Water for Elephants

Well I'll start with the photos. Day 23 of this challenge: Sunflare.

I am amazed to have a photo with some sunflare in it to be honest. Given the pouring rain I woke to this morning I had suspected that this would be the first day that I would have to postpone. With no sun it's pretty hard to get flare! But it popped out in the afternoon, right as Sophia felt it was time to water the garden. So there we have it. Nothing spectacular, but SUNFLARE!

These two may be a little photoshopped. I say 'enhancing' not 'cheating'. The flare was definitely there, it's just a bit bolder now! ;)

The red flare in this bottom left pic (around the shoes) was truly that bright.

So there you have it. Day 23...tick!

And now for Water for Elephants...Firstly, how's this for a photo? Shot for Vogue by Peter Lindbergh and sourced from here. Gorgeous.

[Disclaimer: I'm nervous about what to say about this book because I don't want anyone to hate me. I tend to have pretty strong opinions about books that I read, and I tend to be pretty honest about what I feel about them. This (reviewing literature) is one place in life where I can generally feel free to say what I think, upright, and I love the sense of freedom that that brings for me. So, I have decided that I am just going to assume the best of my lovely, fellow bloggers (as I am sure they would do for me) and trust that no one is going to be offended if my opinion differs from theirs. We're not all the same so why pretend to be, right? It's super fun to agree, but it's no fun at all to not agree but pretend to. Or as Joe Fox puts it (aka Tom Hanks): It's not personal, it's business. *sheepish grin*]

I'll start with more photos (from the same source) because they are lovely.

I finished this evening and I was whelmed. Not overwhelmed or underwhelmed. No earth shattering emotions surfaced. I didn't love it or hate it. It just...was. The title of this book comes to mind...thus, I feel relatively neutral about Water for Elephants. My reaction was a shug. Meh.

[Don't hate me...]

I'll begin with a few of the things I enjoyed:

1. I love the obvious enthusiasm that Sara Gruen (author) has for this time, place and setting: the traveling/train circus during the depression and the prohibition. An author's note at the end of the book lists some of the more bizarre 'facts' about the 1930s circus world that Gruen garnered from her research. Interesting. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on me there, to the point where I would have been happy to read a long chapter's worth of highlights from her research alone.

2. The old Jacob Jankowski. The ninety-something year old lead protagonist and rest home 'inmate'. He narrates the story, in a way, through his flash backs. I have never before read a story from the perspective of an elderly person in full time care. These little scenes with Jacob are some of my favorites and I was actually quite moved by them. I felt his frustrations at being trapped inside his decrepit body and at the loss of independence that comes with old age...being bathed by a young woman when you are a modest old man...having decisions made for you daily...a diet of bland food...medication you do not want or understand...the occasional overwhelming visits by family who you hardly know any more...yet the same 'young man' inside this old body. Old Jacob is a sad and touching character, but he is written with spunk and a sense of humor at the same time. Quite well done there I thought.

3. Walter. (AKA Kinko.) The clown and 'dwarf' who was sold to the circus by his mother as a teenager. At once bitter, troubled, angry, yet loyal and somehow soft despite it all. In my opinion this character shows the most development over the course of the novel and is the second most well-written and believable bar the old Jacob. Would have liked more of him.

4. The prewar era (20s-30s). I have a thing for it. From The Great Gatsby to Rebecca to champagne and jazz bands and foxtrots and rumbas and the suburbs of Napier...I love it all. So one big fat star for the time period this book is set in alone.

Not so keen on...

1. The hasty way that the book ended. This is one of the most common ways that I feel let down by a book. Where the author spends so long carefully creating their tension and then just seems to decide 'it's time to wrap it up' and whips all the strings together in a few short chapters. Build...build...deflate. It must be a very hard thing to do--finish a book well--which is why I am just over the moon when I read a novel that does just that and I try not to be too harsh when it doesn't. Just feel a bit meh about it.

2. Uncle Al. A caricature, in my opinion. He felt like a cartoon character to me.

3. The characterization in general. Jacob and Marlena were a bit interesting but I didn't feel them. I didn't believe it when Jacob ditched everything and jumped on a circus train. This whole premise just didn't seem fitting to me. Rather, it seemed convenient. I didn't really get Marlena. Is she feisty and smart and modern thinking? Or is she demure and scared and a bit too dim witted to see what everyone else sees so clearly. Not sure. Maybe it's just that her character develops from one to the other over the course of the novel and I'm being too harsh. I just didn't really buy her. I thought August was a bit of a caricature 'villian' also, although not as weak and static as Uncle Al. And Rosie? Damn she sure was one smaaart elephant! ;) Sorry. I wanted to like the characters, I really did, they just fell a little too flat.

That sounds harsher than I intend it too. I really didn't hate it at all, I was just a little indifferent. Which, I guess, is never a compliment when in comes to fiction. The setting really did have something going for it, I just wanted more out of this book than I felt I got. I felt that Sara Gruen's obvious passion for the concept and thorough research was not matched in quality by her storytelling. :(

In saying all that I DON'T regret reading it and I DO want to watch the movie. It was packed with action and drama and, at points, had me flicking pages furiously.

So...I will give it 3.5 stars which, makes it a pretty OK book by my standards. If it sounds intriguing to you I recommend that you grab a copy. For sure!


:)

x


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Thanks so much SIMONEY for this FUN FUN FUN bookclub situation. I just love it and I sincerely hope that I am allowed back!