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)

The reading of this Novel was perfect

I fell in love with John Randolph Jones' voice. My father is 90 and I really felt as if I was in the nursing home with my Dad when John was speaking. The story was wonderfully read by both David and John. I laughed, I cried and I reflected on how I had perceived small circus employees prior to listening to this book. That perception changed completely just a few short chapters in. I didn't want the book to end.

Colorful Narration looked forward to my drive

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jacob

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Scenes of Jacob in the nursing home

Any additional comments?

Beautifully done, a joy to listen too. There were two narrations young and old Jacob, I think young Jacob did the other characters as well, but at times it sounded like separate people, for me the female voice did feel a little flat, but didn't bother me that much. Great story with a refreshing narration and I could really picture what was happening, the sound effects and subtle background music made it even better. I didn't want it to end.

Very good, and actually better than I expected!

The performers were amazing! And as a whole, very entertaining. It was clearly well researched, and was very vivid.

Surprisingly interesting read

This book had me in the first chapter. Some books on the best seller list are hohum. This book captivated me and made a great few days of enjoyment for me. I so enjoyed taking the time to read this book. Reading about a circus didn't interest me but the depth of the characters really had me drawn. Now to watch the movie.

Fabulous!

Loved everything about this! Watched the movie a few years ago and it was wonderful too. But the audible book with the 2 voices for the young and elderly Jacob is absolutely brilliant!

Pink Elephants on Parade!

Sara Gruen is an excellent story teller. Superb narration by both David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones. I'm usually not someone who enjoys stories about the circus, but this one kept me intrigued the entire time. There were a few predictable parts, and others that caught me off guard. Well worth the time.

Easy to listen romantic book

Good love story. Well written. I loved the bond between humans and the animals! Will watch movie soon!

absolutely wonderful

I have no complaints. The narration was great and delivery was compelling. I will probably listen to this book a few times and share it with my friends!

Excellent production but...

This was one of the very best audio productions I've heard but the characters in the story were too one-dimensional for me. If you like your villains thoroughly evil this is the book for you! I also had a very hard time listening to the descriptions of animal cruelty and skipped over a couple of particularly nasty descriptions.
Interesting novel but the characters needed to be more developed.

Watch the movie instead

Water For Elephants was a book about sn older gentleman that was reflecting back on his youth in the Benzini Brothers Circus during the depression. It main plots surrounded the miss treatment of animals and people. The one of main plot was a love triangle between Jacob Jancowski, August (the Circus owner) and his wife, Marlena. Another is the mistreatment of new acquired elephant, Rosie. The plot twists with a term called red lighting, which is how August survived financial when in trouble by tossing circus employees from the circus train to avoid paying wages. The book concludes with the resolution of all these problems as Jacob escapes the Benzini Brothers Circus to start a new life. The book concluded with the older Jacob escaping the boredom of a nursing home to rejoin the circus. The book was alright but lacked that needed spirit that a book needs to be more than average. The movie how ever with a nice cast of characters and a few alteration was slightly better than the book but that might have also fallen in the visuals that the movie provided that the book seemed to not paint very well in the readers mind. I was slightly disappointed in the book itself but it was an interesting read. Its hard to believe that I am saying this. Skip the book and just watch the movie.