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Loading... Water for Elephants (original 2006; edition 2006)by Sara Gruen
Work InformationWater for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)
  
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  ) Mariafrendo | Apr 6, 2024 |  Let me start by saying I was in a "reading slump" whilst I was reading this book. It took me much longer to finish it than it normally would have because of this. But, despite the slump I still found this story to be really enjoyable. Plot is great and has a nice rise of tension as you get to the climax of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this little gem and will likely revisit it later on. It has a permanent home in my library. Full review: wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/review-water-for-elephants-by-sara-gruen/ (  ) RochelleJones | Apr 5, 2024 | ) gonzocc | Mar 31, 2024 | ) thatnerd | Mar 2, 2024 | BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
 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. 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. Has the adaptationHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
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. 
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4.06)
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Group Read (August): Water for Elephants
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