Just this week the movie "Water for Elephants" premiered to rave reviews (yes, totally my interpretation!). Our book club wanted to make sure we read the book prior to the movie release, for, as all book lovers know, the movie is never quite as good as the book. We are, of course, holding out hope for this one though as the movie premiers are what hooked several of us into wanting to read the book in the first place.
As you all have most likely heard by now, the book is mainly about the love story between Jacob and Marlena and one could even say with Rosie, the elephant that, from everything I have read, steals the scenes in both movie and book. More on this later...
But the story has so much more that will have an impact on your mind and your heart. The story is set in modern time with the elder Jacob (is he ninety or ninety-three...) telling the story through his memories of when and how it all came about back in 1931. This alone adds two elements. The elderly and how they are treated at the end of their life and The Great Depression.
We all have thought, read, watched movies about the elderly and what life might be like at the end, who can forget Cocoon. Don't we all hope that we could get our groove back just by swimming in a pool? But in Water for Elephants we find ourselves immersed in the grim but true details of life after "life.” This is the first chapter of the book, and I must say, it will take the breath out of you. From eating "mushy peas"..."tapioca"...and, my personal favorite line, "gravy that must have been waved over a piece of beef at some point in its life.” I mean so depressing, right?! Naturally, the book makes you think, and we all discussed this at our meeting, what are we going to do with our parents? Or with ourselves? As a single person this is the sole reason my niece gets fantastic gifts for any, and all, holidays. I clearly have to line up my care-taking with years of spoiling! But is this what life can really be like? Infrequent visits by your family, forgetting their names or the day of the week...or worse, year? Do we really send our family off to live out their remaining years to only be "filed away like some worthless tchotchke"? The answer is yes. Everyday. Personally, this part was not only sad to think about the major lack of respect society as a whole has for our elderly, but it also was rather eye-opening into what the future can really hold for us. We were not afraid to all say, "SCARY!". But, it is also inspiring to hope that one could live a long life of love, happiness, and hope as Jacob had. Again, more on this later...
And then there is the second element, the Great Depression, in an era of 1931 when times were hard and people made unthinkable sacrifices just to survive. We all know that work was rare, money scarce, causing food to be little to nothing. But the backdrop of the Benzini Circus brought a whole new meaning to the word 'sacrifice". There were many times when I was literally disgusted with the aspects of circus life. In fact, I am not even going to go into it here. Suffice it to say, it has a lot to do with their creative means for feeding the animals. Props to Sara Gruen for her over-the-top descriptions in this regard. But the point was most likely for us to get a sense of how serious The Great Depression really was. I can say I will never doubt that again...
So finally, the love story. From Jacob and Marlena to Jacob and Rosy, it is hard to pick which one we all loved more. But it is safe to say that the elder Jacob is what makes us fall in love with their story. From the very beginning when he tells us that she died of cancer and says, "Losing her was like being cleft down the middle. It was the moment it all ended for me, and I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that." Well...that sold it right there. I mean, isn't that what we all want when we say we want to find our one, true love? Love that after sixty-one (yes, sixty-one!) years, finds you wanting to be the survivor just so they don't have to suffer life without you? I mean, yes, we do get enamored with the young Jacob and hope he can be the hero somehow and save Marlena from being the wife of what one can only describe the man as Evil reincarnate himself. And yes, we do fall in love with Rosy herself. This animal has a way of making you smile and laugh, and she cannot even understand English. But, in the end, I have to think that the whole point of having the elderly Jacob tell the story from his perspective is to show us that love, true love, can last and make it all the way to the end. And when you find it, like Jacob and Marlena did, you must grab it before it passes you by. Before you miss your chance...
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