Robert Pattinson as Jacob Jankowski; Tai as Rosie the Elephant; and Reese Witherspoon as Marlena Rosenbluth, in the movie version of “Water for Elephants”.
★★★☆☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) John Randolph Jones as Jacob - the novel’s protagonist - at a curmudgeonly ninety-something, and David LeDoux as Jacob at 23, both do a nice job of narrating this first person POV of an elderly man who is not ready to be old and a young man who is more than ready to grow up. Nevertheless, some of the switching between old and young Jacob was jarring for me.
Warning: There is animal cruelty and death in this book.
Highly recommend this book over the movie. (No surprise there!) While I love Reese Witherspoon, there is more depth and back-ground to the characters, including the animals, than was presented on the screen. Most people will find it eyebrow-raising to see what life is like in a nursing home as well as the behind-the-scenes look at a third-rate train circus during the Great Depression. (Hmmm. Parallel lives?)
Sometimes knowing too much about a topic can ruin a good book: The major issue I had with this one is that people with schizophrenia are far more likely to harm themselves than be violent toward another person; violence is NOT a symptom of schizophrenia. Though there is a real feel to the Great Depression era, for me, this casts a ‘shadow of a doubt’ on the research of this book, which is touted as excellent.
I’m also not keen on adultery, regardless of the whole ‘grasping-for-whatever-happiness-they-can-find’ thing, regardless of how much the despicable villain is deserving of cuckoldry...
Yet, the book has a lot of raw emotions that are presented well for the reader that doesn't have these hang-ups. I’ll probably get around to seeking out more of this author’s work.
Loved Rosie the Elephant! Glad she gets her well-deserved HEA.
