For those of you who do not want to be spoiled, I am inserting a FUCKHAWT picture from the movie for your enjoyment and to protect your virtue from the SPOILER material below the picture. You have been warned. Go. No. Further. Or read on and don't blame me.
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| This alone would make me read anything. I repeat - anything. |
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| This is an actual picture of the cover of my book, which is now the wallpaper on my phone. *Swoon* |
It's not a "life sucks and then you die" kind of story, but it is kind of a "no matter what happens in life, we all get old, which sucks" kind of story. During the actual narration of the book, we have a lot of depressing views of Jacob's life. In his younger days, his parents died and pretty much left him homeless without any means of supporting himself because he cannot focus on his exams. He has no other family and sets out to escape from the only life he knows because it is too painful to stay.
Of course, we then have his struggles to fit in with the show and not get red-lighted while he moons over a married woman. He adjusts to his new home, and I find great pleasure in him finding happiness again with the animals. Rosie's experience is painful to read, but I have no doubt these animals are not always treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. It also makes me hate August with a great passion, which means his impending doom is a great relief. Yay for the bad guy dying in the end, right?
The older Jacob is described in such perfect detail that it could easily be my grandfather or yours. We generally see older men as "grumpy old men" in real life, but we have no idea what they have been through and seen in their lives. We dismiss them as being from another time and out of touch with today's society, but isn't that really because that is all we allow them to be? Take time to really get to know your elders before they are gone. They have felt every bit as much passion, love, happiness, loss, and triumph as you have or will, and they are a wealth of wisdom. If anyone shows more love and compassion for an aging relative as a result of this book - or movie - the story has done a great and noble thing.
What drives the story? There is the attraction between Jacob and Marlena that grows and strengthens. There is the mystery of whether the wife who passed away from cancer was Marlena. If he did marry her, how did this come about with the circumstances they were in when they met? There is the desire to have him experience the circus with his loved ones and revisit his younger years with his family. There are so many things that pull you in and make you commit to seeing it through. You want to fill in the blanks between the years and understand the content of his life.
This is where I may lose some of you, and this is where I have a question to pose. Has fanfiction spoiled me? In a world of HEA (Happily Ever After) fanfic stories, I want the chapter when everything comes together to show that they are perfect for each other. I want the follow up chapter (or future take) that shows how great their future together is (or is going to be) so that I can feel fulfilled as a reader. Once the stampede happens, we have one chapter where they try to sort out what the hell they're going to do to keep the animals from being sold off to the highest bidder. We literally have three pages of them being together through his flashback before he decides to stay with the circus instead of going back to the home. I am happy he gets the chance to go on the road with them, but I missed experiencing their family grow.
That brings me to what I hope they add to the movie. I want to see them in the Ringling big top. I want to see the kids standing inside/outside of the tent flap watching mommy ride Rosie or watching daddy help an animal in need. I want to see them happy on the rural property near Chicago with the kids running around playing. Give me the HEA in all it's sappy, sugary, beautiful glory. It makes the lonely days at the end of life a little bit easier to take when you really feel like he got what he needed and wanted in life.
Any book that makes you think about life and the people you encounter along the way is a success, and this one certainly does that. It is a fascinating look into a very difficult time in our history when everyone was doing whatever they could to survive. With our current unemployment rate and gas prices, we think things are really bad. Overall, our situation is not nearly as bad as it was then. I hope this is well conveyed in the movie as well. Sometimes, we need a reality check to appreciate what we still have.
We are all entitled to our own opinions, and those are mine. What did you think? What were your favorite aspects of the book? What are you looking forward to the most in the movie? See you in the comments!
Lori
Because I can't possible leave it on that note, here is a beautiful trailer for a beautiful film based on a beautiful book. Enjoy!
