don't respond to just Polish, German. But it is a part of the circus history that there were at least one that did. Elephants do remember and Rosie did do what anyone else (human) would do ponked August over the head. Animals don't harm, people do.
Sweet that Jacob found his true love in Marlena. Nice to see that he would love a child even if it wasn't his. Quite a life they led. They did Rosie right and the horses. Which made what happened not forgiven or forgotten but easier to know that they are in good hands.
Jacob Jankowski thinking the show he went to see was not to the magnitude of either Benzini Brothers or Ringling. For that you need a train. Water For Elephants is a story that will give you a bit of history. Not factual but with a story.
I thought the ending a bit weak. But believe it was appropriate of how it ended with Jacob at a circus, "for this old man, this is home".
I give Water For Elephants 4
Barnes and Noble says, Customers that bought this book, bought The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy Series #1) by Stieg Larsson, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
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