Sunday, May 20, 2012

Bloggy Book Club Discussion Question - Week 3

Here is the discussion question for week 3 from the Bloggy Book Club. Only 3 weeks left to jump in and read "Water for Elephants" with us...or you can wait until the next book where you'll get a fresh, new start.

This week's question is:
"What did you think of Marlena? Was she a like-able character and strong enough to be the central female character?"

I LOVE Marlena! I think she's the epitome of a great female lead character. She's witty, sweet, talented, intelligent, and has strength to her daintiness. I love how she cares for the animals she works with. She doesn't just view them as "co-workers", being friendly with them while she's performing in the circus and then forgetting about them afterwards. Marlena honestly loves the horses and the elephant that she works with (hope I didn't spoil anything...). 

When one of her horses became really ill, she chose to sleep with him in his stable instead of in the comfort of her own bed. This part made me tear up a little. I know she's just a fictional character, but the love she felt for that horse was so real and evident. And when it came time for that horse to die, her emotional response was expected but still added so much more to her character.

The only thing I don't like about her is that she married August only as an escape route, or at least that's how I interpreted it. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the age difference. My husband and I are close to a couple that are about 15 years apart and they are the sweetest little couple to look at and hang out with. My problem is how August treats Marlena. She's so sweet and tries so hard to understand his "moods" and make excuses for him so that Jacob can overlook them as well. But August just does not appreciate the wonderful woman that he has in his lovely wife. I just wished that Marlena could have waited for someone who would really love her for her. Someone like...umm...I don't know...Jacob?

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