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Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants: a novel for everyone who dreamed of running away to the circus Paperback – 7 Feb. 2008

by Sara Gruen (Author)

4.3 4,098 ratings

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THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NOW A FILM STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON AND ROBERT PATTINSON

'Great story, loads of fun; hard to put down.' STEPHEN KING

The Great Depression, 1929.
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and utterly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits in the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth: a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive by making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student now unable to finish his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. He meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, 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.

Illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds, in a world in which love is a luxury few can afford.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Two Roads
Publication date

7 Feb. 2008
Dimensions

12.8 x 3.2 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

9780340962725
ISBN-13

978-0340962725
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Review

I loved Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Great story, loads of fun; hard to put down. So what if the heroine weighs 2500 pounds? ― Stephen King

Water for Elephants is fun, sweet and thrilling and will pull you into the mysterious life of the circus so far that you won't want to leave. ― Guardian

Gruen's portrait of this world is satisfyingly rich and outlandish... Any reader of this inspiring novel (written in only a month) will be immersed in circus life; blinded by the thrilling, fatal dazzle of sequins and sawdust. ― Daily Telegraph

Gruen brilliantly conjures up the whole brouhaha of herding punters into the temporary magic of the big top, and the harsh economic reality of sustaining the show. Both exotic and erotic, Water for Elephants is filled with colour and passion but is also charged with an elegiac sense of loss for an entire way of life. ― Financial Times

There is a tender story of first love, of murder, mayhem and animal and human brutality, of hucksters, whores and the general hoopla created when the circus rolls into town ... This book is every bit the fabulous escapist entertainment that the big top once was. ― Sunday Express

You are so immersed in circus life that you are completely blinded by the thrilling, fatal dazzle of sequins and sawdust. ― Daily Telegraph

Trust us, Water for Elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. Sara Gruen's very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. You heard it here first. ― Good Housekeeping

One of my favourite reads last year. It was so cinematic I just knew there would have to be a Hollywood movie. . . . Star of both the book and the movie is Rosie the elephant who is more intelligent and photogenic than any other member of the cast. And that's saying something because the two main human stars are the impossibly beautiful Reese Witherspoon and Twilight heart-throb Robert Pattinson ― The Sun

The most magical, haunting novel I've read in the past few years. ― Daisy Waugh, Tatler

Lovely and mesmerising. ― Kirkus

This masterpiece of storytelling is a book about what animals can teach people about love. ― Susan Cheever

The ending gives you a lift and shows that good triumphs over evil. ― Epoch Times

Definitely worth catching up with if you've missed it so far. ― Choice

It's a romantic story that's set in an evocatively rendered era. ― Heat

The writing conjures up the smells and sounds of the circus, the excitement and the magic, as well as the rather tawdry seediness and the both casual and overt brutality . . . The delightful, fairy-tale ending left me smiling for days at the imagery conjured up by it. ― New Books

Gorgeous, brilliant and superbly plotted, I am unabashedly in love with this book ― Joshilyn Jackson, author of GODS IN ALABAMA

Great! ― Giffords Circus

An imaginative modern fairy story, teeming with eccentric characters ― The Times

Allow yourself to be carried away by this vibrant and superbly written book ― Daily Express

Book Description

The gritty, compelling international bestselling novel of star-crossed lovers and circus life, set in Depression-era USA.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0340962720
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Two Roads; 1st edition (7 Feb. 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780340962725
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0340962725
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 3.2 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 47,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 196 in Women's Popular Fiction
- 1,632 in Women's Literary Fiction (Books)
- 8,292 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
4.3 4,098 ratings

About the author

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Sara Gruen

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Sara lives in America with her husband, three children, two dogs, two cats, three goats, and a horse. She already has her eye on another horse and a donkey.

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4.3 out of 5

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J

Insight into a time and lifestyle that has gone forever

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 May 2023

Verified Purchase

This book has sat unread in my kindle for over 10 years. Uncertain why I brought it, I've absolutely no interest in the Circus, I decided it was about time I gave it a chance and am I so glad I did.

The story revolves around Jacob, a young man who learns that the only family he has, has been killed in a motor car accident. He also learns that his family were in major debt to the Bank leaving Jacob with absolutely nothing. In a state of extreme grief he happens to jump aboard a moving train which in the light of day reveals itself to be a travelling circus train. Weighing up his options which in Depression Era America are not great, Jacob decides to make himself useful in the cicus in return for shelter and regular meals. It's not long before he falls for Marlena but to complicate matters Marlena is married to Jacob's boss August. August is the most interesting character in the novel, he can be extremely charming and solicitous and then can suddenly flip to cruel and dangerous. And then of course Rosie the elephant is a delight.

Besides the love story between Marlena and Jacob there are plenty happenings to the hold the attention of the reader. The author paints a beautiful and at times harrowing picture of the day to day running of the circus in a very difficult period in American History. So glad I gave this novel a chance, I must have really enjoyed as it was devoured it over a weekend.

Helpful

A Moore

I'd read it just for the parts with Jacob as an old man...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 18 June 2015

Verified Purchase

I have to say this is not the kind of book I would usually pick up for myself - it mostly sounded like a romance, and that's just not my kind of thing. Stacie picked it for me for our Random Reads feature - and that's why I love doing this feature, so I can try things out of my comfort zone.

I tried to go in with an open mind, but my head just kept providing images of the film with Twilight guy and Bridget Jones (I've not watched it, and I don't think I will after reading the book).

There were two things that I really liked about this book. One was the beginning, and how it influenced the way I read the book and thought about the characters. I can't say too much without spoiling it, but it was very clever.

I also really liked the bits in between the main storyline, where we see Jacob as an old man in a nursing home. This is just a personal point for me, but I found it really sad. I have a grandmother who livs with me and a nan who lives in a home and they both have varying stages of dementia. This book let me imagine things from their point of view, getting frustrated when you forget things you know you should remember, getting confused over time and over your words. It was a bit painful to read to be honest, but in a way I could appreciate.

I think the main downfall for me on this book was that I just didn't feel the connection between the main couple (Jacob and Marlene). It was a bit insta-love for me: they both just saw each other and fell in love and I don't buy it. Even when they were together, I just didn't see it, and as a lot of their actions - towards the end especially - revolved around that love for each other, it just didn't make sense to me.

Marlene was also a disappointment to me. The other characters in the book felt so well rounded and I completely believed in them, but she felt a little hollow to me. It felt like she was just there for Jacob to fall in love with - I didn't get much character from her. A big bugbear (is that really a saying?! It looks weird...) was the fact that the two bits where she spilled her heart out and talked about her past and relationship problems, were narrated by Jacob, rather than us hearing it from her, which spoke volumes to me.

I think her flaws were more obvious because Jacob was such a brilliant character. Again, I loved him as the old man, where he was witty and grouchy and loveable in equal measures.

Overall, this isn't really my kind of read, but I can see why others like it. I didn't hate it by any means, but I also probably won't read it again.

9 people found this helpful

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miss K. Rogers

A longer love story than the movie

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 2 December 2022

Verified Purchase

I didnt know what I was going to expect fom this book , but in the end I found it to be an absorbing read.
The love story of Jacob and Marleana is a moe indepth story in the book than an affair of one night's passion. Although the story is told in a different way it is just as good if not better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 April 2010

Verified Purchase

This book was chosen for me by book club members...and i wasn't sure if i would like it. I found it a real eye opener on a world i had never thought about - the world of the 'mafia' of the circus in the 1930's in america. It is quite shocking to see how this world was completely unregulated and how murders and violence and alcoholism could go unreported and uninvestigated on a circus train. Some violence and intrigue but mainly very gentle with some lovely insights. The love story was beautifully written and handled and you learn to love the main character Jacob a great deal. I found the ending a little unrealistic (with the old Jacob - won't say anymore as i don't want to spoil it) but i did love the most of the book but especially the historical information about the circus. The shock of the jamaican ginger disease in the 1930s (something i had never heard of but have since looked up on the internet) was just one of the bits of information that was so interesting. I also fell in love with the elephant...beautiful rosie who was mistreated some of the time. I think you should read the book because overall i think it is an interesting read with a lovely love story.

2 people found this helpful

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