<DIV>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.</DIV>

Length: 364 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Product details

File Size: 1873 KB
Print Length: 364 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books (May 1, 2007)
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B003I1WY2A
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > United States
- #1 in Kindle Store > Prime Reading > Nonfiction > Education & Reference
- #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Romance

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8:06

Customer Review:Engaging and atmospheric. An easy flowing read. Enjoyable.

Customer Reviews

7,621

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		67%
4 star		20%
3 star		6%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Top Customer Reviews

Magic of the heart and of the big top

Byrun slow, finish wheneveron September 7, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

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.

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Terrific story on American life during the Depression

ByCarrie Kellenbergeron January 16, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I don't care what the reviews say, I thought Water for Elephants was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought Jacob's stories, both in the past and in the present, were extremely well written. I found his innocence and charm as a young man quite enchanting. Wouldn't it be grand if all young men were as courteous and as sweet as the young Jacob Jankowski? I also really liked the crotchety 90-year old Jacob, whose temper tantrums and emotional outbursts were most certainly justified. The loss of independence is something that we all fear, even more so when a person has lived a long and full life only to be left alone in a senior's home to die.

I also thought Marlena's character was well-written. Divorce in the 1920s and 1930s was unheard of, and I can only imagine how awful it must have been for a woman to realize that she had to endure the rest of her life with someone she despised. I found myself wondering when she was going to make the decision to live for herself, rather than do what everyone expected her to do. Then again, she had already made that decision once by leaving her family, so I expected that she would come to the right decision at some point.

As for Gruen's research into circus life during the Depression, I think that she did a fantastic job. America during the Great Depression is such a fascinating piece of history, and when you add the excitement of an all-American circus show to the mix, it becomes ever more so. All in all, Water for Elephants was a great read and I will be sure to recommend it to my family and friends.

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good story, terrible grammar (for kindle edition)

ByEm Girlon December 26, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I really enjoyed this book. The transitions between old Jacob to young Jacob were a little difficult to follow and could have been written better with the year included with the chapter number for example but I got used to it.
I really felt for the characters and moved into the emotion, the anger, the sadness so it was really well written however, I'm not sure whether this is just a kindle problem but the grammar was terrible and I'd have to re read sentences because a conversation between 2 characters would take place all on one line and I found it hard to follow who was saying what.
The bulk of the story was almost identical to the movie with a few exceptions and only slightly more detail that was give in the movie.

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really interesting book

Byjtbsron March 26, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

hard sad life and dark 'secrets' of a low budget circus during the depression......differences in performers and workers.....odd friendships.....
presented so well from an old 'carney's' memory.....
"world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell."

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Beautifully written but but BE CAREFUL if you are squeamish about animal/human abuse...

ByAlyssa Donation January 5, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I avoided this novel for a long time because I have never been a fan of the circus (especially because of documented animal abuse and its exploitation of human oddities for amusement and profit.) However, I adore period novels that truly immerse you in another era and I decided to try the book and abandon it if it became too unsettling.

Unfortunately, it did.

Water for Elephants is beautifully written and the author is remarkably gifted at transporting you back in time. She has an inexhaustible imagination and jam packs her story with dozens of quirky and compelling characters who spring off the page with the agility of acrobats. This is not a soporific tale. In addition to all the eccentric characters bounding around the plot of Water For Elephants is as big and blinding as a massive disco ball and about every other chapter bursts like a pinata. Something is always happening: someone is being punched in the nose or high pitched shrieks are coming from the big tent or a mustached villain is hurling insults at some hapless circus employee. This novel is brash and brazen and graphic and I didn't have a problem with most of it. I enjoyed the frenetic pace and the sparkly madness of it all and the tale itself is truly original and engrossing.

My problem with this novel is that it does involve animals that are confined and mistreated and it also discusses the custom of displaying humans with physical deformities as sideshow 'freaks'. I am well aware this could not be avoided considering the subject matter and I'm certain the author wanted to paint a vivid and historically accurate portrait of the circus in the early 20th century. However, she does her job a bit too thouroughly and there were times I had to skip or skim entire paragraphs. I simply couldn't tolerate the highly lurid descriptions of horses throats being sliced open, lit cigarettes being tossed into the beguiling elephant's mouth. or desperate people being gawked at because they were obese or sprouting a parasitic twin from their chest.

That being said, Sara Gruen is an amazingly talented writer and after reading her bio and learning about her small menagerie at home and her penchant for saving orphaned cats I am certain she did not write this book to rejoice in the mistreatment of animals. She also sounds like a kind and compassionate person who definitely wouldn't be eager to view 'freaks' at a circus sideshow. Water For Elephants is a fascinating and dazzling tale but if it makes you uncomfortable to read about animal or human abuse I would probably avoid it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Beautiful novel

I loved every second of this book. The characters are real. The emotion is raw and the story is entrancing Read more

Published 14 hours ago by Mom2two

Amazing and wonderful

Fell in love with the story and could not put it down. AMAZING. This story has great detail with it.Read more

Published 17 hours ago by Vincent

Loved this book

It kept me wanting to come back. I loved the story and hated how Rosie was treated. She was a very smart elephant.Read more

Published 23 hours ago by Dorilee

I read bought and read "Water for Elephants" and then ...

I read bought and read "Water for Elephants" and then proceeded to lend my copy to every one I know .Read more

Published 1 day ago by J. Maker

Nice Writing

I enjoyed the writing style of the author, and the story in general. I would have liked it to develop a little more about Jacob , Marlena and the kids, Ringling etc...Read more

Published 1 day ago by Robert W Streeper

Great book

I loved the movie and had always wanted to read the book. Excellent read. The research for the book was great and loved the pictures.Read more

Published 1 day ago by Lori

Very vivid and intriguing

I got very immersed in the story and couldn't wait to finish and find out what happened to the characters.Read more

Published 1 day ago by GBarrTech

Behind the scenes

The story line was excellent. The sexual encounters could have been left out or modified to be less graphic. To grow old with an intact memory is rare.Read more

Published 1 day ago by Ann T

Loved it

Endearing story of a man's life ( mostly in the circus) love how he is portrayed later in life. Great read, could not put it down!Read more

Published 1 day ago by Crystal Woolsey

Looking at life

Thee prologue gives you a glance at the excitement that is coming in the book. It was nice to hear it told by an old man.Read more

Published 1 day ago by Rita

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