In her fantastical novel Water for Elephants, NaNoWriMo alumna Sara Gruen takes readers on a journey along the rails with a second-rate, Depression era circus. As seen through the eyes of her narrator Jacob Jankowski, a student of veterinary medicine and human nature, Gruen’s carefully researched story transports the reader back to a world of Prohibition and sideshows. After his parents die in a car crash, Jacob abandons his education and his old way of life to join up with the Benzini Brothers Circus.
Permitted on board because of his animal skills, Jacob quickly discovers the harsh behind-the-scenes realities of circus life. Circus whores sell sex in their dressing tents, deformed freaks expose themselves for gawking crowds, and circus animals eat spoiled, maggot-ridden food. A rigid, hierarchical class system keeps people in place ensuring that all circus members from the roustabouts, to the fat lady, to the performers do their jobs. Any useless animals are putdown, and any useless people are redlighted or thrown off the moving train without notice.
Gruen interrupts the story of Jacob’s early years with scenes from his life as an old man in a nursing home. Though rich in detail, the nursing home chapters do not hold up as well as their livelier circus-themed counterparts causing some slowing of the novel’s pace. In the end, Gruen is careful not to let her beloved narrator get too sullied by the unseemly side of circus life. However, only the animals really escape the moral snares and emerge as truly noble creatures. The author’s self-proclaimed connection of the title character to his Biblical namesake seems tenuous at best. In addition, the ending, while carefully orchestrated, may seem too neat to satisfy some readers. Still, this book is a fine read for anyone interested in the vicissitudes of circus life.
Review of "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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