Water For Elephants pgs. 1-69

by: Sara Gruen

Summary:
This book is a little confusing because some of the chapters are told from when Jacob Jankowski (the main character) is an old man, and then the other chapters are told from when Jacob is young, when he is working in the circus. The book starts with a prologue of when Jacob is working with the circus awhen all of the animals got out The prologue ends with Jacob witnessing the elephant rider, Marlena, take a club and hit some guy on the head with it.
Chapter 1 flashes to "present day" when Jacob is ninety..or ninety three (he doesn't know). He is next to these old ladies who are gazing out the window watching as people are setting up for the circus that's coming to town.Later that day during lunch, Jacob gets into an argument with this old guy over whether or not you can carry water for elephants. The nurses send Jacob to his room to take a break and calm down..
Chapters 2 & 3 are flashbacks to 1931 while Jacob is in a veterinary class in college. He is called out to the hall to be informed that his parents have gotten killed in an automobile accident. After he buries his parents, Jacob kind of goes crazy and walks out during his final exams. While walking near a train track he hops onto a car that just happens to belong to a traveling circus. While on the car he meets Camel, Blackie, and Grady. They all work for the circus and say that they will help him get a job. In Chapter 4, Jacob meets uncle Al, the ring master, and gets a job taking care of the animals. That night Jacob sees an image of his mother, almost like a ghost...
Chapter 5, It's present day again and Jacob's nurses have brought a doctor in to see why Jacob has been so grouchy. The doctor says that Jacob is clinically depressed and gives him an anti depressant. Jacob refuses to take the pill, but his nurses informs him that is he won't take the pill then they will give him the medicine through the form of a shot, so eventually he reluctantly takes the pill....

Response:

I am reading this book because it is going to be a movie with Robert pattinson and Reese Witherspoon; I think it is coming out sometime this summer. A lot of adults I know have read it and said it is really good, and so far I definitely agree. It is kind of confusing because it is constantly going back and forth, but the more I get into it the more I start to understand what's going on. I am anxious to see how everything plays out because of what happened in the prologue. I think that was a really good way to start the book because it introduced the signifcant characters and set up some drama, I want to know who the man that Marlena clubbed was, and if Jacob and Marlena have like a thing for each other. I also am anxious to see when the elephants are included, because so far there are no elephants at all...