Water for Elephants is a coming of age story rather than a
love story as that’s what it’s sort of been publicised as, especially the film.
So I was expecting a love story but was pleasantly surprised to find that it
was a coming of age story. It follows Jacob who accidentally joins a circus
when he boards a train in the middle of the night after failing to find
somewhere to sleep. It takes him a while to become accepted by the circus
people as they are a close-knit group. He has something that they need though,
he’s a vet. He didn’t complete his exams but he has all the skills and
experience, just not the certificates. They don’t care about that though. As
long as he can keep the animals healthy enough to perform, that’s all that
matters.
The story is well written and holds your interest. It is
told by an old Jacob in a retirement home looking back on his life. A circus
has arrived in town and he’s eager to see it but needs to be taken there by his
family as the staff are unable to take him. In the days leading up to the visit
from his family, and so the visit to the circus, he keeps having flashbacks to
his time as part of The Benzini Brothers Circus. It’s a nice way to tell the
story as some parts are referred to before they happen, or something happens in
the home that triggers a memory for him. Despite this method the story is still
told in a linear fashion which I liked. The writing style is good and the
descriptions are vivid although the character descriptions could be better. You
have a stereotypical idea of them in your mind and that doesn’t really change.
The history of it interested me. I like a circus but they’re
more acrobat based now rather than having lions and horses and elephants as
this circus does. The circus travels around by train which, with America being
a vast place, was the most efficient way of transporting everyone and all their
equipment. Jacob’s journey from dogsbody to vet allows the reader to experience
how different life was for the workers compared to the performers. The workers
sleep in cramped conditions, some having to sleep with the canvases while the
performers get nicer carriages. While some performers share, the environment is
much more comfortable. I never felt I got a proper sense of scale and
organisation involved in getting a circus around the country. It was clear that
there were a lot of people involved, enough that there were three separate
trains needed as they can only be so big before the engine can’t pull it. It
certainly wasn’t an easy life and most people ended up there because they were
free spirits and didn’t fit in anywhere else. But also, there was a sense that
once you’re part of the circus and are useful to them it can be difficult to
get out again unless you do something drastic but that could result in physical
harm. The circus was a dangerous place and took a certain kind of person to be
able to live and work on it.
The characters are a good mix of personalities. Jacob is a
bit lost and is finding his way. Uncle Al, who runs the circus, is a
megalomaniac and ruthless when it comes to getting the best from his staff.
He’s out to make money. August, who is in charge of the animals, sort of takes
Jacob under his wing but his personality is volatile and he can be nice one
minute and unpredictable the next so Jacob doesn’t really trust him but is
scared of him. Marlena, the performer, is sort of your typical female love
interest, there’s nothing that special about her. Kinko is one of the
performing dwarfs and Jacob’s roommate, he is hostile towards Jacob to begin
with but eventually they bond. The real star of the book doesn’t appear until
half way through and that is Rosie the elephant. She has a wicked sense of humour and won’t
take shit from anyone.
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I was expecting to. It had
more substance to it which was good. I liked the character of Jacob although he
was a bit irritating towards the end and you just wanted him to grow up a bit.
The minor characters made the book for me. I would have been happy had it just
been a novel about working in a circus in America in the 1930s. I didn’t mind
that it was told via flashback, it would have worked either way. It’s worth a
read but I’m not sure if I want to see the film in case it’s too Hollywood. It
held my attention and you really felt for the characters and the way they were
treated. It’s not amazingly descriptive but it’s enough.
Overall rating 4 out of 5.
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