Genre Fiction
![Sara Gruen - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001ILKC3U.jpg)
Water for Elephants: A Novel
Over 10,000,000 copies in print worldwide
#1 New York Times Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Newsday Favorite Book of 2006
A USA Today Bestseller
A Major Motion Picture starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz
Jacob Janowski's luck had run out--orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was the Great Depression and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. There he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but brutal animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this group of misfits was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
#1 New York Times Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Newsday Favorite Book of 2006
A USA Today Bestseller
A Major Motion Picture starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz
Jacob Janowski's luck had run out--orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was the Great Depression and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. There he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but brutal animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this group of misfits was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
Editorial Reviews
"[An] arresting new novel. . . . 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. . . . Black-and-white photographs of real American circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed throughout the novel, and they brilliantly evoke the dignified power contained in the quieter moments of this unusual brotherhood. . . . 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
"Vibrant . . . gritty, sensual, and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder, and a majestic, mute heroine (Rosie the Elephant)."-Parade
"Novelist Gruen unearths a lost world with her rich and surprising portrayal of life in a traveling circus in the '30s. An emotional tale that will please history buffs--and others."-People
"[This] sprightly tale has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing pace."-Entertainment Weekly
"A compulsive page-turner . . . a fascinating setting and a richly anecdotal story that's enjoyable right up to the final, inevitable revelation."-The Onion
"A rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined."-Denver Post
"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. . . . I couldn't bear to be torn away from it for a single minute."-Chicago Tribune
"You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago speak-easy."-Washington Post
"Riveting." -The Toronto Globe and Mail
"Life is good for Jacob Jankowski. He's about to graduate from veterinary school and about to bed the girl of his dreams. Then his parents are killed in a car crash, leaving him in the middle of the Great Depression with no home, no family, and no career…This lushly romantic novel travels back in forth in time between Jacob's present day in a nursing home and his adventures in the surprisingly harsh world of 1930s circuses…just like a circus, the magic of the story and the writing convinces you to suspend your disbelief."-Booklist
"Old-fashioned and endearing, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced story."...
"Vibrant . . . gritty, sensual, and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder, and a majestic, mute heroine (Rosie the Elephant)."-Parade
"Novelist Gruen unearths a lost world with her rich and surprising portrayal of life in a traveling circus in the '30s. An emotional tale that will please history buffs--and others."-People
"[This] sprightly tale has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing pace."-Entertainment Weekly
"A compulsive page-turner . . . a fascinating setting and a richly anecdotal story that's enjoyable right up to the final, inevitable revelation."-The Onion
"A rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined."-Denver Post
"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. . . . I couldn't bear to be torn away from it for a single minute."-Chicago Tribune
"You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago speak-easy."-Washington Post
"Riveting." -The Toronto Globe and Mail
"Life is good for Jacob Jankowski. He's about to graduate from veterinary school and about to bed the girl of his dreams. Then his parents are killed in a car crash, leaving him in the middle of the Great Depression with no home, no family, and no career…This lushly romantic novel travels back in forth in time between Jacob's present day in a nursing home and his adventures in the surprisingly harsh world of 1930s circuses…just like a circus, the magic of the story and the writing convinces you to suspend your disbelief."-Booklist
"Old-fashioned and endearing, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced story."...
Readers Top Reviews
P. S. FarleyA Mooref
Some say don't judge a book by its cover and others say don't judge a film by the book. I chose not to take heed of that advice. I watched the film/movie titled 'Water for elephants' before reading the book. In fact it was because of watching the movie that I was induced to read the book. Both were an adventurous experience. Sara Gruen is the name of the writer. Her style of writing is brilliant. The collection of words have recreated a living circus of a bygone era. The story begins when a nonagenarian named Jacob Jankowski reminisces. He remembers his time spent working for a 1930s American travelling circus. When the young Jacob joins the circus he soon finds his fledgling veterinary skills put to the test. The horse belonging to the wife of the circus owner becomes terminally ill. Jacob makes the decision to put the animal out of its misery. Since the horse was the star attraction the circus is now in danger of loosing its popularity. Fate steps in when an elephant is acquired as a substitute. Unfortunately the animal fails to respond to any verbal instruction. Only the violent use of a bull hook persuades it to obey. Fortunately the situation changes when Jacob discovers the animal is familiar with the Polish language. The circus now enjoys a new found public adulation. Sadly the enjoyment is short lived. It is said that elephants don't forget. For me 'Water for elephants' is a story I won't forget!
Readalot
This book had me gripped from the first page. It is brilliantly written and so descriptive that you really 'live' the book, rather than just reading it. It is gritty and a true depiction of circus life, warts and all. In places exciting and in others desperately sad and uncomfortable to read, but always you are compelled to keep turning the pages. The author must have done so much research into the background of circus life, and the characters, some of whom you love, and others whom you loathe, are cleverly drawn. I was, for the first time in years, saddened to come to the end of this book. One of the clever aspects of it is the way it is told through the eyes of Jacob as an old man, and also flits between that and events as they happen. Cannot recommend this book enough.
RuneLETSHAVEAKYA
This story was good for passing the time. I did have some urge to read it, but it did not compel me to read it in the way that I most like. I was trying to figure out why. I think it is because I couldn't get a very good sense of the characters. They didn't draw me in. I didn't care deeply about them or feel much intrigue. The love story was a big part of the entirety, and I just did not feel anything for either of them, nor for their development. Marlena was not described in a way that communicated to me that she was unique from any other person. I didn't get much to bely her desirability. The same for the Mason character, Jacob. I barely had a sense of what they looked like, and I certainly wasn't hungry to know either of them more. I did not feel vicarious excitement at their attraction. The writing was not intimate enough to allow me to love them. And, I love animals, so I also wanted to be excited about the horses, the elephant, but similarly I was not given adequate pathway to know and love and desire to spend more time with them in the story. I was able to enjoy reading the book, but the sense of distance from the characters is also a little bit of a downer. I read in order to enter the world of the story and hunger to experience it more. It is hard to read a nice enough tolerable story that is not magic.
Mthinshaw
This book was amazing! I loved all the action and throughout the whole book, I was constantly thinking, what's going to happen next. There wasn't ever a time that I thought there was a boring part in the book either- hard to do, since it's so long. I can see how making a movie would be difficult since there was so many things going on, including all the animals. Your imagination is probably much better than the film (I've heard the film is not great, so I'll stick with my imagination on this one). I would totally recommend this book. I'm not a fan of the circus. Mostly because of how cruel they are to the animals, and I think this book shows exactly how it is. I don't think the author glamorized the circus much. There were points in the book that were hard to read since I'm such an animal lover, but I wanted to see how it all ends. I would even read this book again!
run slow, finish whe
This is a book where I had actually seen the movie first, which then made me want to read the novel. The circus seems to bring out the optimistic and wide-eyed child in us all, and this story was no different. You come to care about the animal and humans alike in this novel and find yourself wrapped inside their world before you know it. I fairly much inhaled this book over two evenings, and seeing the movie didn't curb my sense of excitement and mystery as I worked through the story. At the end I had the thought, yet again, that we all seemed to be doomed nowadays to reaching our end of life years and being forgotten by our families regardless of how amazing our former selves have lived our lives. This book helps to remind us all that ordinary people have extraordinary tales to tell if we would just bother to slow down and listen.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook. Grady and I sat at a battered wooden table, each facing a burger on a dented tin plate. The cook was behind the counter, scraping his griddle with the edge of a spatula. He had turned off the fryer some time ago, but the odor of grease lingered.
The rest of the midway-so recently writhing with people-was empty but for a handful of employees and a small group of men waiting to be led to the cooch tent. They glanced nervously from side to side, with hats pulled low and hands thrust deep in their pockets. They wouldn't be dis appointed: somewhere in the back Barbara and her ample charms awaited.
The other townsfolk-rubes, as Uncle Al called them-had already made their way through the menagerie tent and into the big top, which pulsed with frenetic music. The band was whipping through its repertoire at the usual earsplitting volume. I knew the routine by heart-at this very moment, the tail end of the Grand Spectacle was exiting and Lottie, the aerialist, was ascending her rigging in the center ring.
I stared at Grady, trying to process what he was saying. He glanced around and leaned in closer.
"Besides," he said, locking eyes with me, "it seems to me you've got a lot to lose right now." He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. My heart skipped a beat.
Thunderous applause exploded from the big top, and the band slid seamlessly into the Gounod waltz. I turned instinctively toward the menagerie because this was the cue for the elephant act. Marlena was either preparing to mount or was already sitting on Rosie's head.
"I've got to go," I said. "Sit," said Grady. "Eat. If you're thinking of clearing out, it may be a while before you see food again."
That moment, the music screeched to a halt. There was an ungodly collision of brass, reed, and percussion-trombones and piccolos skidded into cacophony, a tuba farted, and the hollow clang of a cymbal wavered out of the big top, over our heads and into oblivion. Grady froze, crouched over his burger with his pinkies extended and lips spread wide. I looked from side to side. No one moved a muscle-all eyes were directed at the big top. A few wisps of hay swirled lazily across the hard dirt.
"What is it? What's going on?" I said.
"Shh," Grady hissed.
The band started up again, playing "Stars and Stripes Forever."
"Oh Christ. Oh shit!" Grady tossed his food onto the table and leapt up, knocking over the bench.
"What? What is it?" I yelled, because he was already running away from me.
"The Disaster March!" he screamed over his shoulder.
I jerked around to the fry cook, who was ripping off his apron. "What the hell's he talking about?"
"The Disaster March," he said, wrestling the apron over his head. "Means something's gone bad - real bad."
"Like what?"
" Could be anything-fire in the big top, stampede, whatever. Aw sweet Jesus. The poor rubes probably don't even know it yet." He ducked under the hinged door and took off.
Chaos-candy butchers vaulting over counters, workmen staggering out from under tent flaps, roustabouts racing headlong across the lot. Anyone and everyone associated with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth barreled toward the big top.
Diamond Joe passed me at the human equivalent of a full gallop.
" Jacob-it's the menagerie," he screamed. "The animals are loose. Go, go, go!"
He didn't need to tell me twice. Marlena was in that tent. A rumble coursed through me as I approached, and it scared the hell out of me because it was on a register lower than noise. The ground was vibrating.
I staggered inside and met a wall of yak-a great expanse of curlyhaired chest and churning hooves, of flared red nostrils and spinning eyes. It galloped past so close I leapt backward on tiptoe, flush with the canvas to avoid being impaled on one of its crooked horns. A terrified hyena clung to its shoulders.
The concession stand in the center of the tent had been flattened, and in its place was a roiling mass of spots and stripes-of haunches, heels, tails, and claws, all of it roaring, screeching, bellowing, or whinnying. A polar bear towered above it all, slashing blindly with skillet-sized paws. It made contact with a llama and knocked it flat-boom. The llama hit the ground, its neck and legs splayed like the five points of a star. Chimps screamed and chattered, swinging on ropes to stay above the cats. A wild-eyed zebra zigzagged too close to a crouching lion, who swiped, missed, and darted away, his belly close to the ground.
My eyes swept the tent, desperate to find Marlena. Instead I saw a...
The rest of the midway-so recently writhing with people-was empty but for a handful of employees and a small group of men waiting to be led to the cooch tent. They glanced nervously from side to side, with hats pulled low and hands thrust deep in their pockets. They wouldn't be dis appointed: somewhere in the back Barbara and her ample charms awaited.
The other townsfolk-rubes, as Uncle Al called them-had already made their way through the menagerie tent and into the big top, which pulsed with frenetic music. The band was whipping through its repertoire at the usual earsplitting volume. I knew the routine by heart-at this very moment, the tail end of the Grand Spectacle was exiting and Lottie, the aerialist, was ascending her rigging in the center ring.
I stared at Grady, trying to process what he was saying. He glanced around and leaned in closer.
"Besides," he said, locking eyes with me, "it seems to me you've got a lot to lose right now." He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. My heart skipped a beat.
Thunderous applause exploded from the big top, and the band slid seamlessly into the Gounod waltz. I turned instinctively toward the menagerie because this was the cue for the elephant act. Marlena was either preparing to mount or was already sitting on Rosie's head.
"I've got to go," I said. "Sit," said Grady. "Eat. If you're thinking of clearing out, it may be a while before you see food again."
That moment, the music screeched to a halt. There was an ungodly collision of brass, reed, and percussion-trombones and piccolos skidded into cacophony, a tuba farted, and the hollow clang of a cymbal wavered out of the big top, over our heads and into oblivion. Grady froze, crouched over his burger with his pinkies extended and lips spread wide. I looked from side to side. No one moved a muscle-all eyes were directed at the big top. A few wisps of hay swirled lazily across the hard dirt.
"What is it? What's going on?" I said.
"Shh," Grady hissed.
The band started up again, playing "Stars and Stripes Forever."
"Oh Christ. Oh shit!" Grady tossed his food onto the table and leapt up, knocking over the bench.
"What? What is it?" I yelled, because he was already running away from me.
"The Disaster March!" he screamed over his shoulder.
I jerked around to the fry cook, who was ripping off his apron. "What the hell's he talking about?"
"The Disaster March," he said, wrestling the apron over his head. "Means something's gone bad - real bad."
"Like what?"
" Could be anything-fire in the big top, stampede, whatever. Aw sweet Jesus. The poor rubes probably don't even know it yet." He ducked under the hinged door and took off.
Chaos-candy butchers vaulting over counters, workmen staggering out from under tent flaps, roustabouts racing headlong across the lot. Anyone and everyone associated with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth barreled toward the big top.
Diamond Joe passed me at the human equivalent of a full gallop.
" Jacob-it's the menagerie," he screamed. "The animals are loose. Go, go, go!"
He didn't need to tell me twice. Marlena was in that tent. A rumble coursed through me as I approached, and it scared the hell out of me because it was on a register lower than noise. The ground was vibrating.
I staggered inside and met a wall of yak-a great expanse of curlyhaired chest and churning hooves, of flared red nostrils and spinning eyes. It galloped past so close I leapt backward on tiptoe, flush with the canvas to avoid being impaled on one of its crooked horns. A terrified hyena clung to its shoulders.
The concession stand in the center of the tent had been flattened, and in its place was a roiling mass of spots and stripes-of haunches, heels, tails, and claws, all of it roaring, screeching, bellowing, or whinnying. A polar bear towered above it all, slashing blindly with skillet-sized paws. It made contact with a llama and knocked it flat-boom. The llama hit the ground, its neck and legs splayed like the five points of a star. Chimps screamed and chattered, swinging on ropes to stay above the cats. A wild-eyed zebra zigzagged too close to a crouching lion, who swiped, missed, and darted away, his belly close to the ground.
My eyes swept the tent, desperate to find Marlena. Instead I saw a...
