I meant what i said, and i said what i meantan elephants faithfulone hundred percent. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. Sep 27, 2010 author sara gruen at the seattle central library 927. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. It has, she says, one of the happiest endings you will ever read. Ann guidry, critical essay on water for elephants, in literary news makers for students, gale, cengage learning, 2009. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Water for elephants original motion picture soundtrack licensed to youtube by adrev for a 3rd party, sme on behalf of t. Listen to water for elephants and water for elephants chapter summary new releases on your iphone ipad or android. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up. The story follows jacob jankowski who was an old man living in a nursing home, as he looks back about a time that defined his life. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month.
Best brother wedding speech kills crowd hilarious ending. Readers may find themselves churning through this book at a rapidfire pace, eager to see what lies ahead, then slowing down as they realize the pages are dwindling. Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing 128 of. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Novelist sara gruen sweeps her readers off their feet in the opening pages of water for elephantsand doesnt let go until she deposits them at the end of her fantastic tale of passion, madness and fancy. Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. Water for elephants by sara gruen at the best online ebook storage.
The book ending was just kind of dry and i felt like the author did not really. One minute he was finishing his veterinarian degree at cornell and planning to follow his father in the family business. In water for elephants, the story is told through jacob jankowski at two different parts in his life. See more of official water for elephants movie on facebook. Water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus. Download and read online for free water for elephants by sara gruen.
After jacob is released from guard duty outside the cooch tent, he finds a quiet place to sit and rest. Listen to water for elephants audiobook by sara gruen. Please share your thoughts on the book water for elephants. He is particularly angry with one old man who says he once got the water for elephants in the circus. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel. The two readers, david ledoux and john randolph jones, did a wonderful job of bringing both jacobs young and old to life. There was nothing in the water for elephants movie that was too much for teens, but i would not take children under the age of to see, more for the frightening scene in the end and thematic elements than for the adult romantic elements. And like many books, water for elephants sneaks in an extra ending or two, just for fun. Water for elephants has a happy ending for jacob, but not for many other characters. Just when you think the story might be over, you get another little bit of narrative. Water for elephants is mostly fantasy, punctuated with reality for the purpose of contrast.
Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories. Hitting the road with no idea where he would end up, he stumbled across benzini bros. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center confess to having been a water boy for the elephants in a circus, jacob knows the man is lying. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. Sara gruens very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring robert pattinson and reese witherspoon. A water for elephants discussion from reading group guides writers digest interview with sara gruen. While reading water for elephants i found the plot hyperbolic and excessively melodramatic and the characters little developed beyond their names.
Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends. Water for elephants is a delightful, moving book, and the ending was a very pleasant surprise. 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. Water for elephants quotes by sara gruen goodreads. Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, water for elephants swept me into the world of the circus during the depression, and it did not let me go until the very end. I didnt want to leave the pages that exposed the truth of jacob and marlenas affection or the cruelties of uncle al and august. And like many books, water for elephants sneaks in an extra.
The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. Speaking of the aftermath the book club disagreed on the ending of the story. 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. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Rona brinlee of the bookmark in atlantic beach, fla. Water for elephants is an upcoming 2011 drama film based on sara gruens novel of the same name, directed by francis lawrence and starring robert pattinson as jacob jankowski, reese witherspoon as. What is the role of faithfulness and loyalty in water for elephants. The climax of the the book, water for elephants, is when several survivors who were redlighted return to the circus during one of the shows. Learn water for elephants with free interactive flashcards. 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.
With a showmans expert timing, gruen saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of americana. My book was water for elephants and the protagonist was jacob. I read water for elephants for our book club, and i expected it to be as slow, dull, and superficial as most of the other books we have read. This book was influenced by very important literary movements, such as romanticism, realism, regionalism, and naturalism. Speaking of descriptions, every strong smell is described as overwhelming. I liked the movie ending better, i like seeing all the pictures and montages of the family. Water for elephants every book has the same basic hero archetype. 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. In the beginning of the novel, jacob mocks another resident of the nursing home who claims to have worked in the circus and carried water for the elephants. But be warned, this isnt the order of events in the book. 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. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world.
Water for elephants is the touching story of jacob jankowski, a ninetythreeyearold man, who is reminded of his colorful past when a circus sets up next door to his assistedliving center. Does he really run away with the circus at the end. The movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. There is an us and them mentality in the circus between performers and workers. May 26, 2006 water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus. The book ending was just kind of dry and i felt like the author did not really develop it. Water for elephants water for elephants is a romantic period drama that takes place in the depression era with a struggling circus full of misfits as its background. Even with the disagreement about the ending, my book club was in pretty unanimous agreement that water for elephants was a great book and one that we recommend to others. Water for elephants book by sara gruen thriftbooks. And then youre bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story.
Apr 22, 2011 8 big differences between water for elephants book and movie apr. Water for elephants is a 2011 american romantic drama film directed by francis lawrence and written by richard lagravenese, based on sara gruens 2006 novel of the same name. Feb 02, 2012 the movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. Dec 21, 2011 read the book then got the audio cd for my daughter who has a disability it was good loved it. Veterinary school student jacob meets and falls in love with marlena, a star. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse award for most popular book. Water for elephants taught the lifechanging lesson, that in the end, everyone returns home. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and answers. In the end, fantasy wins, and the reader, like the rube visiting a circus, gets what he wants. Sara gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. As the headline suggests, were discussing the ending.
Also, if you want a special treat, listen to it on audiobook. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading water for elephants. As much as the story focuses on the growth of jacobs masculine independence, gruen did not fail to surrender the lives of the cruel. Sara gruen is the internationally bestselling author of water for elephants and at the water s edge. Young jacob is able to do whatever his heart desires including, jumping on. Aug 05, 2008 a meticulously researched, fastpaced, engaging and ultimately very satisfying novel set mostly ina depression era travelling circus. I bought this book because of push advertising and regretted it. Water for elephants quotes showing of 143 when two people are meant to be together, they will be together. The author, sara gruen allows readers to read the book from two perspectives, one from young jacob and the other from older presentday jacob. He is portrayed as a bit of a rebel, arguing with other residents, complaining about the food. I storngly suggest this novel to a mature audience who wants to be enchanted by rich memories of the circus, and an old mans fight to maintain dignity and sanity in a changing world.
Water for elephants by sara gruen sophisticated dorkiness. Water for elephants is gruens third book, it became one of the new york times. The book begins with a quote from horton hatches the egg by dr. They create a plan to completely ruin the circus for good. Differences between water for elephants book vs movie page 1. The phony tone of the narrator, jacob, and the simple onedimensional sentences irritated me the most. Sometimes i think that if i had to choose between an ear of corn or making love to a woman, id choose the corn. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. It stars reese witherspoon, robert pattinson, and christoph waltz. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center confess to having been a water boy for the elephants in a circus, jacob knows the man is lying because jacob himself once worked.
In the 1930s, 23yearold jacobs life changed drastically. I have read the book myself, seen the movie, and now enjoyed the audio version. The only place the movie veers from the original is in its details of the older, current jacob. Water for elephants by sara gruen has spent weeks upon weeks on bestseller lists around the country. Water for elephants sara gruen books the new york times. Novelist sara gruen sweeps her readers off their feet in the opening pages of water for elephantsand doesnt let go until she deposits them at the end of her fantastic tale of passion, madness and fancy the last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends. It captures the mood of the 1930s, and we the audience really get a sense of what it must have been like to live in that time in history. Dec 11, 2011 water for elephants book discussion questions water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. In the book, jacobs narration takes place in his own mind. If you like water for elephants, you might like little heathens by mildred armstrong kalish seabiscuit by laura hillenbrand the adventures of miles and isabel by tom gilling. The readers and critics had said it was too depressing and didnt end well. It is, of course, but its decades before you admit it. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. If you havent seen water for elephants or read the novel its based on, stop reading now.
Water for elephants book ending vs movie ending showing 1. Jacob, the books narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. Water for elephants, published in 2007, is sara gruens third novel. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus. The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends. When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. But the book locked me in and all i could do was turn the pages until i reached page 331 and the story was complete.
Water for elephants a depressionera circus provides the backdrop for sara gruens latest novel, water for elephants. I actually think it would make a great summer read for people who want to learn something while getting a good story. Gruen did extensive research before writing water for elephants. Choose from 89 different sets of water for elephants flashcards on quizlet. I am cautious about buying best sellers and water for elephants reminded me why. Marlena is almost killed by august until he gets a. Sara gruens water for elephants at the librarys book discussion group, and it. I have read this book and the reason the name is water for elephant is because the. Read water for elephants absolutely for free at readanybook. All of the important quotes from water for elephants listed here correspond, at least in some way, to the paper topics we created on water for elephants and by themselves can give you great ideas for an essay by offering quotes about other themes, symbols, imagery, and motifs than those already mentioned. In the book, we see jacob as an old man in the nursing home throughout. Novelist sara gruen sweeps her readers off their feet in the opening pages of water for elephants and doesnt let go until she deposits them at the end of her fantastic tale of passion, madness and fancy.
Sara gruen has a voice to rival john irvings, and i am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. Jul 23, 2018 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. Based on the acclaimed bestseller, water for elephants presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting. For interested readers rooting for a satisfying ending, water for elephants succeeds. The circus, the great depression, a complex elephant, equally complex love, the mists and twists of memory articulated in the utterly winning voice of a very old man whos seen it all.
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