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Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants Cover

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

Synopsis:

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its ownway of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run outand#8212;orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive andquot;ship of fools.andquot; It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an actand#8212;in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Surprising, poignant, and funny, Water for Elephantsis that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down; with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder, a world so real, one starts to breathe its air.

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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.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 6 comments:
bdmcreal, August 9, 2007 (view all comments by bdmcreal)
This book covers many topics--life in the time of the Great Depression, life inside the Big Top,life in a nursing home, early dementia, and of course, a sweet love story.

I was especially taken with the love of animals by the story-teller. When he described the Orangutan, with her lovely long eye-lashes and beautiful hair, it was as if he described a beautiful woman. His love for the elephant was endearing and, of course, pivotal to the story.

At one point the circus visits my home town of Keokuk, Iowa, which was fun!

I have never read Sara Gruen before, but will not hesitate to jump into any and all!
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merried34, July 2, 2007 (view all comments by merried34)
Excellent book, but I wonder if the title has any significance and what does it mean?
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jfinn-irwin, March 11, 2007 (view all comments by jfinn-irwin)
This book is a free-flowing page turner. It is filled with all the elements of a classic "good read": Major life-changing disaster, strange twist on the road of life, love, lust, fistacuffs, freaks, bad men, good men, an historical background and animals (who can resist a dumb[?] Polish "speaking" elephant?

Very few books would I ever suggest be made into a movie. This one has what it takes. I think if this book does not make it into a screenwriter's hands, someone is missing out on a sure winner.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781565124998
Author:
Gruen, Sara
Publisher:
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Circus
Subject:
Depressions
Publication Date:
May 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
335
Dimensions:
9 x 6 in
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