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)

average

kinda hard to follow but keep one mildly interested.

I decided early on, this is a tear jerker

What did you like best about this story?

How much I reacted to the story, I felt very committed to the whole thing, the narrators and the plot really dragged me in.

What about David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones ’s performance did you like?

The combination of the older voice and the younger voice was amazing. That is really what sold it for me, I was extremely impressed and enjoyed it a great deal.

Any additional comments?

A very well written story and a very well done performance.

A story about love, life, elephants, and history.

This was a great book about humanity's affect on humanity, animals, and history. I highly recommend this little book to anyone who ever wanted to join the circus.

Solid story bolstered by excellent narration

This is definitely one of the cases where the audiobook format greatly helped in engaging the reader into the story.

I tried reading the paperback once. Put it down after the first chapter. Didn't really grab me that time.

I gave the story another chance after it was recommended by one of the podcasts I listen to. I figured that since I was going to get a free audiobook via the podcast promotion, it wouldn't hurt to try their recommendation. Was not disappointed at all.

Obviously I managed to get past the first chapter this time. Both narrators did an excellent job in portraying the old and young versions of the protagonist and helped contrast and distinguish their differences in character. Without it, I would have missed out on a great adventure set in Prohibition America involving the enigmatic institution that is the Circus.

If I were to gripe, it would just be that the female characters were limited in their emotional range/depth because the narrators are male. Otherwise it is an excellent audiobook production.

Recommended for people who like a good love story/adventure... and of course, elephants. ;)

a bit depressing

Great narration. Good ending. It took almost all of part one to get me interested though. I don't like hearing about animal cruelty and human cruelty both of which are prevalent in this book. A depressing look at aging as well. It just wasn't in my top 25.

Loved It Again

I read Water for Elephants years ago when it came out as a paperback novel. I really liked it then but I loved the audible version. Using two different narrators for young and old Jacob makes the story even more poignant. Even if you’ve previously read Sara Gruen’s novel I highly recommend listening to Water for Elephants.

Recommend to everyone

I loved this read. Listened to it several times and enjoyed it more each time. I want to see the movie, but I know it will not do the book justice.

Good read

I really enjoy this book
This is my second time reading it.
After had read the book a while back and watching the movie
I saw it was here and well being a while since I last read this book it was nice to listen to it while I got school work done

Magical

This is a story that you need to listen to. The narrators take you from wherever you are into their lives. Simply fantastic story and story telling

Changed my life!

This has got the be the best audiobook I've ever heard! Please listen! you won't regret it for one second. I have learned a new respect for my elders (not that I had a problem before). This was beautifully written and beautifully performed. I did not want it to end!