466 pages
Spanish language
Published Nov. 7, 2007 by Alfaguara.
"Cuando el joven Jacob pierde todo, su familia y su futuro, y el mundo entero parece al borde del abismo en los difíciles an̋os treinta, se aventura en un circo ambulante para trabajar como veterinario. Transcurren tiempos de penuria y crueldad, pero también de ensuen̋o y plenitud, pues Jacob encuentra en el deslumbrante espectáculo de los hermanos Benzini la amistad, al amor de su vida a la traviesa elefanta Rosie."--P. [4] of cover.
A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets …
"Cuando el joven Jacob pierde todo, su familia y su futuro, y el mundo entero parece al borde del abismo en los difíciles an̋os treinta, se aventura en un circo ambulante para trabajar como veterinario. Transcurren tiempos de penuria y crueldad, pero también de ensuen̋o y plenitud, pues Jacob encuentra en el deslumbrante espectáculo de los hermanos Benzini la amistad, al amor de su vida a la traviesa elefanta Rosie."--P. [4] of cover.
A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.
Pretty good. Another popular novel that comes with historical insights. Hard to rate... 3.5 - 3.75 stars?
Unsettled by his parents' deaths, and right before finishing his final exams to become a vet, Jacob Jankowski jumps on a circus train. Jacob ends up as the vet for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets very peculiar characters and makes a lot of weird friends and powerful enemies.
At first I thought it was interesting to know the end before reading the whole story as it would leave me less anxious for the characters, but it turns out it worked against the book because I lost all interest in the story of the young Jacob Jankowski. The older version was the one that kept me reading/listening to the book. I liked it, his monologues felt very real, but I did not think the book was that interesting. The end is pretty good though.
