I had my monthly book club meeting tonight. We were discussing Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This is the story of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth; and one of the greatest circus tragedies of all time.The story is told by ninety (or possibly ninety-three, he can’t remember) year old, Jacob Jankowski who begins to recount the tale of his time with the show when a circus shows up down the street from his nursing home. The story that follows is fun, adventurous, romantic, sad, and even frightening.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s incredibly visual and descriptive. I felt drawn into the story by Gruen’s beautiful, yet not overly lengthy, descriptions of life surrounding the circus, traveling on the trains, working with the animals, the show itself. The descriptions are so vivid that they pull you further into the fantasy of the story and make the whole thing more realistic at the same time.
I’d definitely recommend reading this book. In fact I’ll probably read it again.
=)
Being Katie 