Water for Elephants
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (Sara Gruen) - Four Stars
What facts I know about the circus I've learned simply from my study of circus marches. This book (which I keep accidentally calling "Like Water for Elephants" ...ha!) is so well-researched you will learn a lot about the train-circuses of the early 20th century without even trying.
This is beside the point, since the story is really a love triangle slash murder mystery, and the circus is merely the setting. But it's the vibrancy of the characters (not just the main characters, but all the background and auxiliary characters) that really drives the story. The story is told in flashbacks by the (now) nearly 100-year-old main character. The alternating chapters also detail his current life in a nursing home, and the horrible indignities of grow old, in very poignant fashion.
The book is not without its flaws. Towards the denouement Gruen gets a little melodramatic with her description of the action (I could almost envision characters raising the back of their hands to their foreheads before speaking) and the ending, while heart-warming and "feel-good," requires a bit more of a suspension of disbelief than the rest of the story.
Still, wonderful characters, vibrant settings, and good plot pacing; there's not more you can ask for from an enjoyable, "light" read.
What facts I know about the circus I've learned simply from my study of circus marches. This book (which I keep accidentally calling "Like Water for Elephants" ...ha!) is so well-researched you will learn a lot about the train-circuses of the early 20th century without even trying.
This is beside the point, since the story is really a love triangle slash murder mystery, and the circus is merely the setting. But it's the vibrancy of the characters (not just the main characters, but all the background and auxiliary characters) that really drives the story. The story is told in flashbacks by the (now) nearly 100-year-old main character. The alternating chapters also detail his current life in a nursing home, and the horrible indignities of grow old, in very poignant fashion.
The book is not without its flaws. Towards the denouement Gruen gets a little melodramatic with her description of the action (I could almost envision characters raising the back of their hands to their foreheads before speaking) and the ending, while heart-warming and "feel-good," requires a bit more of a suspension of disbelief than the rest of the story.
Still, wonderful characters, vibrant settings, and good plot pacing; there's not more you can ask for from an enjoyable, "light" read.
posted by Kevin at 11:24 PM
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