Honestly, that's the hardest part I had with the book, I get that this was set during the twenties, however, I hate reading about animal cruelty and these poor exotic animals (especially the elephant, Rosie) can't seem to catch a break, no matter what Jacob does. It's a romance not involving just a woman and a man but involving a fierce love of animals. It's magical and spectacular, even while being dark and gritty. This book held up on even a second reading.
This review first published on Doing Dewey. Obviously, this book has gotten a ton of praise and I’m sure a lot of people who like character driven novels will enjoy it more than I did. Just watching a character buffeted around by the world leaves me missing the sense of satisfaction I get when I see a character take charge of their circumstances. Throughout the book, he does next to nothing to change his own circumstances and the plot is driven entirely by external events. In this book, our main character Jacob was very passive. While I loved these characters, I don’t think good characters are enough to carry a plot unless the main character experiences some personal growth and helps drive the plot.
She also created characters I began to care about deeply, making this a very emotionally engaging story. The author does an incredible job sounding like an old man telling you his life story and like a young man living it. The characters made me glad I had decided to take a risk and pick this book up. I’m kind of a softie about such things, so I’m guessing that this wouldn’t be enough to ruin the book for anyone else either. There were a few really brutal bits, but they weren’t described graphically and weren’t too hard to get through. I’ve heard wonderful things about Water for Elephants for years, but put off reading it largely because I worried about the amount of cruelty to animals I might find within its pages. With the circus owner on his side, her husband is very dangerous and Jacob will have a hard time escaping with his life and those he loves. However, Marelena is already married and her husband is sometimes completely brutish to her and the circus animals. Left penniless after his parents’ death, Jacob Jankowski quickly fell in love with the two stars of the circus: the beautiful performer Marlena and the elephant Rosie.
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