Jacob Jankowski

When the book opens, Jacob Jankowski is an angry old man who has been living in an assisted-living center for a short time due to a broken hip. Jacob has found little joy in living at this center because he feels as though he is treated like a child. Jacob is strongly independent and does not like having all his decisions made for him. The only joy Jacob gets inside the center is the attentions of the elderly women, who see Jacob as a rarity since there are not many men in the center who still have their faculties. However, even this joy is taken from Jacob when a retired male lawyer moves into the center and dines at Jacob's table. The final straw is when this lawyer claims to the women's delight that he once worked for the circus bringing water to the elephants. Jacob knows...