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)

Excellent!

This is a story I enjoyed very much and was sorry to have it end. It is well written and well narrated. It is a must listen to, it captures the attention and keeps you wanting for more. I highly recommend this book.

Lost

As a constant consumer of audio books having 'read' 100's, every now and then a book comes along that completely engages the mind, heart and body. Listening to books allows one to engage in activity - driving, exercising, cleaning, work - however 'Elephants' demanded my attention. The richness of the story and the brilliant reading simply combine to create a wonderful experience.
Loved it.

Amazing......

I read this book long ago. It remains one of my favorites. The narration is fantastic. I recommend this book to anyone. Hands down one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to.

all ages

good book for listening. shared it with a teenager and an 89 year old. we all liked it.

Superb!

My computer just deleted my 800 word review, but I liked this book so much that I am starting over and writing anotehr because it would be a sin not to spread the word. This is by far the best audio book I have ever listened to. Certainly not the best literary work of all time, but without doubt the best story ever told. I am an avid reader, and sometimes books don't translate well to the spoken word, but this was written to be read aloud. The narrators are superb. This story should be TOLD, not read. The story telling is so phenomenal you feel like you are there. I was spellbound by both narrators just minutes into the book. I found myself crying like a little girl at times (never did that before) and at others physically furious with the antagonists. Angry! Imagine that, at imaginary characters? That is how engrossing this is. I feel like Jacob is my friend who told me his story, I want to call him on the phone and talk to him more, I will miss not hearing from him.
As a warning: some parts may be a little hard to listen to for the real softies out there, especially the animal lovers. The book isn't vulgar at all, or overly in your face violent, but it is heart wrenching in some places. Don't let that deter you. Get this audio book, you will love it, and you will listen to it over and over.

Fantastic

This is absolutely one of the best books I have listened to. I cringed at some of the descriptions of the animal "incidents", but I persevered through them and I am so glad I did. The story is great and the two narrators are fantastic. Definitely worth listening to.

exquisite and riveting

I concur with the many 5-star reviews for this audiobook: it's sensational. The two narrators bring an already exquisite story to life. Whoever chose these two talented readers deserves a place in the Audiobook Hall of Fame.

Although the book it's around 12 hours, it unfolded well (only rarely did I feel impatient with its pace). I found myself looking for any excuse to get in the car or to go for a walk, just to listen to another chapter of this book. I was surprised by its poignant treatment of aging, as well as the twisting plot that chugged along to the dissonant ending. Highly recommended!

Loved it to the end!

This is a unique tale, and I dare anyone not to get sucked into it immediately. I had it in my library for a long time and never listened to it...I don't know why. But once I finally gave it a chance I was hooked. The movie's got nothing on the book, as usual, although it does stay fairly true to the story. The narrators were both great, also, and I loved how he did different voices for the characters that really worked for them. Sometimes I don't like when narrators do character voices, but these were very good and fitting.

Catches you and Won't Let Go

Give this book 90 minutes and you will be caught. It is a beautiful story with all the things you need; tragedy, romance, history. It is simply enthralling.

"Background" Music RUINED this Audible!!

I've never read any books or short stories on circuses before (except for Dumbo), nor am I a fan of them, so for this book to keep my attention for so many hours deserves a few stars for sure. Sweet, romantic, and dark, but sometimes too melodramatic for my taste. However, my main problem with this book is with the recording/ editing of this audible. The narration was sometimes a bit over dramatized and confusing. And then there's the music. The daytime soap opera piano music that played over the narration at the beginning and end of each chapter including THE FINAL 3:18 minutes of the book was incredibly annoying and distracting from the content. How could you ruin a book like that?! Instead of the conclusion leaving me in peace it left me irritated and angry at the loss of a connection I might have had with the protagonist. I will not recommend this audible to anyone.