Woodbridge Public Library's 'A blind date with a book'

I stare at the window curtains, next to my bed, with shades of dark and light blue and a pattern of stripes. In spite of the stripes, they look beautiful. The regularity makes them beautiful I guess. I wonder (and wish) if the same would (could) apply to our lives. Everything is regular in Jacob’s life until the sudden demise of his parents. His mind seeks escape and his life seems to trip, with that first trip on a circus train. Here is where Gruen gently and very easily introduces Jacob and rube-readers like me to circus language and complexities that lie inside a circus’ big top and tents. Everything is regular in Marlena’s life until she learns of the suitor her parents find and she runs away with August, and the circus looking for refuge and freedom. But freedom is what is taken away from her as clashes rise between her personality and August’s psychological condition. Intricacies develop after Marlena and sweet innocent Jacob fall in love. As the circus troupe travel and perform, many atrocities of some of the Benzini Brothers circus group come into the light. Jacob and Marlena decide to fight them, they fight for Love’s win and they triumph with some help from the magnificent Polish-speaking Rosie. The pace of the story is consistent as it flows with the flashbacks that old Jacob has. The surprise ending is quite a treat for thought. I’m glad I decided to go on a blind date with this book, Water for Elephants. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read and definitely the best date I’ve ever had.