Water for Elephants

We had another book club meeting this past weekend. We decided to read “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen. We picked this book and decided we would read it, go eat sushi and discuss the book, and then go watch the movie together. Can I just say I can’t remember the last time I went with a large group of girls to the movies. It was super fun.

So, what everyone should know is that it is a great book. Kept me entertained the whole time and I don’t really like to read. Shh! I might have liked it for different reasons then the next person. Yes, it was very well written, and the characters developed the way I like, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the circus. When I was a little girl, my grandpa Jack used to take me and my cousins to see the circus whenever it was in town. And come to think about it…it was always by some train tracks. So, as I read the book I would have wonderful memories of my time with my grandpa. I have mentioned him before on here as the reason why I love music, but he definitely tried to provide a wide array of experiences. The book had some very intense scenes and I had to stop reading it at night, so I would actually sleep. I had two problems while reading the book, I didn’t want to put it down because I wanted to see where it was going and I had very detailed dreams about the circus while reading the book. I am not complaining about either. I can also say it was a crowd pleaser among the book club ladies. I don’t want to give away anything about the book. If you like to read definitely pick it up before seeing the movie, and if you don’t like to read, trust me you will enjoy this one. It made us want to do a theme of books to movie.

My opinion on the movie: I usually enjoy most books to movie. I respect the film people who have to take a wonderful story that could make a 4 hour movie and turn it into a 2 hour movie. I normally enjoy most movies from books I have read. Sometimes I even like the endings of the movie over the book. The movie “Water for Elephants” could have put a little more detail into the movie. My brain wasn’t ready for the jumping around from the book. In the book but not in the movie, the main character is in a nursing home and the movie completely left out some great characters. They also left out some characters that I found to be interesting or important. The movie is good, if you don’t read the book. If you read the book, then I think the movie might be a little disappointing as it was for me. It even had a few things added, making my neighbor ask about it being in the book, as she did not remember that part. So, they added a few things that were unnecessary. I would have to give it a C for movies. Not a book to movie I will own.

Needless to say, I give “Water for Elephants” the book an A. As I said earlier I might have enjoyed it more due to my own experiences, but from our book club’s prospective it is a must read.