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Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
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Water for Elephants: A Novel (original 2006; edition 2007)

by Sara Gruen

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
28,788117795 (4.06)1 / 911
A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. 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.--From publisher description.… (more)
Member:Smith3418
Title:Water for Elephants: A Novel
Authors:Sara Gruen
Info:Algonquin Books (2007), Paperback, 350 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***1/2
Tags:None

Work Information

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)

  1. 91
    Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (Pax_Biblio, starfishian)
  2. 94
    The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (LindsayGentles)
  3. 30
    The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (sturlington)
  4. 31
    Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster (Smiler69)
    Smiler69: Set during the Great Depression, a young boy is taught how to fly to become part of a travelling vaudeville act.
  5. 31
    Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: Though Gruen's story is fiction and Hillenbrand's journalistic nonfiction, both reveal relationships between humans and animals in the Great Depression's entertainment field. Each describes the backstage training, care, and abuse of performing animals and people in candid, engaging language.… (more)
  6. 20
    Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (Pax_Biblio)
  7. 20
    At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen (Eowyn1)
  8. 20
    The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin (Alliebadger)
    Alliebadger: Both well-written stories about the performing life. Very different sides of it, and in very different time periods, but both well-written and exciting.
  9. 21
    The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (heidilove)
    heidilove: If the power of story compels you, you'll like this as well.
  10. 10
    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (sturlington)
  11. 10
    Cat Man: A Novel by Edward Hoagland (Stbalbach)
    Stbalbach: Considered by some (in the business) to be the best (most accurate) circus novel ever written.
  12. 10
    The spangled road by Borden Deal (VictoriaPL)
  13. 10
    Holy Fools by Joanne Harris (ecleirs24)
  14. 10
    The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day (sibyllacumaea)
  15. 00
    One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (SATURNBEAR)
    SATURNBEAR: A great story of animals and people coming together and overcoming painful histories.
  16. 00
    Spangle by Gary Jennings (Cecrow)
  17. 00
    Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: Readers of Water for Elephants may enjoy reading this memoir of farm life during the Great Depression; though the experiences are rather different, Little Heathens offers a complementary view of the period.
  18. 11
    The Catch Trap by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Hibou8)
  19. 33
    Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg (Cecilturtle)
  20. 00
    Walking on Air by Pierre Delattre (cammykitty)

(see all 31 recommendations)

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» See also 911 mentions

English (1,147)  Spanish (5)  Dutch (4)  Portuguese (Portugal) (3)  French (3)  German (2)  Danish (2)  Finnish (2)  Norwegian (2)  Italian (1)  Swedish (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  All languages (1,173)
Showing 1-5 of 1147 (next | show all)
I LOVED this book. I can't believe that I waited so long to read it. It's sat on my nook since back around April and I'm just kicking myself for waiting so long to read it. I love the character Jacob. The story itself was fabulous. When a book sucks you in from the first page, you know you have a winner. ( )
  thatnerd | Mar 2, 2024 |
Romance
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
This book started out as a nanowrimo draft, so I was interested in reading it.

I enjoyed this book. The descriptions of circus life in the 30s was well researched. The love story was believable. I recommend it. ( )
  jezebellydancer | Feb 11, 2024 |
Those horror stories you hear about when people run away to join the circus. The horrors here are all reflection of humanity, and it was delivered well.
Self discovery, love, betrayal and a deep affection for animals. I enjoyed the time jumps. The ending is bittersweet. ( )
  cmpeters | Feb 2, 2024 |
Summary:

An old man in his 90s reminisces about his time in the circus.

My Opinion:

I'm writing this a little differently because this is pure fluff for me. I loved this book. It's funny, it's disturbing, it's gritty, it's incredibly sad, and there is a love story intertwined within the pages. It's about love, friendship, the fragility of life, and the need for remembrance--not just in memories, but in our relationships, too.

This is short because I don't want to give too much away! ( )
  BrandyWinn | Feb 2, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 1147 (next | show all)
It's a favorite of book clubs and reading groups, and is supposedly rife with parallels between the protagonist, Jacob Jankowski and Jacob, grandson of Abraham, in the Bible. I wish one of you would tell me what they are. They are not obvious to me, other than a cryptic "Jacob's ladder" parallel to the ladder on the train cars that give access to the roof and that will be important late in the story. What is obvious to me is this is a book about memory, something elephants are famous for and something humans are famous for treating as reliable when it isn't.
added by paradoxosalpha | editDaily Kos, Limelite (Jul 28, 2011)
 
At its finest, "Water for Elephants" resembles stealth hits like "The Giant's House," by Elizabeth McCracken, or "The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowd-pleasing romanticism. But Gruen's prose is merely serviceable, and she hurtles through cataclysmic events, overstuffing her whiplash narrative with drama (there's an animal stampede, two murders and countless fights).
 
What goes on under the big top is nothing compared with the show backstage.
added by Shortride | editTime, Lev Grossman (Jul 16, 2006)
 

» Add other authors (7 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Gruen, Saraprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Abelsen, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Arduini, Adasecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jones, John RandolphNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
LeDoux, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Werner, Honijacket designsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
I meant what I said, and I said what I meant...
An elephant's faithful--one hundred per cent!
--Theodor Seuss Geisel, Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940
Dedication
For Bob, still my secret weapon
First words
I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.
Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook. (Prologue)
The idea for this book came unexpectedly: In early 2003 I was gearing up to write an entirely different book when the Chicago Tribune ran an article on Edward J. Kelty, a photographer who followed traveling circuses around America in the 1920s and '30s. (Author's Note)
Quotations
Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?
I wasn’t aware of dozing, but that’s how it goes these days. I seem to slip in and out of time and space.
With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. 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.--From publisher description.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Jacob Jankowski is left without money and family when his parents are killed suddenly in an automobile accident. He leaves veterinarian school right before he finishes his final exam and accidentally becomes the veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers Circus. There he meets Rosie the Elephant and Marlene, a beautiful (and married) performer in the circus.

AR Level 4.4, 14 pts
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Average: (4.06)
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