Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. Water for elephants by sara gruen book club discussion. Her works have been translated into fortythree languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. The denver post so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that i couldnt bear to be torn away from it for a single minute. Water for elephants and over 8 million other books are available for amazon. Water for elephants by sara gruen the new york times. Water for elephants by sara gruen about the book though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside jacob jankowskis ninetysomethingyearold mind. Tessa fontaines astonishing memoir of pushing past fear, the electric woman, follows the author on a lifeaffirming journey of loss and selfdiscovery through her time on the road with the last traveling american sideshow and her relationship with an adventurous, spirited mother. With a showmans expert timing, she saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of.
In what ways and to what extent do the words pathetic grandeur describe the world that gruen creates in her novel. From my understanding of both works, the only clear connection is the theme of deception. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the benzini brothers most. Water for elephants is an enchanting pageturner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. Good book series to read aloud to a catholic family good catholic books for catholic preschoolers and kindergartners. Jacob janowskis luck had run outorphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the benzini brothers most spectacular show on earth. In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read.
Gruen saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse. Book club discussion on water for elephants sara gruen. Prolific, which borrowed the syndicated comic strip character chris crusty created by bill conselman and charles plumb for a topper strip which ran above their ella cinders. So i purchased the book and slowly began retreating. Stories similar to water for elephants books, stories, and. So, i read the story of jacob, son of isaac who was the son of abraham, who almost sacrificed isaac. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie.
It was the great depression and for jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. A thousand splendid suns, memory keepers daughter, etc. I was having to think through our future faster than i used to secretly read eight pagers under my cover at cornell. 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. Water for elephants by sara gruen at the best online ebook storage. But besides offering a sweepyouoffyourfeet reading experience and a highlyanticipated movie adaptation late this month, there are plenty of opportunities. 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. Tijuana bible project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese. With a showmans expert timing, gruen saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of americana into an. A national bestseller in canada and a new york times bestseller in the united states, this is a book destined to become a beloved fiction classic. So an ample water supply is critical for any elephant group.
Elephants depend on water for cooling, but only when it gets too hot by the company of biologists african bush elephant in mikumi national park, tanzania. The truth is, it is summer and i am desperate for a distraction away from my recent obsession with greys anatomy reruns fueled by netflixs instant queue. I have to admit, when our book club picked this book, i thought it was going to be long and tedious. Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores similar.
I read that the story of jacob is allegedly the backbone of water for elephants. Review of water for elephants good books for catholic kids. Books that perform well based on their reader engagement are published by inkitt in different formats and channels. Jacob, the book s narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. Its one of the few books that everyone has come back to me saying, water for elephants was so good. Blackandwhite photographs of real american circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed throughout the. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse diamond award for most popular book. Read water for elephants absolutely for free at readanybook. Goodreads members who liked water for elephants also liked. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Please recommend a classic that would be good for a book club. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons.
Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores. Elephants need to drink approximately 40 gallons of water each day. 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. Water for elephants is fun, sweet and thrilling and will pull you into the mysterious life of the circus so far that you wont want to leave. Tijuana bibles also known as eight pagers, tillieandmac books, jiggsandmaggie books, jojo books, bluesies, bluebibles, graybacks, and twobyfours 1. Find books like water for elephants from the worlds largest community of readers.
Download and read online for free water for elephants by sara gruen. It is a book i have recommended to everyone who has asked me what book i would recommend. There is so much to love about sara gruens water for elephants, from the lush and magical setting of a 1930s circus, to the sweeping forbidden romance, to the heartbreaking recollections of narrator jacob jankowski. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up. 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 premises with crowdpleasing romanticism. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Read online water for elephants by sara gruen for free. I sighed and wrapped my arm around her waist as we passed the menagerie, bobo banged and screeched from the inside of his cage and i rolled. Looking at himself in the mirror, the old jacob tries to see beyond the sagging flesh. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. Final page of the tijuana bible chris crusty, drawn by mr. Water for elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring reese witherspoon, rob pattinson, and. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is.
Water for elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined. Water for elephants movie tiein by sara gruen, paperback. Bones, by alice sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowdpleasing romanticism. 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. 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. When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to. As a consequence, it is not surprising that the annual cycle of monsoon rains in the weather pattern of asia plays a major role in determining where elephants live and why they move from place to place throughout the. Dear lordif i get expelled now, my father will kill me.
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