I hadn’t even read a summary of this book when I first picked up Sara Gruen’s recent bestseller, Water for Elephants, a cast-off from a former roommate, so I had no idea what I was in for. Several chapters through and I was having to force myself to put it down and jerk myself out of the world of early twentieth century Big Tops so I could get other things accomplished. Through Gruen’s understated, descriptive style, I could smell the popcorn, taste the cotton candy, and hear the snorts of animals and shouts of working men across miles of worn canvas.
The story moves at the pace of the circus train on which it is set through the flashback narration of the book’s protagonist, Jacob Jankowski; who in present day finds himself threatening to waste away in a nursing home. Gruen’s stark portrayal of Jacob’s current environs contrasts nicely with the brilliance and uncertainty of his days with the circus. It’s humming florescent lights versus wide open sky and flashy sequins. The plot is twisted and gritty and the portrayal of bosses and workers raw and unapologetic. Every scene is sometimes glamourous, sometimes brutal, but often a heady mix of both. The black and red striped cover of the book called to me like a drug whenever I was in the same room.
Yet in addition to the lovely undercurrent of tension, what breathes life into this story more than anything is Gruen’s meticulous research and attention to detail. The book is peppered with bright anecdotes, all the more fantastic because most of them are based on actual occurrences, but nonetheless woven seamlessly into the existing framework. I am at risk of sounding clichéd by calling this book a tour de force, but just like the circus it describes, so it is. A true case of one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, I’m all the richer for having nabbed this one from the donation pile.
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