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Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars

I went into this book with basically no expectations.

Outside of the preview I saw for the movie starring Robert Pattinson & Reese Witherspoon years ago, I didn't even know what this book was about. Turns out this is a story is set in the 1920's & told from the dual perspectives of Jacob Jankowski when he is 23 & 90 (or maybe 93).

On one hand, the story follows young Jacob right after his parents are both taken from him in a freak car accident. Laden with grief, he abandons his studies & joins the circus. Older Jacob, now bound to the care of a nursing home, reflects on the events of his life & slow dehumanization that occurs after one reaches a certain age.

I have to say, I hardly connected with this book at all. After the initial tragedy of Jacob's parent's deaths, I lost all interest in his life as part of the circus. The story is written well enough, but I didn't find the idea very compelling & I just did not care about his relationships & rivalries with other characters.

You may assume older Jacob's part of the book would be even less interesting by nature, but surprisingly these were the only parts I found myself engaging with. As an old, sarcastic man, Jacob contemplates how the elderly often revert back to the status of young children in the eyes of society. These ideas are simultaneously hilarious & disheartening, and achieved their goal in making me ponder how we treat our elders.

My reading experience with Water for Elephants can only be described as depressing as hell.

There's a lot of unnecessary violence in this story, & some explicit sex scenes that felt entirely pointless. I saw where the author was trying to go, but ultimately the events that take place on both fronts felt contrived.

Sometimes I have moments while reading "Adult" books where I feel as though the author is nervous their book won't be considered "Adult" enough if they don't throw in some blood, gore, & sex. This is the feeling this book gave me. It just wasn't essential to the characterization & it did nothing to salvage my feelings of distaste about the plot in general.

At the end it is revealed that the entirety of young Jacob's experience in the circus takes place in 3.5 months, and I couldn't help but find that laughable. In such a short space of time so much over the top drama takes place without the stabilizing sense of humanity that would've given me a reason to care about this story.

Other than older Jacob's sections, the only other real praise I can muster for this book is the writing. Gruen has a graphic style of writing that really worked for this circus setting.

Otherwise, I don't think this is one I'll be recommending to anyone in the future.