Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)

Thank you for speedy delivery!!!!! I ordered a 2nd one just because the book was so excellent reading. We had circus friends as children and always found their lives so amazing and loved the stories. This book brought back the "carnie" atmosphere that was always so strange to us as small children sitting around and our parents even letting us hear the stories (we would all gasp at the language used.)

this is one of those must read books although I must caution you that if you love animals-there will be parts that will be hard to take. (old time circuses are not always known for treating animals with kindness).

Loved this book. Came highly recommended, and worth the recommendation. A great story about a veterinarian working for a circus in the depression era. It's got action, adventure and romance. Not suitable for kids though. Buy it!

Clowns can be funny and creepy at the same time. Water for elephants is like a creepy clown that will make us smile. The author takes us on a train ride behind the glorious and gruesome scenes that take place in the Bezini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. She has done her homework. From the big top to the train trestles, we are dangled in suspence, tickled with comedy and thrilled with action. This book was fun to read.

I bought this book on a friend's recommendation. I love reading about people's lives and challenges. This tale follows a young man as he lives life as a circus Vet. I loved the characters--especially the elephant, Rosie.

Water For Elephants is one of those great reads that only come along every now and then. It is a book that stays with you long after the last page. I read it from the library and had to have a copy of my own. Dont pass up this book that is filled with so many things. A MUST Read!!!!!

Purchased for a book club pick and loved it so much I couldn't put it down! Highly recommended for a fast and furious page turner.

Everyone should read this book! This is well written and hard to put down. A great read for male or female.

Books that take you away to a life you have never experienced are always interesting. This book does it twice! Not only do we learn a little about life in a circus during the depression, but we get a very realistic look at life in a "care center" in present time. As you dance between the two, Jacob becomes a real person experiencing life, love, disapointment, and joy. Everyone in my book group enjoyed it, which hasn't happened often in fifteen years!

I bought this book because the title was interesting. I loved the book. It was full of all the good qualities that made reading a pleasure. The characters were so well devolped that I had a picture of each in my minds eye. I have passed it on to friends and they love it too.

This is a genuine work of art and the characters will stay with you for years to come. I didn't think that the backdrop of the depression and the circus would really be very interesting to me, but a good friend recommended it and I'm so glad she did. You won't be disappointed, particularly if you are an animal lover, many poignant scenes and it also contains some unexpected twists. Filled with imperfect people and a few tragic events, you'll find yourself staying up late to get to the final scene. The pictures that head each chapter help to bring you back into the time period and Jacob's matter of fact way of looking at even the worst situations reminds me of the older generation's stoic acceptance of lifes ups and downs. A great read!!!

This book is sweeping a lot of books group in our town--universally liked! My group really enjoyed it. The end was the best...but I'm not gonna tell you what it is!

A friend suggested this book. It was interesting how each chapter was a different part of his life..One chapter he was young and the other chapter he was elderly..a thoroughly enjoyable read...with a very happy ending...

I bought this book, not sure exactly how I'd like it. It seemed a little out of my reading comfort zone. Even after reading reading the first couple of chapters I was leary. However, it turned out to be suprisingly interesting and couldn't have had a better ending.
It's about an old man in a nursing home who basically thinks his life is pathetic and has a hard time facing the fact that he's 90 years old, or 93, he can't remember. A circus begins to set up shop across the street and he enchants us with the tales of his day in the circus, traveling with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. I would recommend it if you like to read far fetched tales that are well written.

This book takes its reader into another time and place with immense flair. Water for Elephants, by Sarah Gruen, is a fantastic book for people who love to read adventure, life stories, romance, and a little bit of reality as well. This book bridges the gap between young adults, middle aged adults, and older adults. There is something in this story for almost every reader. Suspenseful and heartbreaking, this book will keep you wrapped up in its words to the finish!

I loved the entire book. The words jumped out at the reader and made everything so real to life. I have suggested to every reader that I know...READ THIS BOOK, IT IS EXCELLENT. What is there to dislike about this book...NOTHING. Especially a great ending...a sure to please A plus book! Must read...

To be able to enter into the circus life, was more entertaining than going to the big show! The main character shares everything about his time in the circus and his life as a 90+ year old man. I didn't want to finish this book but it left me with strong feelings toward the old guy AND I will never look at an elephant the same!

Actually I "read" this book via audio disc.......and I really feel the narrators added a wonderful demension to the story...anyone having elderly parents, at home or in a facility, will take a special lesson in life from this wonderful story. One of the best novels I've ever read hands down! ENJOY!!!

An excellent novel set from the vantage of a 93-year-old man who remembers when he was 28 and traveling with a third-rate circus, The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, in the middle of the depression. Throughout his experience he meets many people and encounters many experiences, all of which make you want to keep reading further. The book offers insight as to what the American circus was like in the depression, while incorporating romance and suspense. An excellent book, and it only takes a few days to read.

I love novels that put me in a world I don't know anything about, in this case Depression-era traveling circus trains. Some milieux are I suppose more interesting than others, but there's a story in all of them and this one was very interesting.

And a good surprise twist at the end is a great bonus! Great book for a rainy weekend.

Do not pass up a chance to read this book! It is one of the finest written fiction pieces I have ever read, once you begin reading you will not be able to put this book down.

This is the best book I've read since reading The Kite Runner. It's a heart-warming story with colorful characters and animals. Jacob, who is in a nursing home, recalls his days of being a circus veternarian during the hard times of the depression. I was riveted by this book from the very first page. Be sure and add this one to your collection!

I am usually the reader of psycho-thrillers, especially J. Patterson and P. Cornwell- I was pleasantly surprised how the author held my attention- from the first page til I had finished the next day! An interesting historical perspective of the circus- black and white photos from hist. archives are inserted through the book. A rebel nursing home resident tells us his story-beginning with his life as a promising veterinarian close to graduation from an Ivy League school. A great read.

Oh my! I loved this story SO much. The author lovingly tells it through Jacob, a 90-ish man struggling his remaining years in a Nursing Home. He is the voice of experience as he has memory flashbacks of his employment with the circus in the 1930's. There are so many facets to the tale...drama, romance, murder, and redemption. Although the circus life is very dazzling, the overall message I walk away from is this: Pay attention to your elders and treat them with respect. They deserve it! They are adults (not children), so give them their due. Just as Rosemary did. She is a good soul. Also, you are never too old to be useful.
The author ends the story just perfectly, tying up loose ends. Aside from Jacob, watch for Walter, and Rosie! They all played pivotal roles in the storyline. Excellent, A++ This is a book you will want to read over and over.