Sunday, January 30, 2011

Water For Elephants Movie & Book

About a month ago, Heather, over at The Maiden's Court  posted the Water For Elephants movie trailer and I became so enchanted with it. I just had to get my hands on a copy of the book. It took three trips to the book store before I laid my paws on a copy! So this week I finally found time to squeeze Water For Elephants into my reading schedule.

I have heard different opinions about this book. Some said it was amazing and the best book ever or that they just didn't get it and had to put it down. I have about 80 or so pages left to read and although it's not my favorite book of all time, it is definitely climbing the charts! I can't wait until the movie comes out in theaters! If you a US resident then it will be out in theaters April 22nd. My review will be up within a couple of days, but here's the book synopsis from publisher weekly and the movie trailer. Enjoy!

From Publishers Weekly

With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. (May 26)






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8 comments:

  1. AislynnJanuary 30, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    I really enjoyed the book! Can't wait for the movie to come out.

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  2. Sam (Tiny Library)January 30, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    I want to read this one too.

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  3. HollyJanuary 30, 2011 at 7:27 PM

    Loved the book and anxiously awaiting the movie. I've heard some say they weren't sure about casting Rob Pattinson in the lead but I think the odd casting choice was Reese Witherspoon. I guess i'll see when the movie comes out :)

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  4. TaylorJanuary 30, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    @ Holly I actually think Reese Witherspoon is perfect except for the fact that she has blonde hair and Marlena was described as having brown hair. Now Rob Pattinson would have been the last person I would have guessed to play Jacob but like you said I'll just have to wait and see ;)

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  5. TaylorJanuary 30, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    @Sam Go for it it's amazing!

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  6. lisa :)January 30, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    I really liked the book and I'm definitely in the camp that's not so sure about Pattinson as Jacob. I'm sure I'll go see it though and give him the chance!

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  7. Water for elephants onlineMay 5, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    Thanks for the post! I can't wait to read the book. That movie was brilliant. Good dialouges, good acting. A rare treat in today's modern art. Who was the director again?

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  8. CanadaJanuary 25, 2012 at 1:20 AM

    I can hardly describe the meaningfulness, pure beauty, and originality of this historically fictional novel in any review; no words can do it justice. And so all there is to say about this story of life, love, and betrayal is that it will surely move you in ways I thought were impossible. Jacob and his times with the Benzini Brothers circus are chronicled here, as he remembers the lessons he learned in the most unconventional of places

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