Jacob Jankowski -- the narrator -- is 90 or 93. He's not sure. But he clearly remembers his life as a vet for a traveling circus back in the 1930s, during the Great Depression.
He falls into this circus world quite by accident, propelled into the unknown by a tragedy that changes the course of his life. As story moves between his dull and helpless present, where Jacob is either 90 or 93, sitting in a nursing home, reduced to eating red jello (when what he really wants is a crisp cob of buttered corn), and back in memory to his vibrant, dangerous, and exciting past, traveling with the Benzini Brothers Circus as a young man, we see the entire trajectory of a life -- what it was, and what it has become. The world that Sara Gruen creates is rich in detail and emotion...I found myself hating the villains, dreading the inevitable tragedies, and of course, rooting for the love story at the center of it all.
This was a quick read for me...I enjoyed it and snuck in a page or two at odd moments in the day, and when I couldn't stand it any more, just finished it off in one big reading binge one night. It made me think of my father, the indignities of growing old with your best days behind you -- and I applauded every rebellious thing the old narrator did to subvert those who were working to keep him warm, safe, and well fed, when what he really wanted was just one more adventure, just one more day outside with the sun on his face.
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2 comments:
I can tell that this book would make my mind go crazy analyzing my life. How frustrating it would be to want to have one last advenure and all of those people holding him back. Maybe my next book? :)
Maybe I can borrow this one? It sounds like one of those books you just can't wait to read when you have spare time. This book sounds similar to a book I read called Ghost Boy. It was about an albino boy who joins the circus freak show and evetually falls in love with a ballerina horse back rider.
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