Waiting for Elephants

Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen

Ok, I admit I am super nosey. Barge into conversations with my 2 cents nosey. Can’t help but “overhear” things around me nosey. As much as I like to think I am above it all and hate to jump on pop culture bandwagons, I also can’t help but let my curiosity (a nice way to say nosey) get the better of me. Sometimes it works to my advantage and I turn into a total Harry Potter fanatic. Other times, not so much.

Water for Elephants was a not so much.

I love historical fiction. As almost romance novel as they are, I have a giant stack of Phillippa Gregory books,  The Devil In The While City remains one of my favorites, and The Red Tent was mesmerizing.

As far as historical fiction, Sara Gruen’s research in this book is impeccable.  She hits tiny details about life in the 1930’s, about the depression, about the operations of a traveling circus right on target. (I assume. I haven’t done any additional research. I’m taking her word for it.)  I can see why people are in love with that detail, with the clothes and cars and nostalgia of a time gone by and why Hollywood decided to turn this into  a movie.

But, once you get past the historical details, the story itself if pretty bland. I spent almost the whole book waiting for it to start. Literally. 200 pages in and I was still wondering when the story would finally take off.  I don’t think it was the frame structure – old Jacob in a nursing home remembering his first year in the circus - because I usually love that and it was done well here. I just found old Jacob way more interesting, more engaging and more fun to read than young Jacob. (maybe because of the big push for the movie - All I could think of was wooden Robert Pattinson which was not helping.) I wanted more of old Jacob and his life in the home. That would make a great book.

Here though,   Jacob and Marlena’s relationship plays out like every other tortured love story… it’s no surprise what happens to them, we just take a while to get there.

The front cover has a quote from Parade calling it  “Gritty, sensual and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder and a majestic, mute heroine.” I understand marketing and all, but I didn’t see the grit (unless they mean that the working men were really dirty) or the sensuality (unless they mean a few longing glances and a drunken sex scene where someone pukes on a hooker) and the big dark secret was dealt with over a few pages at the end – not hovering over the whole book like Dorian Grey’s portrait. (Just watched a movie version that is making me want to read that, you have been warned)

Maybe one way to measure my feelings is to say this. When I love a book, I make my way to the theatre opening week to watch the movie adaptation. I am sure I will eventually watch Water for Elephants. Considering the book, and this review, I’ll wait for it to show up on Netflix.