Water for Elephants

Summary

Through the eyes of two versions of Jacob Jankowski—one in his nineties and another in his twenties—readers witness what it was like to fall in love, both with circus animals and with a strong woman. When he is a couple days short of gaining his degree in veterinary science from Cornell University, Jacob learns that his mother and father have been killed in an automobile accident. With this stroke of bad luck, Jacob has his planned future suddenly snatched away. As he stumbles through the next weeks in a daze, numbed not only by the cold winter but also by no longer having any family or home, he sees a train chug by in the night. On a sudden impulse, Jacob jumps aboard. The train is moving toward some unknown destination, and Jacob needs a change. What he is soon to discover is that he has climbed aboard a circus train. But this is no Ringling Brothers or Barnum and Bailey. This is the “Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth,” a misnomer if ever there was one.

The circus world that Jacob has just entered is filled with beguiling characters, not all of them attractive in the same way. First, there is Alan J. Bunkel, referred to as Uncle Al, the owner of the circus. Uncle Al makes no bones about it; his main focus in life is money and power. He wants his rag-tag circus to be as spectacular as the Ringling Brothers, but he is going at it in all the wrong ways. Uncle Al surrounds himself with thugs who will do anything he asks, including murder. And then there is August, the animal trainer, who becomes Jacob’s immediate boss. August has a split personality. On one hand, August takes Jacob under his wing, like a father, because he appreciates Jacob’s veterinary skills. On the other hand, August is a monster. He beats his animals and later beats his wife, Marlena, a circus performer, with whom Jacob falls in love.

These are the main characters, except for Rosie. Rosie is the one elephant in the circus, a wise old beast that only understands Polish....