Not just about water and elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This book was a gem. My friend Addie over at a Functionally Messy Blog recommended it to me a while ago when she was reading it and I decided to get it at the library. She just told me there were elephants and a circus and I thought "Hey I like elephants and I love the circus, why not?"

But it was so much more than that. 

Jacob Jankowski is a second-generation Polish immigrant born in the late 1920s. He is now an old man, virtually dependent on others for movement and food. But Jacob remembers. He remembers a long-gone past that he has never told anyone in the nursing home about. No longer able to do much else, Jacob sits and remembers.

It's the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, and Jacob is at Cornell, very close to his final exam after years of veterinary studies. He plans on following his father's lead and taking over the family vet clinic. Only, tragedy strikes and Jacob can no longer see himself living casually at Cornell and puttering about in a normal life. So he runs away, not sure to where, but far away. He jumps a train as a second thought, and finds that his life will never be the same again. He has jumped onto the train of the Benzini Brother's Most Spectacular Show on Earth. After ensuring that he will not be thrown off the train, he begins to meet the workers of the circus, who show him around the back of the stage and the glamour. Eventually, Jacob becomes an official part of the show as the circus vet. He meets the performers, ranging from the freaks, the side-show attractions, and the lovely Marlena, who is the equestrian performer and the wife of the intimidating equestrian director, August. As time passes, Jacob learns many things from life on the train, from the distinct lines between performers and workers, the harshness of life on the rails and passionate one night stands. He encounters a spectacular elephant named Rosie with which he forms an unbreakable bond.

Set during the Prohibition era, Water for Elephants is a book that strips the circus of its glamour and sparkles, and still manages to show the adventure of moving from one city to the next, the thrill of calling the entire country your home and the horror behind the caramel-corn facade. It shows the alcohol behind the smiles, the sleepless nights and the knives hidden under pillows, the malnourished animals and even less well-fed workmen. It's raw and hard, yet still seems romantic and adventurous.

I adored this book, I could not put it down. It was the kind of book that I would read before going to bed and tell myself I'll only read a chapter and six chapters later I realize I only have a few more hours left to sleep. It was very well written, in my opinion, funny when it should be, sarcastic and sharp, but dark when it needed to be. 

I would recommend it to everyone, but this time I really do have to set an age limit. I'd say 14-15, because there are some... eh, racy scenes. Yes. Okay, and also some things are pretty gruesome, I'm not going to lie, and there is language. Other than that, you should definitely read it. I adored it. 

Old sport

I read the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzergald a week or two ago.

This book was not a school assignment, let me start off by saying that. I'll be reading it in class next year, I think. However, there were several reasons for which I wanted to read it.

First, I do feel like this is one of the pillars of American literature. I feel like I owe it to myself to read it as a real book, not as a school assignment. I wanted to make an opinion of it for myself before analyzing it in school. 

Secondly, and this is a legitimate reason, I want to see the movie because they won the Oscar for Best Costumes. But I didn't want to watch the movie without having read the book first. Also, Leonardo DiCaprio. Come on.

Thirdly, honestly, I was curious. I didn't know the story at all, so I wanted to find out.

Before I start blurting my opinions, I will warn you, this will be short because I haven't really made up my mind about it. This is a book that needs to be read analytically, and while I did understand some of the underlying themes, I want to go over it in class (you will never hear me saying this again) before I make up my mind about it. Basically, I will be talking about the story, not the themes.

So Nicholas Carraway moves to West Egg near New York. His next door neighbor is a mysterious, wealthy man named Jay Gatsby, who is known far and wide for his lavish parties. Every night, a crowd of strangers and friends show up at his door and uphold the reputation of the roaring twenties. Despite all the people who show up every night, nobody really knows who Gatsby is. Some say he is an Oxford alumni, some say he's killed a man. Eventually, Nicholas Carraway and Jay Gatsby become friends. Nicholas discovers that they have a mutual acquaintance, the lovely Daisy Buchanan. Turns out, there is a long history between Daisy and Gatsby, a tale of romance, of war-torn lovers. But Daisy is married, and Gatsby cannot let go of the love they once had.

This story is heavily character based, and there are only a few named characters, so I will make a list that will hopefully be complete.

Jay Gatsby - rich bachelor, still in love with Daisy after she got married while he was at war

Daisy Buchanan - lovely young woman, Gatsby's love

Tom Buchanan - Daisy's husband, has a mistress

Myrtle Wilson - Tom's mistress, wife of the local mechanic

Mr. Wilson - the local mechanic

Jordan Baker - tennis player, Nicholas's love interest, friend of the Buchanans

Nicholas Carraway - narrator, friend of Gatsby and Daisy

I'm pretty sure that that's the essential cast of characters... There are a few more family members and acquaintances but these are the main characters.

Like I said, this is short because I don't want to sound illiterate if I start rambling off about themes that I've only half-grasped. That said, I did like the story. I really want to go to a Gatsby party, not gonna lie. 

Let me know what you thought of the Great Gatsby down in the comment section below! Opinions on the book as well as the movie are welcome.

Future Reads and Current Listenings

Alaska Young in the book Looking for Alaska by John Green (which you should definitely read if you haven't, go read it now...) has a library. She has a Life Library in fact, filled with books that she has not yet read, filled with books that she picked up at garage sales because they looked interesting. I do not have a Life Library, mostly because I do not have the space in my humble abode, but I do love the concept. I like the idea that there is an infinite choice of books in the world, enough for three lifetimes in one language, and millions as soon as you master other languages. It's a concept that blows my mind. It also makes me a little bittersweet because no matter how hard I try or how much I read, I will never read all the books in the world and some stories will remain unknown to me.

But I can sure give it a shot.

So here is my list of books to read next, as it stands now. It is often subject to change, and is entirely based off of books that I have been told I need to read and books that sounded cool.

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I just started this one)
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

So there you are. I think I'm covered for a while more.

Since this turning out to be a lists post, have some music (click on the title to listen to the song):

• Happy by Pharell Williams
• Piazza, New York Catcher by Belle and Sebastian
• Flaws by Bastille (listen to this version too)
• Bad Blood by Bastille (the video is a bit weird)
• All The Right Moves by OneRepublic
• Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Ray
• Bar On A by Greg Holden

P.S. You know what's great? Wednesday is over. Finally.