Water for Elephants

By: Sara Gruen

Narrated by: David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

An atmospheric tale of life and love in a Depression-era traveling circus.

Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It's the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus' animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.

Beautifully written, with a luminous sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells of love in a world in which love's a luxury few can afford.

©2006 Sara Gruen (P)2006 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award, Adult Fiction, 2007
• Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007

" 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. . . . 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)

"Just like a circus, the magic of the story and the writing convince you to suspend your disbelief." ( Booklist)

"Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes, and freaks who populate her book." ( Publishers Weekly)

Thrilling and brilliant!

I loved this book so much! It was a fast and gripping story and I loved hearing about the last of an old man and his thrilling life! I loved the setting and the adventures as well as the love story! It was amazing! So worth it!

Touched my heart

I didn’t see the movie so this book was a lovely surprise. The performances made it extra special. The only thing I could have done without is the intermittent music. It was distracting and added nothing to the story. I almost skipped past this gem because of it. Glad I held on. It was quite enjoyable.

Great story

I loved hearing from the same narrator as a young person and an old person

Always has been my favorite book

I’m very picky with my audiobooks because of the voice actors but young jacob’s actor did a really good job.

Best audiobook I’ve listened to so far..

Wonderful story, & even better performance. Thoroughly enjoyed and recommend highly. I’ve never wanted to reread a book before til now, as enjoyable as a movie or being there in person.

A story to sink your world into

This was an amazing audio book. I just finished it and I already feel empty without it. The narration was spot on, the music was a great touch to really draw me into the life of the "show". I couldn't stop listening and when I did I dreamt of all the wonderful, bright, and vivid characters.

Don't get the hype

The story began strong, but couldn't hold my interest. It doesn't read like a period piece at all. It's a typical love story triangle with some stereotypical circus life vulgarity that I felt cheapened it further. Didn't finish it.

I really can't understand the hype with this book.

I tried on three separate occasions to read this book. I kept waiting for the story to pick up and turn into something but it never did. After the third time I put it down unfinished I quit trying.

3.51 stars rounds up to 4

I looked into this title many times before finally giving in and purchasing it. With my commute, it served as a nice mix between thought-provoking and occasionally mindless. The narrators are both good, but the older Jacob is FANTASTIC. I found myself looking forward to the next chapter just so I could get back to his devastatingly realistic portrayal of an old man stuck between comforting reminiscence and disparaging experiences in the now.

The story itself was entertaining and sometimes had some depth to it that left me pondering, but it was not a book that I would recommend to someone looking for any kind of a head-scratcher. The look into old-timey circus life was apparently informed by Gruen's research, which lent it much credibility as I was listening, but the characters themselves were mostly average in their ability to maintain my interest. I was drawn into the characters of August, Marlena, and Walter, but not nearly as much into characters such as Uncle Al, Camel, and even the young Jacob, who served as the protagoinist but not with a great deal of depth. The older Jacob, however, had a great deal of depth and nuance, which is why I mentioned before my tendency to look forward to his chapters.

I recommend this book, but know a couple things. It's more of a romance story than "literature", and the ending is one that you will likely either love or hate. For me, a bad ending ruins a book. This ending, well, I appreciated it on some levels and hated it on others. That's all I'm willing to say.
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MUCH BETTER THAN MOVIE

This is a classic example of a book being much better than its movie. If you want theatrics listen to the audiobook because it has a lot of suspense. When you can't put down an audiobook, it means you have headphones on when you are making dinner, eating lunch, doing laundry, at the grocery, etc. etc. That was me with this book.