I put off reading this book for the longest time because I just couldn't see reading an entire book about the circus. I refused to see the movie because I just couldn't see watching an entire moview about the circus. I have seen the error of my ways and am here to tell you that if you haven't read this book, you absolutely should. It is so much more than a book about the circus. Furthermore, I want to know when this movie comes out on DVD because I want to see it so badly I can't stand it (although I am glad that I read the book first!).
The one aspect of this book that I kept coming back to in my head while I was reading was how quickly your life can change. Nothing in this world is guaranteed and that's a scary thought.
This book also made me question how I would respond to tragedy--would I deal with it and move on, or would I try to escape, thinking that I had nothing left? I truly hope that I will never find out the answer to this question, but it is something to think about.
From a literary standpoint, one of the things I liked most about this book was the shift in time from present day to flashback (I know not everyone does so this is something to think about before you read this book). I can honestly say, too, that I'd rather have known the 90 (or is it 93?) year old Jacob more than the younger one. While he certainly had a life worth talking about as a young man, he was priceless as a 90 something adult.
As I said before, this book is so much more than a book about the circus. It is a book about survival on so many different levels. I am so glad that I finally listened to all of those FB friends who loved this book and read it myself!
I saw the movie first, then read the book while on vacation this summer. The movie left out much of older Jacob's story, so that part was new to me and proved difficult to read. Since we are now dealing with Doug's aging parents and especially his dad's rapid decline, I have been forced to think about growing old more than I ever wanted to. It made me sad to think of Papa being in a home for old folks like Jacob was, and it scared me to think about that as a possibility for myself of for Doug someday.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of the book, I really wanted to love it. Kaitlin had read it and recommended it to me, and other friends also gave it good reviews. But it somehow came up lacking. I can't put my finger on it, but both the movie and the book seemed to be missing something. I somehow wanted more than what the author offered of Jacob in the past. The book left me less than satisfied, but I'm apparently in the minority!