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)

An all time favorite

Written from a man's perspective it captured all the emotions of a life. Vibrant and descriptive, I felt as though I walked aside the main characters even with the final choices. Awesome!

A new twist on running away with the circus.

What made the experience of listening to Water for Elephants the most enjoyable?

I felt the the two narrators did an excellent job with their respective parts of the book. The voices matched my mental pictures of the story line.

Any additional comments?

This is the first audio book I have listened to in a long time and first time to review so I resisted the urge to give five stars lest the next book I listen to is even better! However I would happily recommend the audio book to anyone as its a great story and well narrated.

Wow!

I am not usually a big fan of historic fiction, but decided to try this one due to the wonderful reviews. I was not disappointed. It was a fabulous well written story. I loved every minute of it. The characters and setting are well detailed and it does not lack in action or plot. I have already recommended it to many friends.

Great in audio.

A wonderful, unique and surprising story, told in flashbacks from the perspective of a 90 year old man. You'll care about the characters from the beginning. Hopefully the movie will do this book justice.

Loved It!

This is one of the first books I hasn't listened to on Audible...I loved it.I couldn't put it down. I haven't seen the movie but I've seen it in my mind thanks to the narrator of this book.

Absolutely LOVED THIS STORY!!

What did you love best about Water for Elephants?

I LOVED that they tell you something in the beginning, and I couldn't wait to see when and how and why that came about. I work in healthcare, and I loved that you see the world through an elderly man's eyes. This book should be listened to or read by anyone working with older people, they all have a story and are people first!

What did you like best about this story?

Loved the anticipation of how it flashed back and forth from the young man to the old.

What does David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I don't think I would have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I had read it myself. The old man's voice was perfect, just loved him!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A love story

Any additional comments?

I will look for more books by this author.

Brilliant!

What did you love best about Water for Elephants?

The voice depicting the senior main character

What was one of the most memorable moments of Water for Elephants?

His being accepted by the circus owner after leaving the nursing home.

Have you listened to any of David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't know, but this is excellent.

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

The old man scenes.

Any additional comments?

Brilliant.

Great story but read don’t listen

I read this book years ago and loved it. I wanted to revisit the story so I listened- and I’d suggest reading this book, not listening. They do music overlays at the end of chapters and it was distracting and I hated that part. It is a wonderful story though, just didn’t love the audio version.

Excellent story but narration sometimes hard to understand

Loved the story- a mix of romance, suspense, and comedy. Although he played the part of a crusty old man wonderfully, the narrator was often hard to understand.

A must to listen!

Favorite of all the books I have ...you have to listen to this one!! Best narrators