Four Stars – * * * *
I read this book for the pure purpose of allowing myself to see the movie. I continued reading because I liked the grumpy old man, although Jacob as a lad is a little soft.
Had I not read Water for Elephants all the way through, I probably would have rated it a three. There very well could have been some chapters in the middle I skipped unknowingly, like if my four-year-old moved my bookmark just to toy with me, and it wouldn’t have made much difference. But once I hit the last few chapters, the rest was pudding (banana, or vanilla even… never tapioca).
Bravo to Sara Gruen for writing like a man without it becoming a wet dream of wish-fullfillment, like her male counterparts.
Honestly, she could have eliminated the entire last chapter and it would have been a beautifully written story. It seemed a little forced. Although, I’d never tell the author that. An author’s ending is like her first born. Tell her it’s ugly and she’ll never believe you. Her middle child though… different story.
Kari Anders 