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Water for Elephants is an interesting text because it is not especially well written, the story is pure soap opera, and yet it is an enjoyable read that at times evokes a long gone era. I think it suffers from overly effusive praise and so many readers are bitterly disappointed once they get through it.
First, let’s look at the strengths of the novel. I enjoyed the evocations of circus and train life. Gruen clearly spent some time working on these descriptions of circus life and there are little Depression era details that were nice historical jewels for the reader to mine. Also effective was her characterization of old Jacob. His voice was witty and biting and he provided the most pleasure of any character in the text. Chapter nineteen of the novel is the saddest depiction of rest home life I have read in literature. A man is forgotten by his family, and the scene is heartbreaking.
Now to examine the reasons why this book is unsatisfying. First off the characters from the 1930s parts of the novel are some of the weakest characterizations I have seen in a book in a long time. They are stock characters at best, and the villains are the mustache twirling men from melodrama. It is hard to care about any of the characters because they are so transparently fake. Even more distracting then the weak characterization is the incredibly insipid (and modern sounding) dialogue Gruen puts in their mouths. She has such nice historical details in the setting of the text, why couldn’t she also use it in the dialogue?
Many readers have found the ending unsatisfying, and although it is ridiculous, it fits the novel so I won’t argue with it. The cloying depiction of animals is also a little beyond the pale, but again, I simply had to come to terms with the novel for what it is. It is popular fiction. It is a melodrama you will get caught up in. And for those purposes it is adequate. Don’t go into it expecting more than what it is capable of giving and you will be satisfied.

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