🟨 Water for Elephants (2006) Review - If It's a Nanowrimo Book and You Know It, Clap Your Hands! | Book Waffle

Water for Elephants book cover

Water for Elephants (2006) written by Sara Gruen

Oh, man. There are so many things this book does right.

But let's start with the basics.

Water for Elephants revolves around the story of one Jacob Jankowski. A more Polish American name there never was. Anywho, our local dude is an old man in the present day, and he is reminiscing on that one time that he had a mental breakdown and dropped out of Ivy League college to join a hobo circus.

Yanno. As you do.

What follows is our young man's introduction to the carny world as he is spirited around the country as the show's animal veterinarian. A historical bildungsroman, Jacob sees poverty, sex, and all the other good things in life firsthand amongst the backdrop of a world reeling from the fallout of the Great Depression. 

Between these historical snippets, old man Jacob cuts back to the present. His crotchety self struggling to harmonize those memories of adventure and thrill with his current life of living in a sterile retirement home full of fruitcakes. It's a jarring juxtaposition that adds so much life to the story. It also helps that his outbursts are absolutely hilarious and will 100% be me if I'm ever dragged off to one of those retirement prisons.

The characters are great*. The setting is unique and interesting. The narrative is structured well. The voice is fantastic. Sure, much of the supporting cast is utilitarian and faceless, but I can excuse that.

*But the love triangle! The Love Triangle! BRO. It's SO bad. It forces bizarre and cringeworthy reactions onto otherwise solid characters (there's even an unironic "and then everyone clapped" moment, no joke). Stereotypes are leaned on hard to make the drama happen. Honestly, the more I saw of this subplot the more I was convinced Jacob was a modern white-knighting incel with a savior complex. Feels uncomfortably similar to the news stories about this author tbh. And don't even get me started on Marlena the hapless damsel with the emotional range of a wooden spoon.

Still a mostly enjoyable read, but, man. It could have been so much better. It should have been so much better.

🟨 Rating: 7/10

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