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Search - Water for Elephants
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Book Description:
With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures. He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performersa romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. -- Publishers Weekly
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.
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Top Member Reviews
Charlie M. wrote on 5/19/2007...
40 member(s) found this review helpful.
Believe the hype you have heard about this book. Gruen's characters leap off the page and into your mind they are so well concieved. Almost every element you could want in a book is here - humor, a bit of a mystery, drama, angst, terror, compassion. It is about relationships; human to human; human and animal. It's about falling in love in an instant. It's about history. It's about life with a traveling circus and all the various personalities that make up a community.
The only word of caution I have is that there are elements of animal cruelty portrayed if that makes you squeemish.
Stacey S. (
28 member(s) found this review helpful.
A wonderful story of a young man's life turned upside down. A split-second decision lands him a job with a traveling cirus. The author does an amazingly thorough job, describing the intricacies of circus life in a realistic and gritty manor. The man's circus life story is told in flashbacks, with the majority taking place during the era of Prohibition, and is done with a great deal of love and affection.
With the story set in the circus world, I expected a huge menagerie of characters that would be difficult to keep track of. On the contrary, while there are several well fleshed-out characters, it's not overwhelming. The main character has quite a compelling story to tell, and he's easily likeable.
Highly recommended. A thoroughly enjoyable tale.
CM C. (
23 member(s) found this review helpful.
I almost didn't read this book because of the wait list (over 900 people!) and because my TBR pile is now a TBR mountain. I'm glad I did read it. Knocked it out in two nights. Memorable read.
Life was hard in the 1930's, there was no work, the stock market crashed. The romance and excitement of the traveling circus was the television of that time. Of course, the circus life itself was hard, gritty, and terrible. And always, underneath it all, one finds compassion.
This is a love story, between a man and a woman, between a man and himself.
Lynne J. (
20 member(s) found this review helpful.
OK, First I must tell you that I don't really like circuses - at least the old fashioned kind. That's primarily because I had always heard that they mistreated their animals. This book did nothing but reinforce that opinion.
Even given that though, this is a VERY good book. Well researched with fascinating insight into the life of a 3rd rate travelling circus in during the Depression. The story and the action never slows down until the dramatic and surprising conclusion. And even though many of the characters were, frankly, nasty, the goodness and morality of the main character and others gives you hope.
Highly recommended. 4.5* (It would have been 5* if I had been a circus fan.)
Jenny R. (
19 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book! I really wasn't all into it at first because I was not interested in Depression-era circus life. But I am telling you, as little as this interests you, this book is great and it will MAKE you interested in circus life. It's told by the main character when he is near the end of his days in a nursing home which makes it interesting since he is telling a story of his past.
Karen F. (
16 member(s) found this review helpful.
Brilliant is an understatement - wonderfully plotted, well paced, characters with depth (both human and non). You can taste the popcorn and smell the hay. You worry throughout the book that things will turn out badly, but you know they simply can't. There should be more than 5 stars available.
16 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this book. The character development is superb! The story line is very different. However, if you have difficulty imagining animals being mistreated, you may want to think twice. Some violence involving animals. It pushed me to the limit in this way, but the book was definitely worth it.
Liese S. (
15 member(s) found this review helpful.
A really great read! Sucks you right in and you won't put it down. This is not YA, and there are refs to sex in it (nothing terribly explicit), but it is a reasonable read for a mature teenager. My 15-year old niece adored this book--she carried it everywhere with her (up the stairs, in the car) until she finished it, and said it was one of the best books she ever read.
It is fun and fascinating and a terrifically absorbing and satisfying book.
Jean S. (
12 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is awesome!! It is a page turner and kept my interest from the first page to the last. I didn't want to put it down and I didn't want it to end. I'm tempted to add it to my "keepers" but it's such a great book and it's on the Top 25 Wish List so I want to share it.
11 member(s) found this review helpful.
I picked this up after it was recommended to me. From the prologue to the very end, it had me captivated. I also liked it because it gave me a glimpse into the 1930's, a decade I don't know too much about.
Rate These Member Reviews
Michelle M. (This is not normally a book I'd pick up but a friend recommended it and I'm glad she did. Its all about the old time train circuses and the subculture that existed within them. I'm not a fan of circuses, in fact I've never been to one, but I love learning about unfamiliar cultures and I was surprised by how interesting it was. Gruen did extensive research on the subject and a lot of characters and events in the plot are true.
Rosemary A. (One of the best books taht I have ever read. It has everythihg. True facts about circuses, animals, wonderful characters and love. The ending is the BEST! Love it, Love it, Love It.
Tammy S. (I absolutely loved this book! It was a quick read that held my interest from the moment I opened the front cover... It took me on a roller coaster of emotions and I enjoyed every moment of the ride.
Great story. Well written - draws the reader in. Never knew about the history of the traveling circus!
Lynn S. (The writing was wonderful. The descriptions great. At times the story can be tough. I hate when animals and people are mistreated but it's part of this tale. A quick read. It's a wonderful book!
Gia W. from TRINITY, FL wrote on 9/5/2008...I really enjoyed this book because it was not your usual fare. It was easy to relate to the main character, Jacob. I had a hard time putting the book down. It was a different kind of story about a different time.
Brandy M. (5 Stars!!! GREAT, GREAT, GREAT Book! Loved it!! Can't wait to see it as a movie!
Ken S. from PITTSBURG, CA wrote on 8/31/2008...Great story, wonderful imagery.
A charming fictional accounting of a 93 year old man's reflections of his young life with a circus,laced with his daily feelings about nursing home life, and the loss of his physical well being.
one of the best books I've read recently!