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)

Simply wonderful

This is about the most enjoyable book I've come across on audible. Funny, serious, dramatic and sweet all at the same time. If you've ever taken care of an elderly family member or are aware of your own mortality, you'll find this an touching, easy listen that you'll want to share with others.

John Randolph Jones a standout performance!

David LeDoux sounds to me like he's got a cold, and unfortunately this permeates through all of his characters, always reminding me that the book was narrated. John Randolph Jones though - this book is brought to life through his voice.

Amazing story too.. :)

Great listen!

I was quite surprised by this book. I have looked at it for a long time but was hesitant to buy it because it sounded a little dull. As time has passed I continued to hear and read excellent reviews and I was swayed to give it a listen. I was quickly drawn into the story and found this book hard to stop listening to. The narration is nothing short of spectacular. Both Mr. LeDoux and Jones make the characters come to life with emotion you can nearly feel. The only criticism I have is in regards to the way the author ends the book. I am not going to provide details, but I found the ending a little too unrealistic. Well worth the listen over all.

beautiful narration,captivating storytelling

i really enjoyed listening to this book. the story was good, captivating even if it was simple. it was the kind of story you thought about in between sessions, it would stick in the mind and good moments stuck with you. the narration was really some of the best i've ever experienced. i was distracted by the intro music at parts though, and it was really hard to focus on the story in those times. otherwise superbly done.

Wonderful!

Great story and wonderful narrator's. couldn't stop listening finished in only two days. loved it

Predicable story, Good narrator, Disturbing era

The narrator was good. Two different men narrated when it was the old man and the young man.
The old man's situation was depressing, and very eye opening. I work in healthcare so I see a lot of this in the workplace and it is heartbreaking. The author did a phenomenal and realistic job depicting this lifestyle.
The young man's story is about how he joined the circus. The time period is the depression and it is a very depressing time, hard on everyone. It is disturbing to me how animals are treated to poorly and how that was normalized. This kind of treatment would be unacceptable today. It was hard to read about it. The characters are in such a hierarchal system that they cannot break out or stand up for themselves. They lay like a doormat and and take whatever atrocity comes their way, grumble about it and drink lots of moonshine, and then continue living a life they hate. Perhaps this is what spurred people to form unions, and the circus clearly didnt have one. I also understand that when youre fighting Maslow's pyramid of Needs and you're at the bottom and seeking food and shelter, it's hard to be confrontational and ask for what you want or stand up for yourself when mistreated. At the same time it was so predicable and hard to read because the characters had the same situations just different stories, and they all just accepted "that's the way things are" and that bothered me a lot. There was a feeling of being trapped in the circus and having no other choice, but at the same time i see that as a belief system and if they really hated it they could have walked away. People put up with a lot of abuse for no good reason, both in people and animals.
The romance was predictable and the good guy and the bad guy situation was so black and white that it was not interesting. While it had adventure, the plot did not have a lot of depth or intensity, and made up for the lack of intensity by its gruesome descriptions of abuse.

Wonderful story!

Absolutely loved this book! I rarely read fiction, but this book is lovely from beginning to end.

will hold your attention!!!

I didn't want to turn off my ipod! I stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning to listen to this book!

No expectations, but glad I found it

What did you love best about Water for Elephants?

I had no anticipation of what to expect when I began listening to Water for Elephants. The most enlightening aspect of the story was the education I received about the hierarchy of employees within the circus. From an outsider who has always been taught (but never believed it) that people in the circus where of lower class than others, I had no idea there were different ranks of people within the circus. Life behind the scenes at the circus was crude and inhumane. From the beginning the book was colorful with characters. The transitioning between the past and the present with the main character was an interesting transition. I try to approach a book with an open mind and throw other opinions out the window. I am pleased I have done this because the people that I know who have read this book have ranged from horrible to excellent. I found this book entertaining and engrossing. It was never a book that I just could not put down, but I enjoyed read it. Because the era in which the reference of the circus occurred the comparison of food lines and the great depression was evident. Although the inhumane treatment of the people and animals undoubtedly occurred during this time period, it wasn't easy to read it. Although the hierarchy of the class of people was evident within the circus, it was not unlike how society actually was during this time period. The author clearly did research to solidly base the sad realities of the treatment of people and animals during the depression era. The author weaved a story with vivid characters and animal characters in a sympathetic and favorable light. Sara Gruen's engaging

The best of Audible

As a 4 year veteran of Audible, I can say with confidence that this is the most outstanding book I have encountered. The story was unique and imaginative, suspensful and endearing.

It is the narration, however, that brings this book to life. Clever distinctions between characters of the young Jacob, superb pacing and emotion from the older Jacob.

I would not be surprised to see this under the Awards category. Not to be missed.