"One theme that supposedly was in the book was some similarity to the story of Jacob in the Bible. I know the story but I actually read a few chapters of Jacob's story in the Bible, trying to find the similarities. Of course, the main character's name is Jacob, and there is one place that the discussion questions referenced where Jacob in the book uses a stone for a pillow just as Jacob in the Bible does. But I just didn't see a lot more similarities than that. I'm probably missing something.
"We talked about the title a bit. The phrase came from a scene in the book where a fellow resident in the home where Jacob lives says he carried "water for elephants" in the circus when he was young. Jacob gets very angry about this and calls the man a liar because elephants drink way too much water for anyone to have carried it. We wondered whether there might be even more meaning to the title than that. Sherri noted that that particular phrase began the whole story of Jacob's life.
"As we talked about the circus animals, we drifted into some discussion of deciding what we will and won't eat when you know how much animals feel and think, humane treatment of animals, the way we are so distant from the actual source of our food. Robin said she does try to eat organic food and meats where animals have been treated humanely, such as grass fed and cage free. She told us about her husband's upbringing with raising some of their own food. Sherri's grandparents raised some of their food on their farm, too, and Sherri grew up at least having exposure to that, but when you think of our children, they are very distant from the actual animals who provide their food. Elida talked about visiting a relative in Mexico who actually killed a chicken and a turkey right in front of them. It was so intense for her and her brother that they couldn't eat."
All in all I enjoyed the book. At first I didn't like the way it skipped from the present, when Jacob is in a nursing home, to the past, as he remembers his life story. But I got used to it and especially the second time around I found both scenarios to be interesting.
