Jennifer P. (jenners) reviewed on + 121 more book reviews
Story Overview
Jacob Jankowski is 90âor possibly 93. He's not really sure.
"When you're five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three, you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties something strange starts to happen. It's a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'mâyou start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you're not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it."
Jacob lives in a nursing homeâa bit of a grumpy old man but he does OK overall. He likes to give the nurses a hard time every so often. He resents having to eat Jell-O and the other soft food they try to pass off in the dining room. But his mind is drifting a bit; sometimes he finds himself in vivid dreamsâand wakes to find himself unsure of where he is and why he is there. And when a circus sets up shop near the nursing home, Jacob's mind begins to wander moreâback to when he was a young man of twenty-three. Back when he knew exactly how old he was. Back when his life lay before him like a blank canvas.
He was studying to be a veterinarian. Unbeknownst to Jacob, his parents had mortgaged themselves to the hilt to put him through vet school. The idea was for Jacob to return home and join his father in the family practiceâE. Janokowski and Son, Doctors of Veterinary Medicine. But on the brink of graduation, Jacob is called out of class. His parents have been killed in a car accident. He's alone in the world. He returns home to bury his parents and finds that his legacyâthe vet practiceâis gone. It is the Great Depression and like others, his parents had fallen on hard times and there is nothing leftâthe bank claims it all.
Although Jacob returns to school to sit for his final exam, he walks out without completing it, follows a road down to the train tracks, and hops onto a passing trainâa n action that changes everything. For this isn't an ordinary trainâit is the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob has landed on a circus train.
A less profitable and more shady circus than Ringling, the Benzini Brothers circus is its own societyâpopulated by two basic social castes: the Performers and the Working Men. They live their lives on the circus trainâcrisscrossing the country and setting up in various small towns around America. With his veterinary background, Jacob soon finds himself in charge of the menagerieâthe collection of animals that perform in the circus. From horses to tigers to monkeys, Jacob cares for the animals with compassion and concernâdoing the best he can in difficult circumstances. (After all, when even the men don't get paid some days, there isn't much money for animal food.)
He is befriended by a married couple who perform in the circus. Marlena is the beautiful star who performs with the Liberty Horses. AugustâMarlena's tempermental husbandâis the equestrian director and superintendent of animals (in other words, Jacob's boss). Jacob is instantly smitten with Marlena but works hard to conceal his feelingsâAugust has a dark temper that can flare unexpectedly. At first Jacob can control his attraction, but when the circus takes on Rosieâan elephantâthings become complicated.
The fates of Jacob, Rosie, Marlena and August become forever intertwinedâlinked together by love, hate, jealousy and violence. How this story plays out forms the core of the bookâtaking a path that is full of twists, turns and surprises.
My Thoughts
Sara Gruen does a brilliant job of creating a world that I've never read about beforeâthe world of a traveling circus train in Depression-era America. What a colorful and fascinating setting this was. Gruen does a wonderful job of giving you the feel for a life of a circus worker, and the story is enhanced by the black-and-white photos of actual circus performers from the era. You feel like you're looking at photos of the actual characters that populate the book. In the Author's Note and the accompanying interview, Ms. Gruen talks about her inspiration and research for the book. There are a million little details that give this book such an authentic feel. She really did her homework and it shows. From the words used by the characters to the descriptions of the logistics of the circus to the types of men and women who made their home in what was essentially a traveling, self-contained community, I felt like I was really there on the circus train.
Although the heart of the book is what happens to Jacob when he joins the circus, the book alternates between the elderly Jacob in the nursing home and young Jacob in the circus. I thought this juxtasposition worked well (except for the very endâI personally didn't care for the final choice that Gruen made for the elderly Jacob). When the circus comes to town and triggers Jacob's memories, his story unfolds in a natural wayâwith the reader getting more and more drawn in to Jacob's story as it unfolds in the book and in his memories.
In addition, Gruen establishes a framing device in the prologue that influences the reader from the very start of the novel. I found this particular choice extremely effectiveâand I loved how she pulled it off and tied it together at the end. I love when an author plays with her readers a little bit, and Gruen did a great job in this aspect.
If you're looking for a movie to go with the book, I must recommend Dumbo. I kept picturing scenes from that movie as I read the book, and I could completely imagine this story being told in a similar way.
My Final Recommendation
I definitely see why this book was a bestseller. It offers something for everyoneâa unique setting, a bit of history, a romantic triangle, animals, an examination in what it means to grow old. This book effortlessly fits all of this in without seeming forced or strained. And on top of that, it is just a good story that makes you want to find out what happens next. If you haven't read it already, I think it is definitely worth a read. If I was attending the Benzini Brothers circus, I would be standing up and yelling "Encore! Encore!"
Jacob Jankowski is 90âor possibly 93. He's not really sure.
"When you're five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three, you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties something strange starts to happen. It's a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'mâyou start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you're not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it."
Jacob lives in a nursing homeâa bit of a grumpy old man but he does OK overall. He likes to give the nurses a hard time every so often. He resents having to eat Jell-O and the other soft food they try to pass off in the dining room. But his mind is drifting a bit; sometimes he finds himself in vivid dreamsâand wakes to find himself unsure of where he is and why he is there. And when a circus sets up shop near the nursing home, Jacob's mind begins to wander moreâback to when he was a young man of twenty-three. Back when he knew exactly how old he was. Back when his life lay before him like a blank canvas.
He was studying to be a veterinarian. Unbeknownst to Jacob, his parents had mortgaged themselves to the hilt to put him through vet school. The idea was for Jacob to return home and join his father in the family practiceâE. Janokowski and Son, Doctors of Veterinary Medicine. But on the brink of graduation, Jacob is called out of class. His parents have been killed in a car accident. He's alone in the world. He returns home to bury his parents and finds that his legacyâthe vet practiceâis gone. It is the Great Depression and like others, his parents had fallen on hard times and there is nothing leftâthe bank claims it all.
Although Jacob returns to school to sit for his final exam, he walks out without completing it, follows a road down to the train tracks, and hops onto a passing trainâa n action that changes everything. For this isn't an ordinary trainâit is the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob has landed on a circus train.
A less profitable and more shady circus than Ringling, the Benzini Brothers circus is its own societyâpopulated by two basic social castes: the Performers and the Working Men. They live their lives on the circus trainâcrisscrossing the country and setting up in various small towns around America. With his veterinary background, Jacob soon finds himself in charge of the menagerieâthe collection of animals that perform in the circus. From horses to tigers to monkeys, Jacob cares for the animals with compassion and concernâdoing the best he can in difficult circumstances. (After all, when even the men don't get paid some days, there isn't much money for animal food.)
He is befriended by a married couple who perform in the circus. Marlena is the beautiful star who performs with the Liberty Horses. AugustâMarlena's tempermental husbandâis the equestrian director and superintendent of animals (in other words, Jacob's boss). Jacob is instantly smitten with Marlena but works hard to conceal his feelingsâAugust has a dark temper that can flare unexpectedly. At first Jacob can control his attraction, but when the circus takes on Rosieâan elephantâthings become complicated.
The fates of Jacob, Rosie, Marlena and August become forever intertwinedâlinked together by love, hate, jealousy and violence. How this story plays out forms the core of the bookâtaking a path that is full of twists, turns and surprises.
My Thoughts
Sara Gruen does a brilliant job of creating a world that I've never read about beforeâthe world of a traveling circus train in Depression-era America. What a colorful and fascinating setting this was. Gruen does a wonderful job of giving you the feel for a life of a circus worker, and the story is enhanced by the black-and-white photos of actual circus performers from the era. You feel like you're looking at photos of the actual characters that populate the book. In the Author's Note and the accompanying interview, Ms. Gruen talks about her inspiration and research for the book. There are a million little details that give this book such an authentic feel. She really did her homework and it shows. From the words used by the characters to the descriptions of the logistics of the circus to the types of men and women who made their home in what was essentially a traveling, self-contained community, I felt like I was really there on the circus train.
Although the heart of the book is what happens to Jacob when he joins the circus, the book alternates between the elderly Jacob in the nursing home and young Jacob in the circus. I thought this juxtasposition worked well (except for the very endâI personally didn't care for the final choice that Gruen made for the elderly Jacob). When the circus comes to town and triggers Jacob's memories, his story unfolds in a natural wayâwith the reader getting more and more drawn in to Jacob's story as it unfolds in the book and in his memories.
In addition, Gruen establishes a framing device in the prologue that influences the reader from the very start of the novel. I found this particular choice extremely effectiveâand I loved how she pulled it off and tied it together at the end. I love when an author plays with her readers a little bit, and Gruen did a great job in this aspect.
If you're looking for a movie to go with the book, I must recommend Dumbo. I kept picturing scenes from that movie as I read the book, and I could completely imagine this story being told in a similar way.
My Final Recommendation
I definitely see why this book was a bestseller. It offers something for everyoneâa unique setting, a bit of history, a romantic triangle, animals, an examination in what it means to grow old. This book effortlessly fits all of this in without seeming forced or strained. And on top of that, it is just a good story that makes you want to find out what happens next. If you haven't read it already, I think it is definitely worth a read. If I was attending the Benzini Brothers circus, I would be standing up and yelling "Encore! Encore!"
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