Quarter 2 OR Week 7 Post B

Unfortunately, this is my last post for Water for Elephants. It was a spectacular book and I will never forget it.

The story of Water for Elephants is set during both the Great Depression and the present day. It depicts the life of one man: Jacob Jankowski. The book begins with Jacob at the age of 90 or 93 in a nursing home. The circus is there for the weekend and lots of the old folks are receiving visitors. During the period of less than a week, Jacob recounts his entire experience of 3 1/2 months with the Benzini Brother's Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a train circus running in the Depression era. It all started one day at Cornell University, where Jacob was training to be a vet. His parents died in a fatal car crash and Jacob's world crumbled around him. Not knowing what to do, he ends up jumping a train, a circus train, to be exact, the Benzini Brother's train. There he begins his experience as a vet for all the animals on a circus, meeting quite a few interesting characters on the way. These include a working man named Camel- who secured Jacob a spot on the circus, Earl- the friendly security guard, a couple of helpful working men including Diamond Joe, Grady, Bill, and Pete, Walter (aka Kinko)- a stubborn, but quite friendly clown, once you got to know him, August- a crazy equestrian director who caused some of Jacob's most hated times in his life, Uncle Al- the ringmaster who was an irrational and inhumane man, and lastly Marlena- the love of Jacob's life.

The storyline shifts back and forth between young Jacob and old Jacob. We learn of Jacob's hard times in the nursing home, and how he's never been able to let go of the secrets from his time spent on the circus. He is fortunate enough to meet a nice nurse by the name of Rosemary. She is the only one who understands him and eventually learns a little about his previous life. He is a little loopy at times, not remembering where he is- a side effect of a concussion, but overall Jacob seems to be in good shape. He's a lively man with centuries of stories to be told yet no one to tell. Gruen carefully incorporates the ignorance of our society through the mistreatment of Jacob.

**CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT! The following paragraphs contain spoilers of the book.**

As the plot thickens, we continue to travel with Jacob from stop to stop, from show to show. The Benzini Brother's seem to be thriving during one of the darkest periods of American History. In no time at all, they get themselves an elephant (the inspiration for the title?) and with it, an elephant show. The money continues to rain in, but it is still short despite appearances. Before long, the success of the show begins to decline and everything starts falling apart once again for Jacob. Two of his closest friends get redlighted and it's likely they didn't survive. In the entire time he is with the circus, Jacob isn't paid even once, and that goes for the working men and eventually for the performers. Slowly, the stability of the circus disintegrates and the nets of lies start to come down. Everything unravels in one-fell-swoop as the animals stampede out of the menagerie in one chaotic show. This is the beginning of the end.

Soon it's all over and workers and performers alike are all out of a job. Both Uncle Al and August have been murdered along with countless other workers who were redlighted. The politics and secrets of the circus are revealed, but not all of them. There is one secret that Jacob has kept with him for 70 years, unable to tell and no one to tell it to. Rosie's heroic act is safe with him.

**END OF SPOILERS**

Even as an old man, Jacob misses the circus. It's been his life ever since the fateful day of his parents death. The end of his career is bittersweet, which is what Gruen's novel truly is. There are moments of pure delight where it feels like nothing bad can happen and nothing can touch us. Moments of true ignorant bliss. But there are other times, times when happiness seems so far away. Times where politics, secrets, and lies dominant our inner being, and there's no escape, no matter where we turn. But that's life. Regardless of the fanatical world Gruen creates, it feels all so real. There's no doubt in my mind that some of these events may have actually happened. The story Gruen depicts pulls us in like a vortex, wanting to stay within reality, but unable to resist the pull of a whole other world. And as the circus is an escape for Jacob, Water for Elephants is an escape for the rest of us, away from the horrors of reality, into a different time. Like all good fiction, Water for Elephants draws us into the world and life of another, of Jacob Jankowski, who taught us that when everything feels right, then we are truly home.