These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for elephants by sara gruen. A brilliantly crafted and deeply moving novel, water for elephants is the tale of jacob jankowski, now in his nineties, who spends his remaining days fondly drifting through the memories of his early depressionera youth which was spent in the company of circus freaks, clowns and misfits. The only place the movie veers from the original is in its details of the older, current jacob. As the headline suggests, were discussing the ending. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. That made this book a fivestar novel instead of four. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. The book club disagreed on the ending of the story. As the sadistic august, waltz simmers with alternating charm and viciousness two qualities he perfected in his oscarwinning turn in inglourious basterds. He starts narrating the story, but suddenly you realize you are reading young jacob while being at the circus. 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.
Download and read online for free water for elephants by sara gruen. I would have given the book five stars if the books ending did not give a new meaning to cliche. 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. The movie was pretty blah, pattison was bland, no chemistry with. The movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. She demonstrates an exceptional aptitude for writing, and matthias, for a time, indulges her with reed pens, papyri, and other 16 c. Read the book then got the audio cd for my daughter who has a disability it was good loved it. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless. 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. For interested readers rooting for a satisfying ending, water for elephants succeeds. He plays the circus owner, who is married to the bareback rider and keeps her. Water for elephants by sara gruen at the best online ebook storage. Tessa fontaines astonishing memoir of pushing past fear, the electric woman, follows the author on a lifeaffirming journey of loss and selfdiscovery through her time on the road with the last traveling american sideshow and her relationship with an adventurous, spirited mother.
Despite her often cliched prose and the predictability of the storys ending, gruen. Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing. Apr 22, 2011 weve probably all seen a movie and wished it were 40 minutes shorter or read a book and thought, damn, this really could have been condensed and lost nothing. See actions taken by the people who manage and post content. And like many books, water for elephants sneaks in an extra ending or two, just for fun. Find books like water for elephants from the worlds largest community of readers. A meticulously researched, fastpaced, engaging and ultimately very satisfying novel set mostly ina depression era travelling circus. Mar 01, 2011 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. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. May 22, 2006 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. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused.
Sara gruens very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring robert pattinson and reese witherspoon. Weve probably all seen a movie and wished it were 40 minutes shorter or read a book and thought, damn, this really could have been condensed and lost. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. School district 2010 after a parent complained about the novels sexual content. Sep 07, 2016 author, sara gruen is an excellent novelist. Times, publishers weekly, san francisco chronicle, and washington post lists a usa today and wall street journal best seller an american book association indiebound best seller.
My posts will include the banned book, wherewhy its been banned or challenged, my opinion, and a students opinion. Water for elephants by sara gruen book club discussion. Water for elephants by sara gruen sophisticated dorkiness. Apr 27, 2011 the book the novel may have been initially kicked out in about a month, but sara gruens water for elephants bears all the hallmarks of a wellresearched work of historical fiction. 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. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends.
Goodreads members who liked water for elephants also liked. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus. With gruens bestselling book as his source material here, lawrence concentrates on more domestic horrors missing in his other films. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends. The truth is, it is summer and i am desperate for a distraction away from my recent obsession with greys anatomy reruns fueled by netflixs instant queue. It follows the story of a young man whose circumstances are suddenly altered and who finds himself homeless and jobless. Later in the book, it is suggested that he is a paranoid schizophrenic, to explain his violence. If you havent seen water for elephants or read the novel its based on, stop reading now. In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read. He is particularly angry with one old man who says he once got the water for elephants in the circus. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse award for most popular book.
Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Water for elephants is fun, sweet and thrilling and will pull you into the mysterious life of the circus so far that you wont want to leave. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. Sara gruen uses her talent as a writer to bring that world alive for the reader. Water for elephants water for elephants audiobook, by sara gruen. 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.
Water for elephants book club discussion questions and answers. 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. I was, for the first time in years, saddened to come to the end of this book. Water for elephants a dissapointed ending showing 150 of 116. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. Ana is the daughter of matthias, head scribe to herod antipas, tetrarch of galilee. Read online water for elephants by sara gruen for free. Read water for elephants absolutely for free at readanybook. Oct 21, 2009 robert olen butler 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.
It was the great depression and for jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. The book the novel may have been initially kicked out in about a month, but sara gruens water for elephants bears all the hallmarks of a wellresearched work of historical fiction. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing 1. Jul 04, 2011 water for elephants is fun, sweet and thrilling and will pull you into the mysterious life of the circus so far that you wont want to leave. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. Just when you think the story might be over, you get another little bit of narrative.
Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. In what ways and to what extent do the words pathetic grandeur describe the world that gruen creates in her novel. At its finest, water for elephants resembles stealth hits like the giants house, by elizabeth mccracken, or the lovely bones, by alice sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowdpleasing romanticism. Aug 05, 2008 a meticulously researched, fastpaced, engaging and ultimately very satisfying novel set mostly ina depression era travelling circus. Sara gruen has a voice to rival john irvings, and i am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel. He is portrayed as a bit of a rebel, arguing with other residents, complaining about the food. The alternating glamour and squalor of the circus world gruen expertly conjures may truly be one of the greatest shows. I didnt want to leave the pages that exposed the truth of jacob and marlenas affection or the cruelties of uncle al and august. So i purchased the book and slowly began retreating. Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing 128 of. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing. In the book, we see jacob as an old man in the nursing home throughout.
Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, water for elephants swept me into the world of the circus during the depression and it did not let me go until the very end. Blackandwhite photographs of real american circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed throughout the. Jacob, the books narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. 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.
But the book locked me in and all i could do was turn the pages until i reached page 331 and the story was complete. The cover of the book states international word of mouth phenomenon, and upon reading the book it quickly becomes obvious why it is regarded as such. Its banned books week so im highlighting a different banned book each day this week. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. While i enjoyed the movie with robert pattinson and reese witherspoon, the novel is far better. Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories.
Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse diamond award for most popular book. 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. Feb 02, 2012 the movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. In the book, jacobs narration takes place in his own mind. Water for elephants by sara gruen wherewhy its been banned.
Water for elephants is the touching story of jacob jankowski, a ninetythreeyearold man, who is reminded of his colorful past when a circus sets up next door to his assistedliving center. Skim down to the end of spoilers note if you dont want. Water for elephants was one of those books, that kept making me think, man i. Dec 21, 2011 read the book then got the audio cd for my daughter who has a disability it was good loved it. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. Sara gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The entire book was wonderful and beautiful and incredibly hard to put down. Neither the narrator, nor any of the other characters in water for elephants, for that matter, even remotely sound like they live in the 1930s, nor does the old man sound like an old man in the presentday chapters in fact, he sounds exactly like he did as a 22year old in the 1930s chapters. I have never seen the movie and put off reading the book because the trailers left me uninterested. 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. Theres something endearingly oldfashioned about a love story involving a beautiful bareback rider and a kid who runs off to join the circus.
I read water for elephants a few years ago and from time to time, i reread my favorite novels. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center claim to have been a water boy for the elephants on a circus, jacob knows the man is lying because jacob himself once worked as a vet on a traveling. 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. Sara gruens water for elephants is one of those books, but richard lagravenese s screenplay does not suffer from the same overindulgence. Removed from a spring break elective course at the bedford, n. Water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. In the beginning of the novel, jacob mocks another resident of the nursing home who claims to have worked in the circus and carried water for the elephants. What makes water for elephants more intriguing is a third character, reminding us why christoph waltz deserved his supporting actor oscar for inglourious basterds 2009. Times, publishers weekly, san francisco chronicle, and washington post lists. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and. Melde dich bei lovelybooks an, entdecke neuen lesestoff. Overall, water for elephants was a book that grabbed me from the.
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