“I liked, but did not love, this book. The story centers on Jacob Jankowski, beginning with his life as a 90- or 93-year-old (he can't remember) in a nursing home and flashing back to his previous existence as a vet for a traveling circus during the 1930s.
The story's interesting enough to propel you through it: Just as Jacob is sitting his final exams at Cornell to become a vet, his parents are killed back home in a car accident. In his grief, Jacob leaves the university, walks for miles and winds up hopping a train car belonging to the Benzini Bros Circus. Jacob learns the ropes, joins the gang and falls in love (of course, of course).
What's fascinating about the book is the amount of research that clearly went into it -- from the lingo to the equipment to the actions, you get a glimpse inside the dying world of the family-owned traveling circus. It's not all fun and games, either. There's a dark side to it all.
That said, I didn't find the book very satisfying. Perhaps it's because I didn't believe Jacob's choices from the very beginning and none of the characters really made me root for them. I especially got hung up on the dialogue and action sometimes as it was cliche to the point of being distracting. (How many times can the heroine press her hand to her mouth to avoid crying?)”
readjulia wrote this review Sunday, August 5 2007.
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