Book details
Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen, David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones
2006 · Algonquin Books
About the book
Ninety-three-year-old Jacob Jankowski lives in a nursing home, recalling his sudden departure from Cornell University during the Great Depression. After losing his parents in a car accident, Jacob abandons his veterinary exams and leaps onto a moving train belonging to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He becomes the circus vet, tending to mistreated menagerie animals while navigating a hierarchy ruled by the volatile equestrian director, August. Jacob falls in love with August’s wife, Marlena, and forms a deep bond with Rosie, an elephant who only understands Polish commands. Together, they face the brutal economic pressures and physical dangers of life under the big top.
Historical fiction enthusiasts and fans of circus lore read this book to understand the gritty labor conditions and logistics of traveling shows in the 1930s. The narrative offers a detailed look at the tension between spectacle and animal cruelty. Readers walk away with a specific perspective on how trauma shapes memory in old age and the ways displaced people formed makeshift families during the collapse of the American economy. It provides a concrete depiction of how individuals protected one another when legal and social systems failed them.
Details
- Published
- 2006
- Publisher
- Algonquin Books
- ISBN
- 9781565125605
- Language
- EN