Author: Sara Gruen
Published: April 2006
Publisher: Harper Perennial
331 pages (paperback)
My first impression was based on the cover, the exact one I had is shown on the right hand side. All the other covers for this novel are gorgeous and circus-like; this is my least favourite cover. I mean, it doesn’t really show you that it’s a book about a circus at all, though I guess that’s what they tried to do when they put the picture of an elephant on the bottom of the cover. Gah, I’m just a bit overzealous about book covers (I know, I know, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but that’s no reason to make a book cover dull!) I digress.
This book is set, for the most part, in America during the Great Depression and Prohibition era. Jacob Jankowski is almost done earning his veterinary degree at the prestigious Cornell University when his parents are killed in a tragic car accident. It turns out that his parents had to mortgage their home in order to pay for Jacob’s costly education, and since they have died now, the bank is taking everything, leaving Jacob penniless at a horrible time. Taken over by grief, he is unable to complete his final exams and simply leaves the school, catching a ride on a passing train. This train turns out to be the train of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth and they are not exactly pleased with having a hitchhiker, until Jacob reveals his education and he is happily given the job as the circus vet.
The beginning starts off very interesting. The book actually goes back and forth between 23 year old Jacob, and 93 year old Jacob in present day, who is reminiscing about his past while living at a senior’s home, anticipating a modern day circus show that is happening in a few days. I personally think Gruen did a great job giving the two Jacobs age-appropriate voices; 93 year old Jacob really does sound like an old man (a bitter old man, to be exact, haha) and 23 year old Jacob sounds like, well, the slightly naive young adult he is. Unfortunately, with the voices, there is no time difference. What I mean is that all the characters in the 1930’s part of the story (which is 80% of the novel) don’t talk as if they’re from the 1930’s. They pretty much sound the same as people today, and I had a rather difficult time putting myself in that time period because the patterns of speech are too similar to present day speech.
I applaud the author for her hard work at researching 1930 circuses and what life was like back then. I have no expertise in the subject personally, but I think the author did a great job in that area, so despite the characters’ speeches not giving the right atmosphere, at least the environment was. Unfortunately, I found the middle part of the book none too interesting. It took a long time to introduce another main character, Rosie the elephant, and well, things just moved at a bit of a sluggish pace, not to mention the writing isn’t exactly that engaging (not horrible, but it could be better). Jacob falls in love with Marlena, the wife of August, the menagerie manager (I probably got his position wrong, but he was in charge of the animals, basically) and the three of them form a bit of a love triangle for a while. I am normally crazy about love triangles, but this one was kind of boring and it was quite predictable how it would all pan out in the end, at least for me.
The ending of the novel picked up the pace and got wilder and more exciting. The hardships of working on a traveling circus train builds up and explodes, relationships are extremely strained, tensions and emotions are at an all time high and the entire circus is in jeopardy! The ending was definitely quicker paced. I was shuffling my way through the plot before, but now I was glued to the book, flipping each page earnestly. The final chapter was not what I thought it would be like — not that I was expecting any specifics — but it was slightly on the underwhelming side. Still, I found myself quite attached to Jacob’s character and was sad to part from him when I finished the last page and closed the book. (And Rosie. Rosie was a brilliant character, with a lot of personality for an elephant)!
Overall, this was a good book. I recommend reading it, for sure, and if you’ve got some money to spare, it wouldn’t be a waste to buy it either (though of course opinion on that point will differ reader to reader). Just be aware that this isn’t some sort of glitzy, romanticized version of a circus. This is the gritty real-life circus during a time when people are desperate, and it’s not always a pretty picture. Anyway, it is definitely a good book but don’t expect anything too astonishing, even if it is about a circus.
My Rating: 3/5
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