Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.


WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was first published in 2006 and was a best seller ~ due to an upcoming movie release it's having a new popularity BOOM

I am not particularly a fan of Rob Pattinson or Reese Witherspoon but I was intrigued to check out a best-selling critically acclaimed book set in the 30's back when circus's were a pretty big thing...


My thoughts?

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a frame story opening with Jacob as an old codger (in his 90's) in a nursing home ~ but the bulk of the story is set in the 1930's when Jacob is in his first months with the circus (in his 20's). I did find the present day story (nursing home) kind of boring* and interrupting to the flow of the circus stuff ~ but as a whole, I appreciated the added dimension this gives the story once I'd finished ~ gave it a more melancholy feel, which I liked. *(although I have heard that it is this part of the story that strongly resounds with people ~ great "book club discussion" issues about nursing homes and quality of life, etc...)

I was really impressed with the whole circus world Gruen created. This is one of those books where you feel transported to the time and place and at the end you are left feeling like you experienced the world. It was vibrant and messy and you can nearly smell, taste, feel and hear everything going on. 

My edition had photos from the old circus days ~ of animals and setting up the tents and of the train and of the sideshow "freaks" and I LOVED that. 

I also LOVED TO DEATH all the interesting little stories that were woven in from real circus trivia and events (Gruen talks about her months of research in an author's note at the end of the book). Stuff like the toothless lion, the way a few of the characters die, some of the animals antics, freak show people, the dead hippo on display as alive, etc. My son is always showing me stuff out of his Ripley's Believe It or Not books (mostly the gruesome freakish things) and in places this book was a little reminiscent of that ~ especially if you take time to read the author's note at the end ~ which I recommend, hey)

BUT HERE"S THE THING: 


Despite a gorgeous and intriguing era and setting...


I felt a more than a smidgen let down by the characters. Some were colourful and endearing and felt genuine, but most felt cliché or almost caricatures ~ like over-the-top cartoon characters. 


I was particularly Bored To Absolute Death with Marlena (Reese Witherspoon's character in the film). The romance was obviously a key plot point ~ but I just couldn't buy into it. Marlena seemed to have no personality ~ so I really wasn't rooting for her, you know? I was disappointed as I always like a bit of a funky/star-crossed romance ~ so major 'eye-rolling' let-down there.

Also ~ a discussion point: ~ I didn't like the prologue (a key scene from the climax of the novel ~ which gives away aspects of the ending). I would have preferred to not be clued into it at the beginning. And I felt in hindered me from that initial absorption into the story. You had to read a past tense chapter (but a future scene in the past), then present day chapter, then the past tense in the frame story. Ugh. What an opener. 

And as for the present day ending. LOL. Really? Ah, well, I guess some people dig a really cute hollywood ending ;) 

Okay, okay. So, overall ~ I am glad I read this one. I think the whole experience will stay with me. I recommend it and my tip is to give yourself a few chapters to settle into it. I did enjoy it but I cannot say I care about the characters. Harsh, but true, haha. 


As for the movie? It's not a hugely plot driven novel so I'm thinking it may be a tad either boring/overly sentimental or (depending on the screenplay) too melodramatic love story for me. It's not calling out to me but when my library gets the dvd I'll possibly check it out.


Here's the movie trailer:





Water For Elephants @ goodreads (it's booming there and rated much more highly than I gave it ~ I went with 3 stars).
Water For Elephants @ Rotten Tomatoes (OUCH! It's bombing out a bit, hey).

Have you read the book?

Seen the flick? (recently hit the big screen in the US ~ not yet in Australia)

Planning on doing either?

Tomorrow When the War Began - the Movie

On Wednesday I finally went to see it (!!!) I was kinda nervous - for all you non-Aussies (or non-New Zealanders) the Tomorrow series is bigger than The Hunger Games - my generation devoured them - teens and adults. The first book came out in 1993 - so it's been a long wait for it to arrive on the Big Screen. I posted the trailer here.

It's opening night was the third biggest for an Australian film (coming behind Australia (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackson) and Happy Feet. It debuted at #1 and made $3.86 million during its first weekend in Australia and grossed $358,653 with a #1 debut in New Zealand

First of all: the books are brilliant and I swear, the characters are real - out there...somewhere. Reading them, I felt like I was with Ellie and Homer and the gang and fought alongside them. Each new book that was released caused a Mockingjay-like fever. Especially #7 The Other Side of Dawn.

My mother in law is a high school art teacher at a Private Boys School in Sydney and she said that John Marsden and The Tomorrow Series were responsible for getting a whole generation of boys reading. 

Okay, I can feel an essay coming on, haha, so I'll just move right along to the movie.

The Movie:

I absolutely loved it, hey.

It was faithful to the book (minus the hermit's hut) and as soon as it started I was back there - feeling nostalgic to be with the gang. I was caught up in it and it felt so similar to the movie that happened in my head when I read the books :)

The sound track is seriously rocking too. Can I hear an amen?

I knew what was coming but that didn't stop me from feeling the suspense. And, I cried. Okay, so I don't normally cry in movies (really) but it was like watching my mates (not just characters I was meeting for the first time - but mates from my teen life) and the ending hit me hard. No spoilers but those who've read the book can imagine the scene that just killed me. It was really powerful, hey.

Robyn and Lee in Hell

Ellie and Homer in Hell

The setting: filmed in the Hunter Region and the Blue Mountains (the book is set in Victoria though). It felt like home to me, having grown up in the Blue Mountains. It definitely had an Aussie vibe. Really stunning.

The characters

• Ellie (Caitlin Stasey): Just brilliant. I loved her as Ellie. Ellie is my literary hero and I didnt expect I'd love Caitlin being Ellie as much as I did.
• Homer (Deniz Akdeniz): How awesome was he? Homer is one of my fave YA boys ever and I just loved Deniz acting him. He was funny and tough and so Greek Australian. You know you love him.
• Corrie (Rachel Hurd-Wood): It took me a while to warm up to Corrie, but then I was into her. 
• Kevin (Lincoln Lewis): He had a great character arc and really matched the book. Loved it - loved how he showed the fear and how unashamed he was of his own wuss-like tendencies.
• Lee (Chris Pang): I think he came across better in the book- although his dialogue wasn't the best to showcase his intensity, IMO. He is a bit ambiguous as a character in book one. I loved the snake moment. And him and Ellie on the couch. sigh...
• Fiona (Phoebe Tonkin): I already liked Phoebe from H2O Just Add Water (I like watching Aussie MG shows, okay? :)  At first she bugged me and her lines felt more like a US movie than Aussie - but she came really good. So more love from me. She was pretty beautiful and I never imagined Fi was the hot in the book (?)
• Robyn (Ashleigh Cummings): At first, she felt timid to me. And I wanted her to be more tough. But one of my fave moments was Robyn at the bridge, I teared up then. It really hit me. I was so proud of her and completely conflicted in my pride considering the scenario.
• Chris (Andy Ryan): Okay, how funny was he? In that perfect Aussie stoner way. My husband and I were killing ourselves in his scenes. He was so deadbeat - it was awesome. I dont remember him being that funny in the book? 

Sometimes the girls sounded POME*. I know Caitlin Stasey is a POM so I was wondering what was going on with the others. My husband reminded me (we're original Westies) that some Aussies do talk that way - kinda posh - you know, from the North Shore, etc. And, yeah, I get that :)

* Prisoner Of Mother England. Aussie term for our UK mates :)

Homer and Fi

Kevin and Corrie

Bonus Section. (Haha) 

After the Movie:

I wanted to stop in @ the shops and buy a new copy of the book (some of you may remember my husband left my first edition copy on a plane somewhere in Uganda in July. Hardcover first edition just sold for $756 on ebay (!) but husband hates the shops - so we skipped that.

Figured I'd do it later. But then when I got home, I had an email from Pan MacMillan saying I'd won an exclusive movie edition of the book! Wahoo!

I was kinda pumped after that so I went for a bushwalk (to soak up the Hell/Taylor Stitch vibe) and a huge red belly black snake slithered right across the track in front of me. Which was really cool as I was thinking about the gang in the bush at the time and the story, etc. And there's the whole red belly black scene in the movie. Which, how cool was it? :)

Such a cool ending to the TWTWB day. I'm still kind of buzzing thinking about it and the series and how profound and brilliant and impacting a book can be.

movie tie-in edition
available at book shops

Edition I won from Pan Macmillan

Here's the boys signing John Marsden's Book  - which is kinda weird

(seeing as they are not the author) but also cool by me :)

So who's seen the movie?

Read the books? 

Read the books and seen the movie?

Planning on it?

I Capture the Castle - Book v Movie

I Capture the Castle is a favourite book of mine. It's just one of those books you sink into and, you know, they live in a old rambling castle, which is just about the coolest setting for a book ever. I would love it to be the setting of my life :)

Cassandra has the most addictive voice that makes you fall in love with her and see the world through her eyes. And it was written over sixty years ago, but still features one of the charming-est YA female protags ever :)

It's one of those books that I knew I should read (being a classic) and then was definitely surprised how much I loved it when I did read it. I have been known to procrastinate on reading classics, because, well, they're classics and my brain somehow correlates that to mean boring. Blame my high school texts for that.

This is one not-boring classic.

Here's a blurb from GoodReads: 

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over a six-month period, first in a sixpenny book, then in a shilling book, and, finally, in a splendid two-guinea book, to hone her writing skills. And it is within these pages that she candidly chronicles her encounters with the estate's new, young, and handsome American landlords, the effects of her sister Rose's marital ambitions, her writer's-blocked father's anguished and ultimately renewed creativity, and her own hopeless, first descent into love.

By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"--and the heart of the reader--in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

Then there's the movie. 

Sometimes I get nervous about watching movies that are from my fave books (you know they just can't be as good) BUT I really love the movie. 

It's different to the book, but so well cast that I really felt Romola Garai (also from Atonement) made the perfect Cassandra. And Rose Byrne plays her sister Rose, and Rose is one of my fave actresses -- and she's just so lovely in this. I just can't help but love her in her spoiled beauty. Bill Nighy is the dad and he's pretty unbelievably awesome. And the setting is just gorgeous. And I'm not even one of those people who use the word gorgeous. 

The movie uses Cassandra as a voice over narrator, which I'm normally not into, but I thought it was perfect here, it helped translate that charming voice from the book onto the screen. 

And I keep using the words charming and perfect. Huh. 

Speaking of perfect...

And then there's Henry Cavill. Which just takes Steven to a whole new level*. If all else fails, you know you'll enjoy the scenes in which he appears ;)

I am definitely recommending them both, the book and the movie (and Henry Cavill, too, while I'm at it :). I'm split on which I prefer more, as they both use their medium well to tell the story. The book's great if you're in that rainy day read kinda mood. If not, the movie is just as appealing and the storyline is unpredictable: two sisters, two brothers, one hot gardener-type-boy who turns to modelling (cue some nice scenes there), a ramshackle castle, crazy father, love and unrequited love all charmingly told and that's just a snippet of the story.

So, have you read the book? Seen the movie? Planning on either?

I recommend watching the trailer until the end :) It's very cute...

And on a side note. The Brief History of Montmaray is a YA book that was recently released and is being compared to I Capture the Castle. Has anyone read it yet? I know I'm intrigued...

* of hotness, that is.