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(VIA Coming Soon)

Water for Elephants

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t yet read the book or seen the movie and you don’t want to know the ending, DO NOT READ THIS.  I am giving away the ending in the first paragraph.  You have been warned. 

IMDB - Photo by David James – © TM and 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

In case you didn’t read it (or see the movie), the basic story is that the main character, Jacob, is studying Veterinary Science at Cornell when his parents are killed in a car accident during his finals week.  He loses all his material possessions to the bank, and becomes very distraught.  He wanders around and eventually comes upon a train, which he jumps on only to find out it’s a Circus train (The Benzini Brothers).  After a lot of shoveling poop and what not, he snags a job as the circus Vet.  Then he falls in love with the insane boss’s wife (the boss is insane, not the wife), and after a whole lot of drama and violence, they finally end up together and live happily ever after.  Until she dies.  Then he is distraught again and living in a nursing home, but he eventually escapes and joins the circus again.  That was probably the worst summary anyone could have ever given, but there you go.  I really hope you read the book.

Let me start off by saying I have mixed feelings about this book, but I don't know if it's because of the book itself, or because of the dumb narrator of my audio book.  This was my first experience with an audiobook, and I can't say that I really enjoyed it.  The book had two narrators, an elderly man who did the voice of "Jacob Age 90.... or 93," and a younger guy who was the voice of Jacob at age 23.  The old man did an excellent job narrating, putting emphasis on the right lines and showing the emotions of the elderly Jacob. 

The young man, on the other hand, had the most obnoxious voice I've ever heard, and listening to him for 8 hours nearly killed me.  He was whiny and had a very nasally voice, as if he always had a cold.  My problem with this is that I don't think the young Jacob character was actually whiny at all, but it was hard to picture him any other way with this guys voice stabbing into my brain constantly.  Because of how much he annoyed me, I never really felt any sort of connection with the young Jacob character.  I didn't like him and I didn't care what happened to him.  

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that is the main reason why I only thought this book as okay.  Maybe if I had actually read it with my own eyes and brain, and had the chance to picture the characters however I saw fit, it would actually have been enjoyable.  Also, the book had a lot of romance in it, and I'm not really into that unless it involves witches, vampires, dragons (maybe?) or some other mythical creature.  I'm trying to expand my horizons here and read something other than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but it's a challenge for me.  I find myself getting bored easily because I know what’s going to happen.  With these fantasy books, you never know what is coming next because the author can invent some wild new creature to jump in and change everything.  With fiction books like Water for Elephants, they are based on real life with no magic creatures or unimaginable twists, and they just don’t hold me attention the same way.  Reality is pretty boring sometimes.  

Despite all this negativity I seem to have, I really liked the book in the end.  It did take almost the entire book before I actually started to enjoy it, but at least I did enjoy it in the end.  I liked the writing style, and how it was very detailed but not TOO detailed.  I also liked the flow of the book, and how it constantly switched between past and present, young Jacob to old Jacob.  I also really liked a lot of the characters, particularly Kinko, Rosie, and the little monkey that they always talked about who liked to hold people’s hands.  I think it took me such a long time to get into the book because I was frustrated with how long it was taking for anything truly exciting to happen.  The first three quarters of the book are mainly about Jacob shoveling poop and having little moments with Marlena, while August beats poor Rosie and throws people off the train.  

I would have thought, going into the book, that my favorite parts would have been when Jacob was young and surrounded by the exciting circus life and all its splendor.  I was surprised to find that instead my favorite parts were the chapters from the point of view of old Jacob in the nursing home.  For some reason I felt more for older Jacob than I did for young Jacob.  I felt so sad for old Jacob and what his life had become, and those were the chapters I found more enjoyable, despite how depressing they were.  My heart broke for Jacob when I found out that he finally ended up with Marlena, but that she had passed away many years before.  He said, "Although there are times I'd give anything to have her back, I'm glad she went first. Losing her was like being cleft down the middle. It was the moment it all ended for me, and I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that."  Talk about true love.  I thought the relationship between Marlena and Jacob told through the words of old Jacob was… I don’t know the word for it.   I just liked old Jacob’s perspective so much more.  What do you think, reader? Do you like old Jacob or young Jacob better? Or are you indifferent?

My absolute favorite part of the whole book, and the reason why I actually liked the book in the end, is the last chapter. Elderly Jacob had escaped the nursing home and made it to the circus, where he met the manager of the circus (Charlie) who treated him very well.  When Charlie found out that Jacob worked at the Benzini Brother’s circus during it’s demise (when the animal stampede took place) the manager was fascinated and had Jacob recount the whole story to him.  Best of all, and the most emotionally compelling part of the entire book, is when the manager allows Jacob to stay with the circus and work in the ticket booth instead of going back to the nursing home.  The following paragraph is what really got me: 

“And then I laugh, because it's so ridiculous and so gorgeous and it's all I can do to not melt into a fit of giggles. So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and my guilty conscience, why the hell shouldn't I run away with the circus?
It's like Charlie told the cop. For this old man, this IS home."

And that's it right there.  That moment brought me to tears, and made it absolutely worth reading this book.  

So now let’s discuss the movie.   This is going to be a challenge because it was different from the book in many ways.  In the end, I would definately say the book was better than the movie. 

Photo by David James – © TM and 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

 

The good:  I think the movie really captured the sort of dream-like, whimsical aspect of the circus. The soundtrack was perfect (I think the composer was James Newton Howard – a personal favorite.  He did the newer Peter Pan movie too.)  Fantastic.  I loved all the vivid colors of the performer’s costumes and the tents, paralleled by the neutral tones of the worker’s clothes and the cream colored big top.

I also think the casting was perfect (for the most part.. I'll explain later).  Old Jacob was played by Hal Holbrook.  He wasn’t as frail as they made old Jacob sound in the book, but I liked that about him.  It made it less nerve-racking for me at the end when the Circus Manager decided to keep him on as a worker, because he seemed like he really could take care of himself.  

Robert Pattinson as young Jacob… Let’s just say I went into this thinking back on Pattinson’s “acting” in the Twilight movies, and wondering who in their right mind would choose for him to be in such a promising movie.  He isn’t exactly what I would call a talented actor, he’s just a pretty face (though that’s all you need in a Cedric Diggory or Edward Cullen, so it worked for him.)  Based on what I knew about the character Pattinson was portraying from the book, I knew he was going to have to be more than just a good looking teenage vampire who always looks like he has shit under his nose and acts like he is constipated.  Hehe.  Lucky for him (and for everyone else involved in this movie) he did it!  He actually made me forget about Edward Cullen and Cedric Diggory (RIP) and let me get totally wrapped up in Jacob Jankowski, runaway and circus vet.  He was slightly awkward and very young, but so sincere and kind-hearted.  It was the perfect portrayal of Jacob.  Plussss it didn’t hurt that he is seriously handsome.  

Reese as Marlena was perfect, but they definitely changed her character a lot.  In the book, Marlena was sort of a weak figure, a banker’s daughter who was always doted on by men and protected from things that would upset her.  She was swept of her feet by August as a young girl and joined the circus, and was shunned by her family for it.  In the movie Marlena had a more interesting life story and was a much tougher and more independent woman.  She was abandoned on the train as a baby and was in and out of foster homes her whole life.  She met August when she was young and joined the circus, back on a train again, so it was the only home she ever knew.  She also was present when her horse was killed; unlike in the book where they were sure to keep her far away so she wouldn’t be upset.  Was the movie version of Marlena better or worse?  I don’t know, I’m indifferent.  I do enjoy a strong female character, but I’m not opposed to a weak one from time to time, and back when this was supposed to be taking place a weak woman would have been “the norm.” But I suppose Marlena isn’t really supposed to be normal.  What do you think?

Photo by David James – © TM and 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

The bad:  The whole story line was extremely different in the movie than it was in the book.  The movie completely cut out the part about Jacob as an elderly man in the nursing home.  I really liked this part in the book even though it made me really sad, but maybe its for the best that they didn’t include it – it may have been boring.  Anyway, by cutting out this part, it completely changed how the story was told.  They took the end of the book (old Jacob at the circus) and made it the beginning and the end of the movie. Interesting.  I don’t know how I feel about that, because as I said earlier I didn’t really like the book until the last few chapters.  Part of the reason I liked the book in the end is because I loved how it all came together after a very long build-up, and I think the movie ending was very anti-climatic.  After all, in the movie, the audience never got any sort of connection with old Jacob, only young Jacob.  I think the movie ending lacked some of the beautiful emotional quality of the book.

I think the number one reason the book is better than the movie in this case is the severe lack of chemistry between Pattinson and Witherspoon.  I felt very uncomfortable watching them interact in the film, especially in moments where the two of them were alone and interacting only with each other.  At first I thought maybe it was just really good acting, particularly in the beginning where it would make sense for them to be a little distant from each other.  However even after the early stages of their blossoming romance, once they have finally done the deed and professed their undying love for one another, there is something lacking between the two characters.  Maybe it’s the age difference between the two actors that hindered them from truly finding some sort of connection with each other.  Or maybe Pattinson is so caught up in his alleged relationship with Kristin Stewart that he can’t even fake emotions towards another woman.  He needs to ditch KStew.  Either way, and despite being great casting choices individually, the pair just didn’t work together.  This wasn’t so in the book, which delved deep into Jacob’s intense feelings for Marlena and clearly described their intense chemistry, making their relationship so much more meaningful and enjoyable. 

Anyway, that's all I have to say about that.  Please share your opinions with me! I'd like to know what other people thought.   

Now I am going to share some really good news with you.  And I mean REALLY good.  

The next book/movie I will be discussing..... iiiisssss.........................................................

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II!

Yayyy hurrahh! The best book in the whole world!! Are you excited? I am!  And guess what! If you havn't read the book yet, you have plenty of time! You can even read the entire series if you haven't already done so! And if you haven't, you really should.  For your own health.  Seriously.  

Do it.

Read it. Watch it. Discuss it here!  Ciao for now :-) 
 

Let's try this again...

7 months later, I am writing my second entry. I apologize, and this was a horrible way to start off my blog. Right after I posted that first entry back in October of last year came the beginning of my first full time job, and the end of my ample free time. A little over a month ago I started a NEW full time job at an awesome advertising company, and I now have a very lengthy commute. Helloooo audiobooks! My commute gives me time to "read" the books I have been wanting to read! SO my precious followers, let me start again. Though I did start writing the entry for the social network, I think it is rather irrelevant at this point so I won't even post it. Basically: The movie was good, the book was better. If you want to know more, just ask me.

The first book/movie I will be discussing is "Water for Elephants." The book is by Sara Gruen, and the movie is directed by Francis Lawrence, starring Robert Pattinson (swoon) and Reese Witherspoon (my idol!) I have read the book, I have seen the movie, now just give me some time to organize my thoughts and I will make my first REAL post on my little bloggy.

I have also been doing some thinking about the future, and it seems this coming year will have a serious lack of new movies coming out based on books. I think perhaps in the months where there are no new movies being released, I will discuss books/films from the past. Let me know if you have any special requests! Tata for now... new post coming in the next week!