Their two, completely separate personalities clash and collide. Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss august whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be. A symbol that is strategically included throughout the story is the title of the novel. Set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of america during the great depression of the early 1930s this is a story of love and hate, trains and circuses, dwarves and fat ladies, horses and elephants or to be more specific, one elephant, rosie, star. It was a fast read which i always appreciate, because im perpetually drowning in a list of books tbr and it was fairly easy to get through. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Water for elephants is a treat for the reader, a chronicle of an adventure that permanently alters the life of one twentyoneyearold veterinary school dropout. Jul 12, 2007 water for elephants begins violently and then veers into weirder terrain.
I decided to not watch the movie when i heard it was coming out simply because i didnt want to possibly ruin the experience id had with the book if the movie wasnt uptopar. The setting of the story changes throughout the book. This particular symbol is introduced in the first few pages of the novel, when the older jacob is sitting down to dinner at the nursing home with his. Water for elephants is the touching story of jacob jankowski, a ninetythreeyearold man, who is reminded of his colorful past when a circus sets up next door to his assistedliving center. While reading water for elephants i found the plot hyperbolic and excessively melodramatic and the characters little developed beyond their names. Water for elephants is fun, sweet and thrilling and will pull you into the mysterious life of the circus so far that you wont want to leave. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Water for elephants water for elephants is a romantic period drama that takes place in the depression era with a struggling circus full of misfits as its background. I believe that of all animals, choosing an elephant as the title animal was appropriate given elephants are known for their good memories.
Apr 22, 2011 because of this, water for elephants is one of those few magical times when a movie is better than the book it is based on, when all the little details that generally engender people to love a. Water for elephants with little aid from her shoddy prose, predictable plot and. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for.
The story is about a young man that joins the circus. Water for elephants book by sara gruen thriftbooks. Also, if you want a special treat, listen to it on audiobook. The circus, the great depression, a complex elephant, equally complex love, the mists and twists of memory articulated in the utterly winning voice of a very old man whos seen it all. The grand rapids press you need this elephant in your life. Water for elephants summary these notes were contributed by members of the gradesaver community. Therefor water for elephants has a more metaphorical meaning that deals with jacobs decision to stay with the circus, providing water for elephants. Jacob, the book s narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. With robert pattinson, reese witherspoon, christoph waltz, paul schneider. Summary an atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons.
Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless. Every few chapters, the narrative switches from one jacob to the other. Water for elephants water for elephants audiobook, by sara gruen. The title is somewhat of a joke between the author, sara gruen, and the readers. The glitz and grit, glam and sham of depressionera circus life limps along in sara gruens water for elephants with little aid from her shoddy prose, predictable plot and underdeveloped metaphor. Water for elephants is a 2011 american romantic drama film directed by francis lawrence and written by richard lagravenese, based on sara gruens 2006 novel of the same name. Do you believe that animals show emotion, as in the novels references to rosies. Water for elephants sara gruen, 2006 algonquin books of chapel hill 350 pp. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. The story in this novel is told as a series of memories by a ninetythree year old man called jacob jankowski. May 26, 2006 i read water for elephants for our book club, and i expected it to be as slow, dull, and superficial as most of the other books we have read. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. I bought this book because of push advertising and regretted it.
I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. Written by claire cornwall and other people who wish to remain anonymous. The synopsis below may give away important plot points.
The book, water for elephants, starts off in the present day, in a nursing home where the main character, jacob jankowski, lives. August goes on rages and rants of complete insanity due to the. Just to put it out there, ill admit straight off the bat that im one of the people who enjoyed this book. Although the book has a flashy appearance and is easily digested, it offers less nutritional value than promised. Sara gruen has a voice to rival john irvings, and i am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. The old people from the nursing home are about to visit a circus that showed up in the. Sara gruens very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring robert pattinson and reese witherspoon. The alternating glamour and squalor of the circus world gruen expertly conjures may truly be one of the greatest shows.
The two readers, david ledoux and john randolph jones, did a wonderful job of bringing both jacobs young and old to life. He lives and works in the benzini brothers circus, and eventually meets. Synopsis when jacob jankowski, parents dead and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to survive during the great depression, making onenight stands in town after endless town. Dive deep into sara gruens water for elephants with extended analysis. Pdf water for elephants download full pdf book download. What are the main conflicts in sara gruens novel water for elephants. But be warned, this isnt the order of events in the book. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. An alcoholic working against probation, who shows jacob the routines of the circus. This study guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of water for elephants. This book was influenced by very important literary movements, such as romanticism, realism. Veterinary school student jacob meets and falls in.
Water for elephants by sara gruen is a must read a story about a 90yearold man remembering his days with a circus during the great depression. Veterinary school student jacob meets and falls in love with marlena, a star. Review of water for elephants good books for catholic kids. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month.
Water for elephants is a story about an elderly man, jacob, who recalls an adventure in his younger years. May 26, 2006 the glitz and grit, glam and sham of depressionera circus life limps along in sara gruens water for elephants with little aid from her shoddy prose, predictable plot and underdeveloped metaphor. Water for elephants is a delightful, moving book, and the ending was a very pleasant surprise. Summary an atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons when jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a. Water for elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. It stars reese witherspoon, robert pattinson, and christoph waltz the film was released in the united states on april 22, 2011. The book, water for elephants by sara gruen, is also available on audible. Water for elephants by sara gruen is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. Jacob is the main conflict in the book, water for elephants.
Jul 23, 2018 water for elephants by sara gruen is a must read a story about a 90yearold man remembering his days with a circus during the great depression. Oct 22, 2011 irp project, water for elephants by sara gruen. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. Water for elephants movie tiein by sara gruen, paperback.
Because of this, water for elephants is one of those few magical times when a movie is better than the book it is based on, when all the little details that generally engender people to love a. A brilliantly crafted and deeply moving novel, water for elephants is the tale of jacob jankowski, now in his nineties, who spends his remaining days fondly drifting through the memories of his early depressionera youth which was spent in the company of circus freaks, clowns and misfits. Jacob is an old man and he lives in a nursing home. Its from this nursing home that jacob tells his story, like he is looking back at all the adventures at the circus. August is an antagonist and jacob is a protagonist.
After his parents death, jacob jankowski is left penniless and homeless. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center claim to have been a water boy for the elephants on a circus, jacob knows the man is lying because jacob himself once worked as a. Many years before, jacob is a student at cornell university, studying veterinarian medicine in order to join. In the beginning of the novel, jacob mocks another resident of the nursing home who claims to have worked in the circus and carried water for the elephants. Beautifully written, water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. Despite her often cliched prose and the predictability of the storys ending, gruen skillfully.
When jacob jankowski, parents dead and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to survive during the great depression, making onenight stands in town after endless town. Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. August can be very friendly and sweet on the surface, but deep down he is a cruel and cold man. The man agrees, saying that jacob will go down in the records book as the oldest. The main conflict is that of the employees with their. The film was released in the united states on april 22, 2011. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center claim to have been a water boy for the elephants on a circus, jacob knows the man is lying because. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Set in the 1930s, a former veterinary student takes a job in a travelling circus and falls in love with the ringmasters wife. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel. Based on the acclaimed bestseller, water for elephants presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting.
Jacob jankowski, a veterinary student at cornell, discovers that his parents have been killed in a car accident. On the morning of his senior veterinary science exams at cornell, jacob jankowski is called out of the room by the dean. Water for elephants is a narrative of intriguing contradictions in a compelling plot about circus life that is both glamorous and repulsive. It stars reese witherspoon, robert pattinson, and christoph waltz. Joshilyn jackson, author of gods in alabama so much more than a tale about a circus, water for elephants is a compelling journey not only under the big top, but into the protagonists heart. The denver post so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that i couldnt bear to be torn away from it for a single minute. The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends. Sep 07, 2016 i bought this book because of push advertising and regretted it. Aug 28, 2012 water for elephants is a treat for the reader, a chronicle of an adventure that permanently alters the life of one twentyoneyearold veterinary school dropout.
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