Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and christoph waltz. Water for elephants by sara gruen book club discussion. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. When the book opens, jacob jankowski is an angry old man who has been living in an assistedliving center. The book, water for elephants, starts off in the present day, in a nursing home where the main character, jacob jankowski, lives. Jacob is the main conflict in the book, water for elephants. This study guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of water for elephants. Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores similar subject matter the pathetic grandeur of the depressionera circus.
Love is a driving force in water for elephants, and its not limited to the love one human feels for another. An elephant s skin can be up to one inch thick, but it is also very sensitive. Water for elephants immediately transported me to a different time and place. Jacob jankowski, a veterinary student at cornell, discovers that his parents have been killed in a car accident. With robert pattinson, reese witherspoon, christoph waltz, paul schneider. Free download or read online water for elephants pdf epub book. The fact that you were able to detect the connections with the book you are currently reading and her other books is really good, gives us and yourselves a sense of what to expect and generally know what her passions are. Male elephants, or bulls, live alone once they become adults. More information about this seller contact this seller. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world.
The family elephantidae also contains several nowextinct groups, including the. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. He ended up working in a circus, as the shows vet, and fell in love with the equine masters wife. Read free book excerpt from water for elephants by sara gruen, page 1 of 7. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. They can hear each others calls up to 5 miles away. Elephants are grayish to brown in color, and their body hair is sparse and coarse. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Water for elephants movie tiein by sara gruen, paperback. The main characters of this fiction, historical story are jacob jankowski, rosemary. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin.
If you say that you carried water for elephants, i am. 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. This novel is written concisely, but with often description so vague the reader. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 335 pages and is available in paperback format.
These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for elephants by sara gruen. 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. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. I loved the detail in the description of the book and the author. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends. Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011.
Elephant, largest living land animal, characterized by its long trunk, columnar legs, and huge head with temporal glands and wide, flat ears. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. Beautifully written, water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. In the story, love is shown among the characters themselves. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. The novel kept me crying, alternating between tears of happiness and sadness. Later in the book, it is suggested that he is a paranoid schizophrenic, to explain his violence. Jacob jankowski jacob jankowski is the narrator of the novel, and senior in college whose ready to explore the world and find where he belongs.
It shouldnt be a surprise that in the prologue we cant tell whether jacob is talking about marlena or rosie when he uses the word she he loves them both and thinks of them both as individuals. 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. Its from this nursing home that jacob tells his story, like he is looking back at all the adventures at the circus. The setting of the story changes throughout the book. Your story took me to place i could only dream of going. 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. A national bestseller in canada and a new york times bestseller in the united states, this is a book.
In what ways and to what extent do the words pathetic grandeur describe the world that gruen creates in her novel. I know i shouldnt do this, but somehow i cant help myself. The biggest elephant ever weighed 24,000 pounds and was feet tall. Elephants are now a protected species throughout the world. Water for elephants water for elephants audiobook, by sara gruen. Elephants are mammals of the family elephantidae and the largest existing land animals. Beautifully written and completely unforgettable, water for elephants is an atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the us circus world circa 1932.
I fell in love with the picture you chose for your book the first time i saw it. August goes on rages and rants of complete insanity due to the. Water for elephants resembles stealth hits like the giants house, by elizabeth mccracken, or the. August can be very friendly and sweet on the surface, but deep down he is. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing. With its spotlight on elephants, gruens romantic pageturner hinges on the humananimal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel riding.
Water for elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined. The denver post so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that i couldnt bear to be torn away from it for a single minute. 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. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order proboscidea. 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. Books, stories, and novels like water for elephants by sara gruen. Book description algonquin books of chapel hill 512007, 2007. Blackandwhite photographs of real american circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed throughout the. About the author sara gruen is the internationally bestselling author of water for elephants and at the waters edge. They are found most often in the savannas, grasslands, and forests of africa and asia. Water for elephants by sara gruen depicts a number of themes discussed below. Water for elephants begins violently and then veers into weirder terrain. August can be very friendly and sweet on the surface, but deep down he is a cruel and cold man.
I never left the circus until i closed the back cover of the book and even then i still felt personally connected to the benzini brothers. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. Their two, completely separate personalities clash and collide. Water for elephants, 2007, sara gruen water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. Water for elephants a depressionera circus provides the backdrop for sara gruens latest novel, water for elephants. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. An american book association indiebound best seller. 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. So i purchased the book and slowly began retreating. 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. The first edition of the novel was published in may 26th 2006, and was written by sara gruen. August is an antagonist and jacob is a protagonist. Water for elephants is a story that has it all warmth, humour, poignancy and passion. People also love animals, and animals love them back.
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