After all, thisis definitely a book for adults that engages with very adult themes, language, and subject matter. Novelist sara gruen sweeps her readers off their feet in the opening pages of water for elephantsand doesnt let go until she deposits them at the end of her fantastic tale of passion, madness and fancy. Young jacob is able to do whatever his heart desires including, jumping on moving trains and fighting for the women he loves. When jacob jankowski arrived for the first time at the circus where he worked, he was in awe. In the united states and canada, water for elephants was released theatrically in 2,817 conventional theaters. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel.
Its a stillborn drama concerned with nailing the surface details of the book, taking viewers into the benzini madhouse, a collection of train cars staffed with boozy performers and. How would the novel be different if gruen had only. In the book, jacobs narration takes place in his own mind. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. Water for elephants is an enchanting pageturner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. 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.
These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for elephants by sara gruen. Dec 11, 2011 water for elephants book discussion questions water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. Take our free water for elephants quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. The following quote from jacob, taken from the book, describes, in detail, the marvelous scene. Apr 22, 2011 8 big differences between water for elephants book and movie apr. Another setting is the interior of a nursing home, where ninetyyearold jacob has been placed after the death of his wife. Cant say ive ever been curious enough about its workings to read a book revolving around one, but i am so glad i. A water for elephants discussion from reading group guides writers digest interview with sara gruen. Water for elephants by sara gruen overdrive rakuten. I need to read the authors biography more carefully in the future. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. Water for elephants symbols, allegory and motifs gradesaver. While a movie of colorful images and lively circus settings, water for elephants doesnt have a pulse.
Overall, water for elephants was a book that grabbed me from the beginning. The only place the movie veers from the original is in its details of the older, current jacob. Jacob, the books narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. 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 book was published on may 26, 2006, under algonquin books, in the united states of america. But be warned, this isnt the order of events in the book. The circus was the main setting of the book, water for elephants. Water for elephants was a completely different read for me. It was adult, and it was realistic, and i loved it. 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. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless.
Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. The runaway international bestseller and beloved fiction classicorphaned and penniless at the height of the depression, jacob jankowski escapes everything he knows by jumping on a passing trainand inadvertently runs away with the circus. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. There are three main settings in water for elephants. With lines of startling beauty, haunting and evocative scenes and finelydrawn characters who dance off the page, readers can dip in and out of the novel, immersing themselves in jacobs memories. She is an animal lover who lives with her husband, three children, five cats, two goats, a dog, and a horse in an environmentalist community north of chicago. Water for elephants is a story about an elderly man, jacob, who recalls an adventure in his younger years.
The movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. Many years before, jacob is a student at cornell university, studying veterinarian medicine in order to join. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. The inspiration for the book was a chicago tribune article about edward j.
Water for elephants book surrey libraries bibliocommons. 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. The story is told by its main character, jacob who is now confined to. Water for elephants a depressionera circus provides the backdrop for sara gruens latest novel, water for elephants. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. Water for elephants, published in 2007, is sara gruens third novel.
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. The band starts playing very fast and the redlighters set all the circus animals loose. Water for elephants toronto public library overdrive. Water for elephants was released in theaters on april 22, 2011. The choice of a childish rhyme from a childrens book as an epigraph for water for elephants is an interesting one. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. Jacob is the moral center of the book, recognizing and, where possible, preventing those cruelties, and in the. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. His stay here is cut short by the death of his parents. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob.
The prologue features a younger version of jacob, who works at a circus and. 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. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed. 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. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up. Its a stillborn drama concerned with nailing the surface details of the book, taking viewers into the benzini madhouse, a collection of train cars staffed with boozy performers and damaged animals, with lawrence keeping the. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. The book, water for elephants, starts off in the present day, in a nursing home where the main character, jacob jankowski, lives. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. The climax of the the book, water for elephants, is when several survivors who were redlighted return to the circus during one of the shows. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. Water for elephants by sara gruen at the best online ebook storage. Cant say ive ever been curious enough about its workings to read a book revolving around one, but i am so glad i did because it was sooo much more than that.
Jacob janowskis luck had run outorphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the benzini brothers most spectacular show on earth. Read water for elephants absolutely for free at readanybook. Jacob jankowski the protagonist, a 93yearold nursing home resident reminiscing on the time he spent as a circus. It has 335 pages, and is classified as historical romance and fiction. Sara gruen is the best selling author of riding lessons and water for elephants. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and. I felt the book was contrived, and the author lacked depth in terms of writing talent and knowledge of the subject matter. Water for elephants questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on water for elephants.
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. The author, sara gruen allows readers to read the book from two perspectives, one from young jacob and the other from older presentday jacob. In reading water for elephants in less than one day, i found that happened to me. First, young jacob is found on the campus of cornell university in ithaca, new york. No compound words eg no waterways books and no plurals. The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends.
Water for elephants book discussion questions water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. A national bestseller in canada and a new york times bestseller in the united states, this is a book destined to become a beloved fiction classic. Readers may find themselves churning through this book at a rapidfire pace, eager to see what lies ahead, then slowing down as they realize the pages are dwindling. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends. Download and read online for free water for elephants by sara gruen. 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. Although i wanted more emotion between marlena and jacob, its a romantic story, full of action, love for animals and a magnificent circus. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse award for most popular book.
When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to. Water for elephants the novel water for elephants is written by the bestselling author sarah gruen. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten m. Sara gruen has a voice to rival john irvings, and i am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. If you like water for elephants, you might like little heathens by mildred armstrong kalish seabiscuit by laura hillenbrand the adventures of miles and isabel by tom gilling. They create a plan to completely ruin the circus for good. Gruen, whose first novel was riding lessons, turns horses and other creatures into sympathetic characters. Sara gruens book, water for elephants, was a runaway best seller an internationally acclaimed novel told as the reminiscences of an old man, jacob, about his experiences with a depressionera circus where he witnessed the brutalities inflicted on people and animals alike. Oct 21, 2009 overall, water for elephants was a book that grabbed me from the beginning. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus.
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