Product Description

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits – the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth – a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town.

Jacob, a veterinary student who almost earned his degree, 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.

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.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88182 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Stephen King
'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?'

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 )

'Rich and outlandish... you are so immersed in circus life that you are blinded by the thrilling, fatal dazzle of sequins and sawdust.'

(The Telegraph )

'An imaginative modern fairy story, teeming with eccentric characters'

(The Times )

'Gorgeous, brilliant and superbly plotted, I am unabashedly in love with this book'

(Joshilyn Jackson, author of GODS IN ALABAMA )

'This masterpiece of storytelling is a book about what animals can teach people about love.'

(Susan Cheever )

‘Lovely and mesmerising.’ (Kirkus )

'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 )

'Great!'

(Giffords Circus )

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

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Customer Reviews

Nothing complicated, but put simply, a VERY enjoyable read!
Forget that the book is a best seller and the hype surrounding it, "Water for Elephant" is an immensely great read and its definately one I would recommend to friends everywhere.

One of my friends asked me to explain what the book was about. My answer was that I couldn't describe what the book was about, but I still recommended my friends to read it because of the great narration and story line found.

It's been a while since a book has been able to make me sit down for nights and read right through them, and this is definately one of those books. By no means an eternal classic, but it just has such an enjoyable storyline and all the characters come into the novel so well that when I did finish reading the book, I sat back and just thought to myself

"I really enjoyed that"

Isn't that what reading a book is about?

Engaging and atmospheric. An easy flowing read. Enjoyable.
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RRHOPZOM6ZD14 A well-researched, fast-paced, engaging and ultimately satisfying novel. Set mostly in a depression era travelling circus the atmospherics are beautifully captured by Sara Gruen. Let down a bit by some wooden dialogue and a failure to develop lead characters to their full potential. But, the lack of plot and player depth doesn't matter too much in this well-told yarn. I liked it: my wife and her friends loved it. A good holiday or weekend read.

This is a Masterpiece !
I finished the book in two days. And during the process, I almost forgot to eat, drink or even go to toilet. I have never ever done this in the last few years as far as I can remember, and I am a heavy reader. This year alone, I have bought 22 books so far on the Amazon alone. Among all the books of literature I have read, this one and the Glass Castle, are two books I like most. If I have to compare this book with other popular books like The Kite Runner, or One Thousand Splendid Suns, or you name it, this is a masterpiece deserve all 5 stars, while those I just mentioned are just garbage deserve only one star. I am telling you my true feeling. I am not a Polish as the writer is and I don't particularly like the circus. The only reason I like the book is because the writer is such a rare talent among all popular writers. Sometimes, some writers got lucky on their books because certain things they wrote fit the taste of the social phenomenon, but this writer is loved because her sheer power in presenting vivid and enchanting tales that you seldom see in other writers. What more can I say? A Masterpiece!