<p>Welcome PeriwinkleVA! The CC Book Club has no official description. It’s very casual–we just read books, talk about them, and generally enjoy one another’s company. Membership is free :). We have some stalwart members who have read nearly every book and have kept the club sailing along, and we have other members who come and go as the spirit (or the title) moves them. It doesn’t matter—we are happy to have anyone join us, whether for one post or hundreds. </p>
<p>If I recall, the only “rule” is that the book not be college-related. The club is an escape from EFCs, SATs, ACTs, ECs, APs, GPAs and all other educational acronyms. </p>
<p>We discuss books every other month, which has a two-fold benefit: 1) It allows us to (sometimes) choose longer books (like American Wife or Cutting for Stone) and 2) It provides everyone with time during the off month to read other works on their own that might not interest the group.</p>
<p>"If I recall, the only “rule” is that the book not be college-related. The club is an escape from EFCs, SATs, ACTs, ECs, APs, GPAs and all other educational acronyms. "</p>
<p>So, no “Crazy U”? ;-> I have that on hold at the library – I am pretty far down the list, though, so I probably won’t get it until September or so.</p>
<p>I can’t wait to get started, although it may not be until June because that title is available from our library already & the April one has a waiting list.</p>
<p>Just wanted to share a “simple” little novel reviewed on NPR today. I read this about two weeks ago, and became completely absorbed in Emily’s world, an 80 year old woman living alone in Pittsburgh. (If you know 80 year old women, this may ring so true, as it did for me)</p>
<p>The Joy Of The Mundane In ‘Emily, Alone’
“Now, O’Nan has written a sequel to that earlier novel, called Emily, Alone, and it’s a moody, lightly comic and absolutely captivating rendering of that most un-sensational of subjects: widowhood and old age”</p>
<p>" With economy, wit and grace, O’Nan ushers us into the shrinking world of a pleasantly flawed, rather ordinary old woman and keeps us readers transfixed by the everyday miracles of monotony."</p>
<p>^ Thanks SJCM. Stewart O’Nan is a favorite author in our house (my husband and I both were riveted by the very, very dark A Prayer for the Dying). I hadn’t heard of Emily Alone–sounds like a departure from O’Nan’s usual work. I will definitely pick it up–I spend a lot of time with an 80-something woman (my mom :)).</p>
<p>Ordered “Last Night at the Lobster” from the library. Need to control these kindle costs.
Emily’s character, in Emily Alone, was introduced in O’ Nan’s novel “Wish you Were Here” Here, in case you have read that one. Apparently, you don’t have to read them in order, confirmed by the NPR reporter. Emily Alone is my first Stewart O’Nan novel.</p>
<p>It’s April 1st, all spoiler restrictions have been lifted, and it’s time to discuss Water for Elephants!</p>
<p>First, I’d like to respond to our early bird posters, Marian and cptofthehouse (posts 16, 17, 18):</p>
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<p>My mom is 88 and somewhat infirm, alternating between wheelchair and walker. When she is in the wheelchair, she must be pushed because she has so little strength in her arms that she can’t propel herself at all. When she is alone and needs to move by herself, she uses the walker. Maybe this is Jacob’s situation as well. Personally, what I found highly unlikely was that Jacob could ever “escape” so easily from the nursing home. Not that I lost much sleep over this–so much of Water for Elephants is so wildly improbable that it seemed better (and more fun) to maintain my suspension of disbelief.</p>
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<p>I agree! And I suspect this is a topic on which our posters will have strong opinions. Do you have the interview with Sara Gruen in the back of your book? It was interesting to read that Ms. Gruen had trouble making contact with circus performers because of their constant fear that people (e.g., PETA) were “coming after them.”</p>
<p>There are many things I really liked about Water for Elephants, but the writing style was not one of them. Although the book is undoubtedly very well researched, it is not (in my opinion) very well written. Gruen may have been aiming for simple, unadorned prose, but to me, the result was a limited and repetitive vocabulary that was not particularly evocative. For example, whether Marlena is angry, alarmed, amused or aroused, clapping her hand over her mouth seems to be her sole expression of emotion:</p>
<p>”’Oh dear God!’ says Marlena, clapping a hand to her mouth.” (p. 74)
“She giggles too, and brings a hand demurely to her mouth.” (p. 92)
“She stares at me with a hand pressed to her mouth.” (p. 153)
“Marlena claps a hand over her mouth but not in time.” (p. 214)
“She drops the flutes and claps a hand to her mouth.” (p. 246)
“Her words catch in her throat, and she covers her mouth with her hand.” (p. 303)
“Marlena’s hands cover her mouth.” (p. 309) </p>
<p>The other over-used description was “wide-eyed.” I wearied of it after awhile:</p>
<p>…”his eyes grew wide” (p. 4)…”Earl’s eyes are wide in warning” (p. 57)…”The other men regard me with wide eyes” (p. 84)…Marlena’s eyes grow wide” (p. 94)…”I lean close and open my eyes very wide” (p. 111)…”the men at the counter turn slowly to look at us, eyes wide” (p. 115)…”I look at him, wide-eyed” (p. 125)… “Her eyes are wide, her face drained of blood” (p. 146)…”Under my hand, my eyes open wide” (p. 145)…His eyes grow wide and fearful” (p. 181)…”He’s helpless on the cot, his eyes wide with fear” (p. 210)…”Her eyes open wide” (p, 217)</p>
<p>Flat writing makes the characters a bit flat, too. I didn’t feel that Jacob or Marlena had much depth to them. Am I being too harsh? Does the fact that I have a Kindle with a search tool give me an unfair advantage over the author?</p>
<p>I agree. I connected more to nonagenarian Jacob than any other character (except perhaps Rosie :)). I liked whenever the storyline revisits curmudgeonly Jacob at the nursing home. Marlena remains a cipher: at seventeen, she runs away from home to marry a man she barely knows and join the circus. Her “love” for Jacob feels about as well thought out to me - surely the passing years and life with August would have added maturity.</p>
<p>My 24-year-old daughter read this before I did and also mentioned her feeling of disconnect from the two main characters. She mentioned the word “immaturity” in regards to them also. She also pointed out that August’s feelings that Marlena and Jacob were involved behind his back weren’t really off the mark. Their “innocence” is sketchy.</p>
<p>My mother spent her latter years using a wheelchair and walker. In the assisted living section, she could wheel her own chair. Her arms eventually became too weak to wheel the chair and she moved into the nursing home section. Electric wheelchairs were prohibited in both assisted living and the nursing facility due to the fragility of the other residents and the potential for accidents. Highly doubtful Jacob could have made it to the circus on his own - but overall, the perfect ending for him.</p>
<p>My D & I both read it over the Feb break. (we were different places and neither of knew the other was reading it). We both agreed it was one of the best endings of any book we had read.</p>
<p>She wants to be a vet & spent 3 weeks last summer at Cornell’s summer college in the large animal vet class so it was meaningful. (I do wonder if Cornell or any school would really let someone come back and take exams that long after running out). </p>
<p>I was reading it for enjoyment in the Caribbean, so I wasn’t obsessing over grammar & style and found it enjoyable. I knew nothing about the travelling circus industry of the time and found it quite interesting. It makes me appreciate the closet full of clothes I have at home.</p>
<p>I am sitting in a hotel and don’t have my Kindle in front of me. I wanted to make a couple of comments to get myself started in the discussion. This was the first book I read on my Kindle and I think it will take me a few more books to be really comfortable with it. </p>
<p>I enjoyed the book. It wasn’t difficult to read and that was good for my busy month that just ended. I agree with Mary that much of it was improbable, but many books are, and for the most part the improbability didn’t bother me.</p>
<p>I was bothered by the animal cruelty and was happy to see Jacob and Marlena take Rosie, Bobo, and the horses with them (despite the improbability).</p>
<p>About the ending…that was actually one of the improbable things that did bother me. I agree with Mary that it’s pretty unlikely that Jacob would escape from the nursing home and pretty much impossible that he would run off with the circus at the age of 90…or 93. The thought of Jacob going back to the circus made me feel good and I love a happy ending, but I couldn’t get past the fact that this would never happen in real life. I thought it just wrapped everything up too neatly and too easily. </p>
<p>Mary -
Hmmm…maybe, a little. I felt there was plenty of room to further develop the characters, but didn’t notice the frequency of “hand over mouth” and “wide-eyed”. I need to learn how to use that search tool…baby steps.</p>
<p>We had our book club meeting tonight for Water for Elephants and we all agreed that it was a good selection.</p>
<p>One question discussed: Do you think Jacob or August was the father of the baby?
I believed it to be August’s and that the liaison in the hotel with Marlena was set up by her since she knew she was already pregnant but didn’t want August to be the father as this would definitely end the attraction/escape to Jacob. Maybe just my imagination running wild! :)</p>
<p>laxmom - When Marlena said she was pregnant, I did wonder if the father was August or Jacob. Jacob mentioned he had the same fear until his saw the baby had red hair.<br>
That is an interesting thought. I like it, but I’m not sure Marlena’s personality was developed enough for us to know if she would think that way. My gut reaction is that she did not seduce him for the purpose of making him think he was the father of August’s baby.</p>
<p>Like BUandBC82 and laxmom, I wondered whether or not Jacob fathered the child - until I read:</p>
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<p>I doubted Jacob’s ability to run away with the circus, but not his desire. My credulity stretched when the circus manager took him on. (No more redlighting someone who can’t pull his weight, I guess. ;))</p>
<p>I know family relationships can be unpredictable, but I felt a little sad and puzzled by the emotional distance between Jacob and his children (and grandchildren). All Jacob’s comments indicate that he and Marlena had a blissfully happy love-match marriage, with a joyful and rambunctious household during the early years. Yet now, these offspring make only awkward, perfunctory visits to the nursing home to fulfill their filial obligation—when they remember. (I didn’t particularly like the story line of Jacob being forgotten by his son as he waits excitedly to see the circus. It was too predictable…I saw it coming pages and pages ahead of time.)</p>
<p>I found Water for Elephants an easy and quick read, but I don’t really see why it was such an indie bookstore favorite when it was published. The concept is intriguing and well-researched but neither the story or the character development grabbed my attention that much except perhaps Rosie. Walter is a pretty interesting character also. I did like the back and forth but I didn’t actually find Jacob’s initial jumping on the train and becoming a circus vet all that believable. Of course I obviously did not live during the Depression so maybe…
Moving forward, I really enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Also well-researched, interesting setting for the story that develops-should make a good movie.</p>
<p>Mary13 = hahahaha, that’s a hilarious observation you caught about Marlena always slapping her hand to her mouth thank goodness for Kindle search.</p>
<p>I agree with those who feel this plot as well as the details are largely improbable. However, even those the story is not the most real or even serious, I found the particular chapter of young Jacob losing his parents and his livelihood to be quite nicely done, even if it is simplified and his grief understated. But there is a distinct emotional effect from this sort of understatement - a nice passage at Kindle location 426: “An overturned mixing bowl, two plates, and a handful of cutlery set to dry on a checked dish towel spread out by the sink. This morning, I had parents. This morning, they ate breakfast.”</p>
<p>An (what turned out to be) isolated event at the nursing home left me hungry for more development of that particular conflict - when Jacob got into an argument at the meal table with the fellow diner McGuinty who claimed to have carried water for elephants. This causes Jacob to begin dining alone at the nursing home. Much later on in the book, I spotted a nice parallel at the beginning of Ch. 14, Kindle location appx 3200: “August no longer comes to the cookhouse for meals, so I sit conspicuously alone at our table.”</p>
<p>So some questions I have for us to dwell on:</p>
<p>When do you think August began to suspect the affair between Marlena and Jacob? I wonder if he was aware, during the night when the three of them first met in August’s room for a fancy, dressed-up dinner.</p>
<p>What do you make of the contrast in personality between the old, senile, unloving Jacob; and the young passionate Jacob who showed such unmatchable selfless dedication to Marlena and Rosie and, especially, Camel in his hour(s) of direst need? Do you suppose the death of his parents began a process of a falling, later compounded on by his distancing relationships? It seems that at no point in his life, was Jacob ever able to integrate the factor of Family into his life on a level which he wanted to reach. Do you think, after the novel concludes, will 93 year old Jacob ever be in communication with any of his family ever again?</p>
<p>You’ve got me thinking…I’ll bet that many such parallels exist between the stories of Young Jacob and Old Jacob. </p>
<p>One parallel that I noticed was in the aging of Old Jacob and Camel. On page 6, Old Jacob says, “The hallway is long and my feet don’t respond the way they used to. It’s not Camel’s kind of lameness, thank God, but it slows me down nonetheless.”</p>
<p>The juxtaposition between Jacob’s nursing home and Camel’s “nursing home” is interesting. How does each generation care for its elderly and infirm? At first glance, it appears that Camel’s and Jacob’s experiences are completely disparate: Camel is stashed behind trunks on the floor of a train car in hot and filthy conditions, whereas Old Jacob lives in a sterile, comfortable environment. </p>
<p>Yet there are many similarities:</p>
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<li><p>In their old age and infirmity, both Jacob and Camel must rely on caregivers for their basic needs. And both receive that care from no-nonsense, but ultimately kindly, hands. In a way, Jacob and Walter’s ministrations for Camel are almost as tender as Rosemary’s for Jacob.</p></li>
<li><p>Both Jacob and Camel are estranged from their families, with the history of those relationships left unclear.</p></li>
<li><p>Both men know that they are in the final stages of life. The doctor’s diagnosis of Jamaica ginger paralysis takes Camel’s “last scrap of hope” and “tears stream down the old man’s face” (p. 191). And Jacob is “well aware of the road I’m on. I’m not there yet, but it’s coming” (p. 8).</p></li>
<li><p>Both men are “medicated” as treatment for cantankerous behavior. For Camel, it’s whiskey; for Jacob, Elavil. </p></li>
<li><p>In the end, Camel–no longer of any use to his society–is “redlined.” Doesn’t Jacob also feel “redlined” in the way he has been shunted off to the nursing home?</p></li>
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<p>Young Jacob observes that Camel’s “paralysis is so bad I’m not sure he could crawl out even if he wanted to, but he’s so terrified of being caught that he doesn’t try.” Old Jacob wants very badly to “crawl out” of the nursing home, and even though he, too, is scared of being caught, he tries—and succeeds.</p>
<p>Absolutely - I think it in fact is quite possible that Gruen herself was conscious of this parallel between Camel and old Jacob. The estranged unclear relationship with family members is key, supported by their uselessness and (especially in Camel’s case) becoming a burden on the rest. I see young Jacob and the nurse Rosemary as parallels as well in their caregiving for their respective “patients”. But alas in both cases, despite their most sincere intentions, their efforts are in vain. Neither are able to really “save” their patients despite their passion and nourishment and patience. Instead, in both cases other figures more directly closer to the character must take priority when time comes down to it. With young Jacob in his care for Camel, he tried his best, but in the end he must end up with Marlena and Rosie - those who share a more immediate relationship to him. Likewise, with nurse Rosemary and her care for old Jacob, she of course needs to leave the nursing home to spend time with her family.</p>
thank goodness for Kindle search.</p>