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highly recommended |
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
Loved it 
I loved every moment of reading this book with the exception of the last 5 pages or so. The ending, in my opinion, was forced, rushed, incredible, and slightly ridiculous. To have this wonderful, beautifully written story end in such a way really did the story an injustice. I still recommend reading it, because it was a beautiful story, and was fantastically written, but the ending left so much to be desired.
Good book
A friend raved about this book so I purchased it. It is a very good read
Even if this isn't your typical read, you will enjoy. 
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen is a well written, depression-era book, that most readers ages 15-95 could read and enjoy even if you think this isn't the typical type of book you would read.
This book tells two stories simultaneously as a 93 yr. old crumudgeon embittered by his surroundings in a retirement home recollects his life as he travelled with a second-rate circus while falling in love with a married woman.
I probably would have never read this book had it not been for a family book club (Isn't that why you have them), however I'm sure glad I did, I really did enjoy this read and found the pages turned much quicker than I anticipated.
I always am interested to see how an author can write in the point-of-view pf the opposite sex and I thought it was executed wonderfully. Also, the terminology that was used was very specific to the time and to how the circus-folk spoke at the time. One could tell Gruen definately did her homework.
If there is any drawback it would be the end to one of the stories (I'm not going to say which one or how it ends don't worry). I thought it ended kind of sappy and a little unbeleivable for a story that seems very factual.
Bottom line, four stars. I am very stingy with my stars, so please read and enjoy.
Trying a bit too hard
I usually wait to read popular bestsellers to see if the writing quality holds up after the marketing's died down. But I picked this one up on the recommendation of a sibling's book club and devoured it on a long plane flight. I would never expect to be so engrossed in a theme of misfit (sometimes repulsive) circus rowdies and second-hand animal acts, but Gruen's writing style compelled me right into the narrative and once there, I had to keep reading to solve the mystery of what happened with the characters and why I cared! My only complaint with the way the story is resolved is that Gruen tried to do too much with biblical metaphors and clever double entendres. The characters as written hold enough interest and tell a significant enough story without leaning on outside references. Overall, though, this a book that deserves the attention it's received.
Great book but a little flat 
The book has some good charactors, interesting story line, but some of the charactors seemed a little flat to me. For example, the roommate in the stock car, I some how felt more connected to him than Jacob. Overall a fun and light read, but just lacking a little depth to the main charactors. I will absolutly read other Sara Gruen, I think she has some good talent as a writer. Just my opinion.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
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based on 1469 reviews
