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