Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen (Author)

The most helpful favorable review
"In seventy years, I've never told a blessed soul."

Stripped of everything after his parents' untimely death, twenty-three-year old Jacob Jankowski has failed to sit for his veterinary exams at Cornell, left with no home and no future, the country struggling through the Great Depression, bartering in goods instead of money. Hopping a train that by chance belongs to The Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, Jacob hires on to care for the menagerie, his training an entre into this bizarre world; but as the novel begins, Jacob is an old man, restricted to an assisted living home, his memories sparked by a nearby visiting circus and a creeping helplessness that assaults his ageing body: "Age is a terrible thief. Just when you think you're getting the hang of it, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back."

The story is related in the somber tones of the Depression, the hardscrabble and often unscrupulous business of a traveling circus and the heartless despots who make their fortunes on the backs of men who must do anything to survive. Star performer Marlena, an equestrian, is sensitive to the needs of her horses, although her mercurial husband, August, the trainer, is obsessively jealous and given to unspeakable cruelties. Uncle Al, Benzini Brothers circus owner-by-default, is a ruthless businessman who cares little for man or beast, engaged in a quest for fame to rival the great Ringling Brothers. With his advanced training in veterinary medicine, Jacob does his best to protect the animals from their harsh existence, especially Rosie, an elephant purchased to replace Marlena's lead horse. Jacob and Rosie share an affinity for one another, the huge creature at times almost human. Because of his growing affection for Marlena, Jacob suffers August's increasing affronts, caught in a cycle of inevitable violence, certain of a reckoning.

In chapters that move flawlessly back and forth in time, from the rowdy circus atmosphere to the antiseptic corridors of the assisted living home, the world is viewed through Jacob's perspective, as he rages helplessly against the decrepitude of old age and the secrets of the past. In prose both poignant and infinitely tender, Jacob dwells in both worlds, revealing the wounds of the past and the sorrows of the present. In one touching scene, Jacob awaits a family member to escort him to the circus, yearning for the Big Top with every fiber of his being, craving the familiar sights and smells of that pivotal summer of `31, the roustabouts, the kinkers, the rubes, the animals. The denouement is devastating, as inescapable as the indifferent world that turns a blind eye to the vagrants of the 30's. Yet Jacob's spirit retains the essence of his kind nature and a respect for others, a man who will not be broken by circumstances. All is redeemed in a coup d'grace that will leave the reader strangely satisfied and richer for having met this raggedy tribe of miscreants and lost souls. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

The most helpful critical review

Basically a Question of Taste

On the simplest level, all I can say is that it didn't amuse me and I couldn't force myself to finish it. But I'm a "hard sell" for fiction, and I can see by the other reviews that many people loved it. Lucky them! On a slightly more analytic level, I'd say that what prevented me from enjoying the book was the "voice" of the narrator, who is supposed to be a man in his nineties remembering his youth in the circus. I'm a man approaching seventy, with some circus experiences as a teenager in Iowa and as the father of a circus acrobat in the Cirque de Soleil era. I found the "voice" of the narrator unconvincing, extremely unconvincing, as a male of the species and as a male American of the 1930s and 1940s. I couldn't get past that central implausibility. I found myself scoffing at the sensibilities of the pseudo-male narrator at every emotional turn of this quite melodramatic novel.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson (Author), David Oliver Relin (Author)

The most helpful favorable review

A blueprint for making a difference

After four trips over the past three years to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, and after founding Kashmir Family Aid (www.kashmirfamily.org) to aid victims of the Oct 8, 2005 earthquake, I whole-heartedly endorse Greg Mortenson and his work. This book adds new life to the over-wraught dictum that "one CAN make a difference." Beyond that, if one wants to truly get inside the rural Pakistani's heart and soul, this is mandatory reading.

My personal experience has been that once I met these people (and yes, had tea with them in their tiny homes, or in the quake region, in their tents), it was difficult to want to leave to return to the West. It's a hard thing to explain but Mortenson's book will absolutely do the job. A powerful thread within his story: It would be impossible not to love these people after getting to know them one-on one.

These remote village people are simple, strong and proud. Their lives are spent nurturing their families and working hard in a politically and environmentally tortured region. BUY THE BOOK, get inside the people of this place and then send Greg Mortenson your donation.

The most helpful critical review

An inspiring story, told poorly

Greg Mortenson's story of a failed attempt at summiting K2 and a later success at transforming and impacting the lives of thousands of Pakistani children through the construction of schools is inspiring, touching and heroic. On the basis of the story alone, I would give it 5 stars. It is unfortunate, therefore, that it is told so poorly by David Relin, whose writing was so problematic that I can only give the book 3.

Moretnson's trials, obstacles and his perseverence in overcoming these challenges to realize his dream of building (initally only one, later 23) schools in the remote regions of Pakistan is magnificent; a man of lesser toughness, integrity, temperment and stuborness certainly would have given up in the face of so many setbacks: financial as he sought to raise monies, personal as his quest took a toll on his personal life, and political, as Pakistanis, mujahadeen, and later, Americans sought to distract or derail his noble work. If you can get past the pained and sometimes overdone writing, these are the gems of the story. It seems many can overlook this shortcoming given the power of Mortenson's deeds. I could not.

Sadly, it took a lot of effort for me to look past the sophmoric writing, which I found to be a distraction from enjoying the larger plot. As other reviewers have noted, describing Mortenson in the third person ("Mortenson settled back into the passenger seat, a place of honor ...") seems odd when reading non-fiction. I can forgive this; it was the style of the prose that set my teeth on edge. Referring to the mountainous terrain as "celestial rocks", "great brown crenulated walls" and how the "Karkoram knifed relentlessly into the a defensless blue sky" demoted the very real contributions Mortenson was making by writing in a pulp-fiction style. Don't misunderstand me - I love my fiction - but this style of writing is very out of place here. I also didn't care for the minutae provided for every individual Mortenson came across as he relentlessly worked to get his school off the ground. A little background information is helpful, even appropriate, but Relin detracted from the larger issue of what Mortenson was doing by giving a biopic of so many people that, in the end, had only a cursory role in the project.

These criticisms aside, the analysis of how Pakistan (and Islamic central Asia) was transformed by the creation and introduction of madrasas in the late 1990's and early millenium, the political, social and religious tightrope that Mortenson sucessfully navigated, and the remarkable descriptions of tribal culture, customs and rituals were magnificent. One cannot but think that the work that Mortenson has done (and continues to do) is what we as a nation need to do in order to foster understanding, build lasting relationships and successfully address the conflict we face in that part of the world.

As Mortenson said, "The only way we can defeat terrorism is if people in this country (Pakistan) where terrorists exist learn to respect and love Americans, and if we can respect and love these people here. What's the difference between them becoming a productive local citizen or a terrorist? I think the key is education." I agree.

Mortenson's story is remarkable, and needs to be told. It is unfortunate that it was told in the manner it is here. Tighter editing (or perhaps a different ghost writer) would have done much to do his story justice. Nonetheless it is inspiring, informative and moving. Recommended.