Jacob Jankowski is ninety, or maybe he is ninety-three, he can’t remember for sure. What he does remember in vivid detail is his life the year after his parents died and he missed his final exam in veterinary medicine at Cornell. He walked out of town, leaving everything behind him and jumped the first train that passed by. This one just happened to belong to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. His life in the circus was hard work, little or no pay, and a political structure that rivals any college campus. He falls in love with Marlena, who is married to the abusive animal trainer. He also falls in love with Rosie the elephant whounderstands Polish and is often the target of Marlena’s husband’s torturous abuse. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. I did not like the ending, but what I mean by ending is the very last paragraph. I did not like the very last paragraph. It made no sense, but the rest of the book was awesome! I listened to the unabridged audiobook. It was 11 ½ hours on 10 CDs. It was read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Jacob Jankowski is ninety, or maybe he is ninety-three, he can’t remember for sure. What he does remember in vivid detail is his life the year after his parents died and he missed his final exam in veterinary medicine at Cornell. He walked out of town, leaving everything behind him and jumped the first train that passed by. This one just happened to belong to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. His life in the circus was hard work, little or no pay, and a political structure that rivals any college campus. He falls in love with Marlena, who is married to the abusive animal trainer. He also falls in love with Rosie the elephant whounderstands Polish and is often the target of Marlena’s husband’s torturous abuse. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. I did not like the ending, but what I mean by ending is the very last paragraph. I did not like the very last paragraph. It made no sense, but the rest of the book was awesome! I listened to the unabridged audiobook. It was 11 ½ hours on 10 CDs. It was read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Based on this review, I've purchased and downloaded the audiobook from Audible.com.
I truly enjoyed this book. I really hope you like it also. It is one of the best I've read this year and there are only about 2 or 3 books in the last several that I would call a "must read" and this is one of them. Let me know what you think after you've listened to it. KathyB
Every single member of my book club loved this book, and that's a rare occurence!
I had to work so hard to get through this book that, at times, I didn't think I would ever get to the ending. The characters had very little character and were generally unlikeable. I just couldn't find whatever it is about this book that everyone loves so much. The only positive thing I have to say about this book is I would recommend to someone who's been having trouble falling asleep -- it's better than a sleeping pill.
Post a Comment