As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
I loved this.
I loved the "elder looking back on his life" set up. I loved the conflict that ended, honestly, catharticly. And I loved the very end.
It was a great book that I tore through in about 2 sittings.
Pretty good. Another popular novel that comes with historical insights. Hard to rate... 3.5 - 3.75 stars?
A good read!
A rather sweet story told by Jacob Jankowski, switching back and forth between present-day Jacob in a residential care home and Jacob in his youth, recently orphaned, broke, and making a living with the Benzini Brothers traveling circus during prohibition and depression era America. While some of the characters were a bit shallow, there were several plot twists I didn't predict and an unexpected ending I enjoyed.
I would say this is close to a 3.5 star. I really appreciated the obvious research Sara Gruen put into real circus history and animal behavior.
Absolutely amazing. The last few chapters really throw you around emotionally.
I almost want to give this book 4 stars. Not that the story was anything out of the ordinary really...boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl is with someone else, blah blah. But the whole idea of the traveling circus, the circus train, the sideshow freaks...really sparked my interest and imagination. And I hate the idea of the circus! I hate the idea of any animal in captivity, especially performing animals. Something about the descriptions of the "old time" circus, entertainment at a time when there were few real diversions from the cruel realities of life, really spoke to me. My dad used to tell the story of "playing hooky" from school so that he could watch the circus set up in an empty lot, getting caught (of course!), meriting the punishment of no recess, and climbing out of a second story window to play at recess …
I almost want to give this book 4 stars. Not that the story was anything out of the ordinary really...boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl is with someone else, blah blah. But the whole idea of the traveling circus, the circus train, the sideshow freaks...really sparked my interest and imagination. And I hate the idea of the circus! I hate the idea of any animal in captivity, especially performing animals. Something about the descriptions of the "old time" circus, entertainment at a time when there were few real diversions from the cruel realities of life, really spoke to me. My dad used to tell the story of "playing hooky" from school so that he could watch the circus set up in an empty lot, getting caught (of course!), meriting the punishment of no recess, and climbing out of a second story window to play at recess anyway, take that Sister Andrea! This book calls to mind my dad's uncontrollable joy, of a time when the circus stopping in YOUR town was a very big deal indeed.
One day while leaving work a train went by. I live in a town where probably 100 trains a day go by, so no big whoop. I happened to look in my rear view mirror as I was driving away from the tracks and noticed the train was somehow different. There was writing on the cars and all the cars were the same. It was the Ringling Brothers circus train! I pulled over and got out of my car to make sure. A circus train! I never saw one before; didn't think they even existed any longer. Almost as good as the time I saw the Christmas train on those very same tracks, at the end of another long, mind numbing work day! Haha yeah work can drain the life out of you to the point where a train going by seems exciting.
I have already read this. I need to re-experience it I've forgotten details It's a great book!
This story kept me enthralled the entire time!
The beginning was boring. Really boring. But after around 150 it's getting better.
I really liked the style of writing and the switching between the present and the past.
From the beginning the reader knows that something bad will happen where Jacob tries to find her (he's not mentioning her name) between all the chaos. Seriously I didn't stopped the book because i wanted to know how this scene will end because of its tragedy.
And it was worth waiting for it. The last quarter of the book was extremely thrilling and exciting. I couldn't stop reading and finished this book at ~ 2:30 am.
The ending was a good one. The whole book.. I wished I got hooked in the beginning.
All in all I can't understand why this book is a worldwide bestseller but it's good though.
I put it on the bookshelf "classics" because I suppose this …
The beginning was boring. Really boring. But after around 150 it's getting better.
I really liked the style of writing and the switching between the present and the past.
From the beginning the reader knows that something bad will happen where Jacob tries to find her (he's not mentioning her name) between all the chaos. Seriously I didn't stopped the book because i wanted to know how this scene will end because of its tragedy.
And it was worth waiting for it. The last quarter of the book was extremely thrilling and exciting. I couldn't stop reading and finished this book at ~ 2:30 am.
The ending was a good one. The whole book.. I wished I got hooked in the beginning.
All in all I can't understand why this book is a worldwide bestseller but it's good though.
I put it on the bookshelf "classics" because I suppose this book will be known as classic in the next hundred years :)
Btw, the movie adaptation comes out 2011 with staring Robert Pattinson and Resse Witherspoon. I'm definitely watching it! :)
At least I had an entertaining book to read on that extra long bus ride through the rain. This story grabbed me right away and kept me going. Good vacation reading. About an elderly man in a nursing home remembering his youth in the circus. Lots of drama and circus history. Couple problematic parts, but its fluff and not to be analyzed that closely.
Thanks to Megha's review www.goodreads.com/review/show/39133771. I had lowered expectations of this, after all the other rave reviews.
I realise it has several flaws and doesn't innovate in any way but if you're looking for a good old story to relax into, you couldn't do much better.
Somebody coming from chick-lit might be amazed that a woman could take on the voice of the male narrator in all his male adventures, but for this man it didn't ring quite true. Still it never distracted me from the two threads of the story while my imagination was fed with details of travelling circus life.
I read this in one sitting. It's well-written and the story is very compelling. The beginning is a bit rough (emotionally), but it's worth sticking it out. The way she closes the circle in the last few chapters is very satisfying.
I was entertained by this book, but not sure I liked it. it was ok though.
Generally well-received. And the ambiguous initial flashback fooled just about everyone. It was well researched, and aside from the plot, a fascinating glimpse into circus life during the depression.
