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Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9781565125605 
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Powells.com Staff Pick
Well, first, I am a sucker for any book set at the circus. But throw in the massive talent that Sara Gruen has and then tell me a love story? Far from the cliché book club pick, Water for Elephants will be read for your next club meeting and then you'll sneak time away to reread it. The highest praise that I can give this book is that I have never loaned it to anyone and can't even imagine giving it away. It's a keeper.
Recommended by Danielle, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.
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.
Review:
"With a showman's expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale." New York Times Book Review
Review:
"Gruen has done her homework...lively with historical detail and unexpected turns....[A] delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined." Denver Post
Review:
"One of the many pleasures of this novel is the opportunity to enter a bizarrely coded and private world with its own laws, superstitions and vocabulary....The pleasures of that world were so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that I couldn't bear to be torn away from it for a single minute." Chicago Tribune
Review:
"Jankowski is waiting for the circus to come to town, and what happens when it finally arrives provides the book's punch line. Gruen's sympathy for this character and for the aging process in general is her strongest suit." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review:
"Gruen sketches out character, events and the circus' special lingo with well-chosen words....She keeps the story moving like a speeding train." Charlotte Observer
Review:
"Old-fashioned and endearing, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced story." Library Journal
Review:
"The leisurely recreation of the circus's daily routine is lovely and mesmerizing." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"[T]he magic of the story and the writing convince you to suspend your disbelief. The book is partially based on real circus stories and illustrated with historical circus photographs." Booklist
Review:
"The circus, the Great Depression, a complex elephant, equally complex love, the mists and twists of memory articulated in the utterly winning voice of a very old man who's seen it all: these are the irresistible elements of Water for Elephants. Sara Gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life." Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
Review:
"Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, Water for Elephants swept me into the world of the circus during the Depression, and it did not let me go until the very end. I don't think it has let me go, even now. Sara Gruen has a voice to rival John Irving's and I am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. Read it." Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama
Review:
"[A] well-researched adventure into the weird and charming universe of the Depression-era circus....If you are expecting a quick, straightforward story that still manages to give your imagination a meat-and-potatoes meal worthy of the circus cookhouse, Water for Elephants is an excellent candidate." Portland Oregonian
About the Author
Sara Gruen's first novel, Riding Lessons, was published in 2004. She is an animal lover who lives with her husband, three children, five cats, two goats, a dog, and a horse in an environmental community north of Chicago. Many of the characters and incidents in the novel are based on real people and true stories gleaned from her extensive research into the world of traveling circuses of the 1930s.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 14 comments:
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Katherine Adams, September 15, 2008 (view all comments by Katherine Adams)
The title of this wonderful book seems misleading, because the single elephant referred to in this Depression-era story of circus life doesn't actually appear until late in the tale. But "ninety," or "ninety-three"-year old narrator Jacob Jankowski (he stopped keeping track of such nonsense) has razor-sharp recollections of Rosie the elephant, and a life unplanned with the second-rate Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth.
Through the narrator, author Sara Gruen manages to make the bigtop's sights, sounds and smells so vivid the reader might forget that this book -- though based on meticulous research -- is fiction.
As entertaining as the plot revolving around circus life is, Gruen's portrayal of Jacob, both as a young man, and as an assisted living patient, strengthens the story by reminding us all age is a state of mind.
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courtney petrillo, July 14, 2008 (view all comments by courtney petrillo)
Wow! What an amazing book. At first, when a friend described it to me, I was apprehensive to pick it up. Thank God I did. Sara Gruen’s superior talent for story telling had me hooked within the first 2 pages. The characters are real to life and history. I found Sara’s writing full of fantastic flavor and spice. I fell in love with every aspect of Water for Elephants, and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good read.
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Britt Miglietta, July 11, 2008 (view all comments by Britt Miglietta)
What a wonderful treasure! From page 1, I was totally engrossed in this story that revolves around circus life. The characters are simply fabulous and the author's way of telling you the story is delightful. I keep very few books after I read them, but I will hold onto this book forever. It is one of those special few!
View all 14 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9781565125605
- Subtitle:
- A Novel
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Algonquin Books
- Subject:
- Literary
- Subject:
- Romance - Historical
- Subject:
- Circus
- Subject:
- Depressions
- Edition Description:
- Paperback
- Publication Date:
- 20070501
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Y
- Pages:
- 350
- Dimensions:
- 8.27x5.50x.96 in. .85 lbs.
