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)

Fantastic

One of the best books I have read in a while. The added bonus is the narration which is phenomenal. Great story. Keep my interest in every part.

My Favorite

Would you listen to Water for Elephants again? Why?

Narrators. Especially John Randolph Jones something about the way he tells the story puts me so at ease. I could listen to him all day. The story is wonderful. David LeDoux does a wonderful job to conveying the story of a young man. My favorite though is John Randolph Jones telling the story of the old man in a nursing home recalling his youth. He can sound so frustrated with the nursing home it seems as if you can see just what bothers him. I just love his voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Couldn't quit do that but I have listen't to it over and over.

Any additional comments?

I have seen this movie and remembered I like it but hadn't seen it in so long that I can't compare. I usually don't go back to listen to a story again and love to listen to this over and over. The story is so good but the narration really sells it.

Narrator

The narrators for this book were amazing. I loved how they differentiated between the Jacob that was 23 and the one that was 90... Or 93? Great story overall.

great story.

loved this sweet and incitefu) story. I want a sequel. what happens that next year.

Love this story

I unexpectedly loved this book. I do not like the music. The music tended to be too loud and drowned out parts of the story.

Great Performance

This was a well written story, rich and page turning, although present tense is not my preference. I didn't care for the violence and the convenient, even cliched deaths of certain characters.

Loved reading the book

The young version of Jacob was so far off from how I pictured him in my minds eye When reading the book, that it was hard to listen to. They could’ve use someone with a stronger voice

How not to age gracefully

Buy this book. There, the real question is answered but you want details? Fine, take a listen to a story that gives depth and color to anyone's life who starts young and ends up wondering how they got old and didnt notice. Listen to a story about running away to the circus and how a young man got a lifetime of lessons in the real world over some short months. The descriptions of the life in a circus and the characters who lived it are impressive and a joy to listen to. By the end of the story, you will be completely enthralled by the central character and his life story and it will, not might, it WILL cause you to rethink how you treat grand dad in you own life. You can easily lose yourself in the story as it flows around the plot. The prose is well written and the use of two narrators provides an excellent verbal presentation of a young man and his much older self. This book is one of the best narrated stories I have heard in the past three years of using Audible and really makes the listening a real joy.

Great Story & Great Characters

Several of my friends recommended this book to me over the past several years. I finally purchased it when it was on sale and it was fantastic. I loved the story, the setting and the point of view of both the older and younger hero. I enjoyed every minute and would highly recommend it!

A Throughly Enjoyable Listen

I absolutely recommend this book.
The story, the narrative, the grand sweep of a long bygone era (not so unlike ours today) left me wanting for more. At the end, I laughed, and I cried, and started a second "listen".
My only peeve, was that their should have been a third narrator for the female characters of the story (but then that might have brought the narration up towards the "Radio Staging" level of audio-drama's.