The main character and narrator, Jacob, is in his 90's and the circus has come to town. He begins to remember and somewhat relive a time in his life when he was searching for his path and it intersected with the circus. I am not sure what your memories of the circus are, but Jacob's memories are of a depression era, train traveling circus. It is a fascinating hierarchy of bosses, performers, and working men, but still interdependent on the other for the show to go on.
Jacob is an ivy league drop out one test away from becoming a licensed vet when he hops a circus train. He falls for the woman in the star act, Marlena, pretty much instantly. He is allowed to stay with the circus as the vet, but has a difficult time finding his place in the hierarchy. The love story develops between Jacob and Marlena, complicated by the fact Marlena is married to Jacob's boss, August. August has a tendency toward violence and the author hints towards a mental illness as well.
The book club had a lot of interesting things to say. One person posed the question whether the elderly Jacob was remembering his true past or a fictional story he now believed to be his past. Overall, I enjoyed the book. But I think my favorite thing was the way Sara Gruen wove historical aspects into the fictional story.
The movie stars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. I have learned to adjust my expectations about movies based on books, if I have read the book. I understand that they cannot include every aspect of the story so I try to base my opinion on whether the movie maintains the overall effect and essence of the book. The movie was good, but not great.
One comparison the ladies discussed was everyones favorite character, in the book versus the movie. Mine was hands down Rosie in both! The whole time I was reading and watch I just really wanted a baby elephant!!
Have you read Water for Elephants or seen the movie? What did you think and who was your favorite character??
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