Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob 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.--From publisher description.

This is a quick read. And a fascinating introduction to Depression era circus life. But after the first 150 pages or so, you become accustomed to the circus train atmosphere, after which there's nothing that special about the story. In fact, here are some problems with it: 1) The ending is so predictable! 2) The best drawn characters in the book are an elephant and a dog. And that's only because I didn't expect the animals to be anything more than one-dimensional. 3) The use of violence against Rosie the elephant was gratuitous and manipulative. Somehow it just felt cheap. Although, I did really like the narration from the elderly Jacob's perspective. I thought that was well done. I'll have to think about it some more before my book club discusses it next week.

It might sound funny, but I learned a lot about circus life from this book. Interesting and entertaining.

I hate circuses. I hate everything they entail—over-the-top dramatization, a focus on “freaks,” mistreatment and housing of animals (I also hate zoos for this same reason). I reluctantly picked up this book, because I wanted to satisfy my curiosity—why have people cited this as a favorite book so often?—and also satisfy one of the challenge tasks for the College Students Spring/Summer Challenge.

I actually liked this book a lot. Jacob is a narrator who is easy to relate to, and you really get a sense of his life and his environment. I especially like the transitions from the past to the present. I love books that send you into particular times and places. I could almost hear the sounds, and I definitely could picture August and Marlena—and I also loved Rosie!

All in all, this book was a good read. I wouldn't call it a favorite because I hated the subject matter, but the characters were likable and distinct despite the basic plot. Gruen has a wonderful way of storytelling and would definitely read other books from her in the future (though hopefully not related to circuses!).

Got about halfway through before I realized that I wasn't going to start liking the character. A very plot-driven book. The setting started out interesting but turned a little cliche.