Tuesday 23 August 2011

book review #1 - water for elephants

Can someone please tell me why I didn’t read this sooner?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll probably know about the film Water for Elephants, staring R-Patz and Reese Witherspoon. It’s based on the book Water for Elephants, by Sarah Gruen, the #1 New York Times Bestseller. And it definitely deserved it!

This review will probably sound cheesy but I can’t help it. I’m in love with this book. It tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, who isn’t sure if he’s 90 or 93 years old. It’s written in first person and he flits between his current age and the age he was when he spent time with the circus. I, like many people, don't normally tend to like it when books jump from one time, to another, and back to the first one. But in Water for Elephants, it's done really well - I'm actually glad it was done in two times, the book seems better to me than it would've if it was just written about him when he was younger. I’m not going to go into plot details because it’s one of those things that you HAVE to find out for yourself.

Sarah Gruen created some amazing characters, it's a bit cliche but she "brought them to life." She made me fall in love with the characters; I want to be them and have friends like them. I get far too into books, so I ended up feeling like I actually did know the characters in real life hah. The book made me cry with sadness, laugh out loud and cry with happiness. If you haven’t read this book, you should!

Have you read the book/seen the film? What did you think of the book/film? If you’ve read the book and seen the film, how do you think they compare?