Water For Elephants

☆☆☆☆☆

water for elephants.
sara gruen.

Publisher  Algonquin Books

Publication Date: May 1,2007.

Genre: Historical Fiction| Romance.

Format|Pages: Paperback|335.

 Source:  Goodreads|Library.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

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, drifters, 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.

 ✎

This is not the first time that I read WATER FOR ELEPHANTS , it is the third. I had originally read it in 2009 and then again in 2011 when movie came out. I have no words for how much I love this story; it is one of my favorite books. I already know that it will be a book that I will be re-reading again in the future. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a book that I would highly recommend to any historical fiction and circus fans. The circus life and the history behind it are fascinating to me. There was not a single page where the book did not capture my attention. It is one of the reasons that I keep coming back to this book and every time that I read it, I fall in love with story more. I fell in love with story, the characters and just the way it was told, you couldn’t help but get hooked. The descriptions in WATER FOR ELEPHANTS were incredible and had me feeling like I was there at circus, along with everyone else. After reading, I actually wished that there was a circus in town that I could go see. It was clear the amount of research that the author did for this book. I loved the descriptions of all the animals and the acts, they were incredible. Plus it made me wish that I was part of the act, along with everyone else.



Rosie, I loved her but then I do love elephants. I loved how Jacob figured out how to communicate with her. She was smart, despite what August seemed to think. I hated how August treated her when he was angry or if she did something that he did not like. I could not blame her happened towards the end, yet it still came as a shock to me. That is one more what I loved about this book, the unexpected twists. August, that is one of the characters that is impossible to like. First time I read the book, I had a feeling that something was wrong with him. The way he acted sometimes, it was not normal. I do wish that Marlena left him sooner that she had. I am glad that she finally did and did not take him back. I was afraid of what might happen to her eventually if she did not come to her senses. I was hoping that she will realize that it was Jacob that she belonged with, not August. Anyone could see the connection, the attraction between the two of them. I was not that surprised when August got paranoid about the two of them. Though he did overact but I understand why he did. I wondered if that would be the last straw for Marlena. August, he did not deserve her.



WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was the first book that I read by SARA GRUEN and it will not be the last one. I loved reading about the circus and the life on the traveling cirrus. The first time that I read WATER FOR ELEPHANTS I felt as I learned so much about the circus just from reading the book. I even did some research on my own afterwards because I was curious. I liked how the story went and back between present time and when Jacob just joined the circus. One of the reasons that I loved the ending for this both. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a story that should be a read by everyone. The minute that you pick it up, it will feel as if you are magically transformed into the book. An inspirational story that will stay with you.