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The MCPL Adult Readers Book Club will be reading “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen for the month of August. Our story begins when Jacob Jankowski who is finishing veterinary school, finds out his parent have died in a tragic car accident. With the trauma of losing his parents, Jacob boards a random train in the night only to find out it is the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a circus that travels from town to town across the U.S. via train. Jacob soon secures himself a job as the circus veterinarian, caring for every animal from camels to elephants. Through his work, Jacob becomes close with August Rosenthul, who directs the equestrian show along with his wife Marlena. He becomes close to the two, and soon the circus gets a new attraction: an elephant named Rosie. As the story builds Jacob comes face to face with the reality of a depression era circus, and his love for Marlena. The book club will meet August 29th at 5:30PM for discussion.
“The troupe crisscrosses the country cannibalizing acts that have gone bankrupt in the Depression-era economy. After Uncle Al, the autocratic ringmaster, purchases Rosie, an elephant with an unquenchable thirst for lemonade and the inability to follow the simplest command, Benzini Brothers looks doomed. How Jacob coaxes Rosie to perform — thereby saving the circus — lies at the heart of the novel.”
– Elizabeth Judd, The New York Times.
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