Water for Elephants

De: Sara Gruen

Narrado por: David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

• 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)

Water For Elephants

Would you listen to Water for Elephants again? Why?

No, it was a one timer for me.

Any additional comments?

I gave it 4stars overall because some of the nursing home scenes get tedious, but a good listen overall.

Entertaining listen

I enjoyed this book, thought the two narrators were excellent and the storyline was intriguing. However the main character didn't resonate with me, he was very two dimensional.

Wonderful hours of enjoyment!!!

Genuinely griping story, characters, and intriguing presentation format. Highly recommended! An adult story in an historical setting.

Excellent Read

I truly enjoyed this book. The characters were fully developed and the story line was presented in such a great story teller tradition. I would recommend this book to all age groups, from teenagers and older.

Worth the read.

I enjoyed this book.

The narration was wonderful!
I will likely read it again.

It renewed my interest in the big top.

Covered all bases

This was one of the most enjoyable books I have ever listened to. It was about life, death, aging,relationships, animals, people and it had a great sense of humor as well. I was so sad when it ended- going to be hard to find another book as good as this one.....but I'll keep trying!

Fun historical romp through depression era circus

Decent, if predictable story, the old man sections feel like padding to up the page count and could have been done away with and replaced with just a booked pair of chapters.

But the attention to detail and well developed characters more than make up for any story structure flaws.
Good VO work

Water for Elephants

I really enjoyed this book and especially the narrators. Having the two voices was a something I really enjoyed about the book!

Fantastic Production!

A fantastic book enhanced by a fabulous performance, this audio book does not disappoint! The narrators have done an excellent job of bringing this story to life. This will greatly enhance your reading experience as it is very much a delight to listen to.

Beautifully written and narrated

The story was compelling and I found myself wanting to listen to it over and over. The two narrators portayed to different ages of the characters masterfully, and Gruen spun a tale that intertwined the sorrow of the depression with the magic of the circus and true love. I highly recommend this book.