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Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen has it all- romance, jealous husbands, murder… the circus, an elephant with a penchant for alchohol and so much more.
The novel follows Jacob Jankowski, an old man (unhappily) living in a nursing home. He gets occasional, unmemorable visits from his children and finds comfort in complaining about the food. One fine day the circus comes to town. As they begin to set up the tent right across from the nursing home, Jacob’s mind slips back and forth between the present and the past.
When Jacob was in college, his parents were killed in a car accident. Reeling from the news, he walks out of his final college exam before becoming a veterinarian and runs away. He stumbles on a passing train, jumps on, and interrupts a group of circus folk. After narrowly escaping being tossed from the moving train by a muscly circus worker, Jacob joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth (which turns out to NOT be the most spectacular show) as the new vet. Soon, Jacob finds himself with a roommate who harbors an intense dislike for him, falling for a beautiful circus perfomer (who happens to be married to a very jealous man) and almost getting his arm taken off by a tiger.
Water for Elephants is an original, creative novel- a real page-turner, filled with great descriptions and an interesting cast of characters. But the story goes further than a behind-the-scenes drama at the circus. The treatment of the animals often mirrors that of the circus workers. They are treated as a commodity- without humanity. But the struggle, compassion and developing relationship between the workers and the animals adds real beauty to the novel. It’ll get you from the first paragraph and keep you gripped until the last page.
An Arsonist’s Guide to Writer’s Homes in New England is an odd (but good) novel starring a sort of quirky (but lazy) protagonist, a mysterious mystery, family dysfunction and, of course, plenty of arson.
The main character is Sam Pulsifer, who, when he was a teenager, “accidentally” set the historial and beloved home of Emily Dickinson on fire, burnt it to a crisp, killed two people in the process, and solidified his role as the town’s outcast. So he went off to prison for ten years, squatted in his parents home for a while after that until he was kicked out, and reluctantly went off to community college. He quickly set out to forget his past and made a new life for himself. One that included marraige and fatherhood but didn’t include him telling his family about the “accident.” But it becomes impossible for him to hide his past when it walks right up his driveway. And when someone begins burning down historical writers’ homes in New England and Sam is the prime suspect, the perfect life he tried to build up around him, quickly come crashing down.
I felt that the novel began slowly. But soon mysteries start popping up, the plot begins moving swiftly along, and Sam’s character becomes both endearing and frustrating (an interesting combination). The tone, the voice and the characters in this novel are original, different. If you want to read a book that is both witty and heartbreaking, An Arsonist’s Guide to Writer’s Homes in New England is a good choice.
Shopaholic and Baby is the fourth book in the Shopaholic series. And I’m happy to report that Becky Brandon, nee Bloomwood, is as entertaining and addicted to shopping as ever. Pregnancy can’t slow down this committed consumer- it just gives her more ground to cover.
Sophie Kinsella, nee Madeleine Wickham, keeps the fourth book in this series fresh and witty. Becky Brandon is pregnant (it’s a honeymoon baby) and is excited about adventuring into motherhood, expanding her family, and…shopping! Rattles, vintage-hobbyhorses, and prams, oh my! And of course, she must get an appointment with the must-have celebrity obstetrician, Venetia Carter. But when Venetia Carter turns out to be an ex-girlfriend of Becky’s husband Luke, Becky’s baby-bliss begins to crumble. There’s always a little bit of drama in each Shopaholic book, but Kinsella is a pro at keeping the twists and turns balanced between humorous and heartfelt.
While Becky shops her way through the maternity retail in England and investigates her celebrity obstetrician, she uses her fabulous wardrobe to bribe her way to her dream-house, discovers the joys of carrying a pram around pre-baby (for the days when you have too many shopping bags) and the consequences of pretending to have a sleeping baby just to get to the front of the line. Becky Brandon hasn’t necessarily matured since Confessions of a Shopaholic…but she is genuine and determined.
I have certain expectations each time I’ve started reading one of the books in this series, and I’m always satisfied. Kinsella has kept a consistent comic voice in each book and writes with humor, honesty and a dash of irrational paranoia (which is so Becky). And if Kinsella allowed Becky to be too mature, Shopaholic and Baby would not be half as good as it is. Becky’s love for shopping and unbalanced sense of curiosity keeps her in trouble…and the reader in hysterics.
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