Ms. Deangelo sent me the following review of Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants:
Water for Elephants is told by the main character Jacob when he is in his nineties and his twenties. His life changes dramatically and he ends up joining the Benezini Brother’s Circus during the depression. I really enjoyed the parts of the story where Jacob is older and trying to get the nurses to treat him and the other residents of a nursing home as respected individuals, he is cranky and opinionated and he made me laugh.
The author makes the circus descriptions vivid and at times raw and direct. It is a well researched book that you get involved with the characters and want to just keep reading. There are some characters who are very violent to both animals and humans alike, and some readers may find this disturbing.
While I enjoyed the movie, I liked the book more although the book is more graphic. The level of detail is what made Jacob’s experience more realistic and honest. The movie includes very little of Jacob’s older self and that was part of the book I enjoyed...but it may not have worked as well on screen.
The author makes the circus descriptions vivid and at times raw and direct. It is a well researched book that you get involved with the characters and want to just keep reading. There are some characters who are very violent to both animals and humans alike, and some readers may find this disturbing.
While I enjoyed the movie, I liked the book more although the book is more graphic. The level of detail is what made Jacob’s experience more realistic and honest. The movie includes very little of Jacob’s older self and that was part of the book I enjoyed...but it may not have worked as well on screen.
Thanks, Ms. DeAngelo, for being a great reading role model!
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