Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen

I think I picked this book up at the giant book sale in Calgary last year. Sadly this year the sale was cancelled due to what else....the coronavirus. This is another book made into a movie that I haven't seen. I, like many other book people, don't really like watching the movie after reading the book because I find myself stuck on how the story was in the book. And I know I should be more open minded, but if the book is good, why ruin it with a movie?

Okay, rant over......for now!

This book is the story of Jacob Jankowski, an old man who can't remember how old he is (either 90 or 93) living in an assisted care facility, and his memories of his life. The memories start when Jacob was a vet student in his final year of school. Just before exams are about to start, Jacob's parents are killed in a car accident. When he returns for the funeral, he learns that they mortgaged the house and his father, also a vet, was accepting anything for his services if his clients couldn't pay cash, which left Jacob with nothing. He returns to school and starts an exam, but in his grief cannot write anything. So he walks out and finds himself next to a train and jumps aboard without knowing where it is going. He soon learns he jumped on a circus train. Luckily, the circus needed a vet so he did not get thrown off the train!

On his first day with the circus, Jacob sees Marlena, the star of the equestrian act and soon falls in love. The problem is that Marlena is married to Jacob's volatile boss. Slowly Jacob makes friends with others in the circus and when the circus acquires an untrainable elephant, Rosie, Jacob learns how to teach her. Despite wanting to leave the circus with Marlena, Jacob cannot leave the animals under the care of his boss. Bad things happen at the circus, though the ending is mostly satisfying.

The book was well written and I enjoyed it. I don't think I'll be watching the movie!