In the interview with author and the book club questions there is reference to the biblical story of jacob. Surprising, poignant, and funny, water for elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down. Water for elephants melinda strauss kitchen tested. My monthly book club meets tomorrow and for once im not going to be rushing off to starbucks to finish the monthly selection. Beautifully written, water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. Water for elephants goodreads meet your next favorite book. May 26, 2006 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. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. Times, publishers weekly, san francisco chronicle, and washington post lists a usa today and wall street journal best seller an american book association indiebound best seller. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. Like water for chocolate, by laura esquivel we sat on our hosts porch as a storm rolled in. Water for elephants by sara gruen has been a book club favorite since its release in 2006. This months book club pick was water for elephants by sara gruen.
Please join us in the book club forum as we discuss this book. Water for elephants book club discussion questions thoughtco. Feb 02, 2012 the movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. I got all caught up in the story and found it hard to put it down. Books that defined a generation water for elephants. Maybe youve already read the lovely bones, water for elephants, cutting for stone, the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. We felt rain on our faces, heard thunder and then ate cookies by candlelight. What does the novel have to say about loyalty during hard times. Water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion. 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. May 26, 2008 this months book club pick was water for elephants by sara gruen. I cling to my anger with every ounce of humanity left in my ruined body, but its no use. In the sections of the book set in the present, when jacob is in his 90s, he makes a big deal about his age and seems really upset by it.
Dive in to the world of the great depression, the circus, and love. Book club discussion on kite runner khaled hosseini, books, 143 replies please recommend a classic that would be good for a book club. Run away to the circus of 1932 by reading water for elephants by sara gruen with fellow global campus students. Did this act as a spoiler or wet your appetite for the story.
Eventually all types of children with all kinds of animal pets, from penguins to armadillos to skunks, band together and form a club where everyone is welcome including elephants. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends. These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for elephants by sara gruen. To be honest, i dont think this book lived up to all the hype. When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world. Free download or read online water for elephants pdf epub book. Water for elephants by sara gruen book club discussion. The first edition of the novel was published in may 26th 2006, and was written by sara gruen. It is the story of a circus veterinarian during the great depression who falls in love with a performer and her elephant.
Novel synopsis author information character analysis focus points and themes writing style and structure symbols important quotes from the novel book club discussion questions. Read all 9 questions with answers, advice and tips about water for elephants discussion questions from moms communities. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. Water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. Posted by naima debrest in college english on monday, january 7, 2019 at 10. Water for elephants is a book about memories, aging, and nostalgia. This bookclubinabox pdf discussion guide 77 pages for sara gruens novel water for elephants includes. 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. With lines of startling beauty, haunting and evocative scenes and finelydrawn characters who dance off the page, readers can dip in and out of the novel, immersing themselves in jacobs memories. The benzini brothers most spectacular show on earth was his life. Is it primarily written for a female audience or will i like it. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up.
I have to admit, when our book club picked this book, i thought it was going to be long and tedious. Citydata book forum book club, books, 342 replies book club discussion on kite runner khaled hosseini, books, 143 replies please recommend a classic that would be good for a book club. He also meets rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. Jacob at 20 and again when he was 93 and living in a. Water for elephants sara gruen, 2006 algonquin books of chapel hill 350 pp. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel.
Bring your thoughts, rants and raves as we explore all the. Water for elephants by sara gruen memoirs of a geisha by arthur golden my sisters keeper by jodi picoult the bookworms book club. The red tent by anita diamant skinny dip by carl hiaasen old sames book club. Water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus. Initially, kinko is a grouchy, condescending performer a dwarf who wants nothing to do with jacob. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. Put that triangle in an usual setting, and youve got yourself a story. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus.
In the book, jacobs narration takes place in his own mind. Reading guide for water for elephants by sara gruen. Ua book club to discuss water for elephants university of. It is a book i have recommended to everyone who has asked me what book i would recommend. Join global connections program coordinator and book enthusiast kaitlin hennessy to discuss this novel during the online fiction book club. I give up on rage, which at this point has become a formality, and make a mental note to get angry again in the morning. At what point in his life did he seem to be the happiest. I had wanted to read water for elephants for quite a while and was glad i was making the time to. Jacob jankowski is in his 90s and the movie starts with him looking back on his days with the circus.
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. Elephants follows the story of a jacob jankowski, a man in his 90s who lives in a nursing home. Should the murderer in water for elephants be punished. Many times the best discussions are about books that the majority of the group disliked. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 335 pages and is available in paperback format. The circus comes to town, and the mere mention of the word circus brings jacob back to his young in the 1930s. No, im not organized or on top of things, i actually read. From the discussion questions at the end of the book looking at himself in the mirror, the old jacob tries to see beyond the sagging flesh. Pdf water for elephants book by sara gruen free download.
Bring your thoughts, rants and raves as we explore all the intricacies of this fantastic book. Use these questions on water for elephants by sara gruen to lead your book clubs discussion of this novel. Reading for your book club and socializing with your group members is a lot of fun, but sometimes it can be tricky to find a book that no one has read yet and everyone will enjoy. It was a cute story but i never felt any characterreader relationship with anyone in the circus. The main characters of this fiction, historical story are jacob jankowski, rosemary. The prologue gives a glimpse of a climatic scene later in the book. A novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. The book is about senses, and all of ours were touched that night. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. Book club discussion on water for elephants sara gruen. As you know, sara gruens water for elephants was made a runaway betseller by book groups across the country.
Water for elephants by sara gruen this is a great, glorious, bighearted novel set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of america during the great depression of the early 1930s. Book club water for elephants its time for another installment of the barren bitches book brigade. Then i let myself drift, because theres really no fighting it. Water for elephants water for elephants audiobook, by sara gruen. Ua book club to discuss water for elephants university.
On the first night after his leaving cornell, for example, jacobas did his biblical namesakelies back on the bank, resting my head on a flat stone page 23. Summary an atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. When a young boy with a small elephant for a pet is excluded from a pet club, the two embark on a mission to create a new club for pets. Water for elephants by sara gruen reading guidebook club. The everywoman book club, sponsored by the womens resource center at the university of alabama, will meet on thursday, july 24 at noon at the globe restaurant to discuss the book water for elephants by sara gruen. There was nothing that i could vaguely remember about jacobs story that in any way was represented in this book. 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. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. What song plays when there is trouble at the circus. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and. This months book club discussion is on water for elephants by sara gruen. In what ways and to what extent do the words pathetic grandeur describe the world that gruen creates in her novel. Oct 01, 2007 this months book club discussion is on water for elephants by sara gruen. Nov 01, 2011 water for elephants is an exciting, engaging pageturner.
Sara gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. College english water for elephants book club logo. Water for elephants we dont bake muffins book club. 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. Thats why all our books are truly original, literary and appeal to both boys and girls broad interests all delivered to your front door and beautifully packaged to make the experience even more memorable for your young reader most importantly, every elephant book selection is curated by an expert panel of kids, parents, authors and. Readstogo a novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. The washington post promises that youll get lost in the tatty glamour of gruens meticulously. Join us in reading water for elephants by sara gruen. It was my turn to host the book club meeting, which consists of me and three other lovely ladies in my neighborhood. Such is the case with sara gruens water for elephants. It may be slightly over hyped, but it certainly deserves of most of the praise its receiving. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page.
Water for elephants is an excellent novel depicting railroad circus life during the early part of the 20th century. I am pondering this sad fact when i realize the blackness of. But his character develops, and we learn that he may be a dwarf, but he has a giant heart. The movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. The sixty and me community voted it as one of their favourite books. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. May 26, 2006 water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month.
My monthly book club meets tomorrow and for once im not going to be rushing off to starbucks. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a. I just recently joined a book club at the library and this was the first book that i read. Water for elephants at the book club, features tropical fauna and flora, a long time passion of gattonis, as well as showcasing his preferred use of rotring pens, graphite and mask sculptures. Discussion questions for water for elephants are listed. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. A brilliantly crafted and deeply moving novel, water for elephants is the tale of jacob jankowski, now in his nineties, who spends his remaining days fondly drifting through the memories of his early depressionera youth which was spent in the company of circus freaks, clowns and misfits. Water for elephants is a moving tale about circus life during the depression era with quirky characters and complex emotions underlying the characters actions. Sara gruen has said that the backbone of her novel parallels the biblical story of jacob, in the book of genesis. Answered questions 22 seen this book around at sales a lotfinally picked it up. Pieces from bicycle will be on display as well as a bespoke mural painted directly to the book clubs wall. Did it remind you of a book that you likeddisliked. Pieces from bicycle will be on display as well as a bespoke mural painted directly to the book club s wall. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book club s conversation on the story.
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