TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez Advertisement

So you suddenly remembered something important you had to do. You walked into a room and ... promptly forgot the reason you went there in the first place.

Forgetful? Having a "senior moment"? Or just have too much on your mind?

No worries. Some people are sharp as a knife all the way up into their 90s and can recall things crystal clearly.

Take Jacob Jankowski. In the new book "Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen, Jacob remembers his life as if it happened yesterday.

In the spring of 1931, Jacob Jankowski had his future all mapped out. Graduation from Cornell, a diploma in veterinary medicine and working side-by-side with his father were what Jacob had planned.

And then Jacob's parents were killed in an accident, leaving him bereft and penniless.

Alone and grieving, Jacob drifted. On the day of his final test, he walked away from Cornell and right into the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. In other words, Jacob ran off and joined the circus.

The Benzini Brothers circus was not as good as Ringling Brothers. The freaks weren't as shocking, the big cats were toothless, the fat lady wasn't really very fat, and there were no elephants.

But Uncle Al, the owner of Benzini Brothers, aimed to make his circus the best. The acts he bought were acquired from bankrupt circuses, purchased on the spot from local sheriffs.

That's because times were tough in 1931. Money was tight and many circuses couldn't pay their workers. The Benzini Brothers circus was no different, but there would be no complaints here. Everyone knew that griping brought trouble. Uncle Al had a way of dealing with complainers, and it wasn't good.

Still, Benzini Brothers offered three squares a day and a place to bunk. Jacob began to find friends, and he loved working with the animals. And then there was his love for Marlena.

Marlena was the equestrienne, a vision in spangles and satin, and Jacob adored her. Unfortunately, it was a doomed adoration. Marlena was married to August, who was one of the cruelest men Jacob had ever met.

For three and a half months, Jacob Jankowski worked with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. And now, six decades later, Jacob remembers Marlena and Rosie the elephant, a horse named Silver Star and a dwarf named Walter.

Jacob remembers. And he waits to visit the circus across the street from the nursing home where he sits.

Wow.

Based loosely on real stories gleaned from books and personal accounts, "Water for Elephants" is an absolutely beautiful book, and I savored every page. While I thought the story itself was stellar, I also began to be seduced by author Sara Gruen's way with language. Pay close attention to the story in this book as well as the way it's told. You'll definitely be as mesmerized by it as I was.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, and read "Water for Elephants." Much like a real elephant, you'll never forget this book.

"Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen, 2006, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $23.95, 335 pages.