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 enlarge | Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $3.32
You Save: $10.63 (76%)
New (126) Used (313) Collectible (4) from $3.32
Rating:  1502 reviews
Sales Rank: 103
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 350
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 1565125606
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781565125605
ASIN: 1565125606
Publication Date: April 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: The text is clean with some moderate exterior wear.
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| Customer Reviews:
 What's The Big Deal? November 9, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book out of curiousity and the big hoopla over what a "sleeper hit" this story had become,I love animals,so I gave it a try.
One of the other Amazon customer reviewers said that the main character was talking to a reporter. No, he's not talking to anyone, just us, but I was bothered HOW he was communicating to us.
Since everyone else has synopsized the plot ad nauseum. I'll just report the weaknesses in this book.
First of all, very little elephant!!! Not Water For Elephant(s), but Water for ELEPHANT, ONE elephant. And very little elephant. Whatever research she did on these animals was tiny, miniscule. I could have gotten more into the mind of pachyderms by watching a Nat.Geo or Animal Planet special.
As for his being a veterninarian. I too own horses, been around them and vets for nearly 5 decades. What little circus animal veterinary work Ms. Gruen describes in the book she probably got watching a cable TV station animal special.
I also concur with the veterinarian reviewer on the slaughter of the horses. If a horse is forced to watch the other beside it die violently, most likely when it smells all that blood, you can bet the ranch it would break its' halter or rope and be nine miles gone.
I also found it very distracting the numerous referrals to minute body languages while the characters talked. Also, even though the story started pretty promising, once Jacob got established as an employee in the circus, it bottomed out into nothing but petty bickerings and jealousies among all the circus employees. Yawn....
It was fast reading, but I started hoping the thing would end soon. And, yeah, the animal stampede at the end I wasn't buying. I think Ms. Gruen could have just watched Nat. Geo or Animal Planet replays of elephants gone bonkers on video in circuses and let Rosie the elephant just get even by squishing those who had abused her.
 Pleasant surprise November 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Reading the back cover of the book did not entice me to read this. A friend told me I had to read it, however. It is excellent. I wasn't sure about it at first but ended up loving it.
BUY IT, READ IT AND ENJOYYY! November 7, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was recommended to me a 1000 times just by everybody (including Amazon). The thing is I thought it was going to be really depressing: a circus (they really depress me), great depression era.... and when I started reading it.... an old man in a home. Well, I finally thought, ok I HAVE to read it, at least to see why everybody is so in love with it, and now I am one of those people recommending it to everyone!
Sara Gruen obviously has the gift of being a true story-teller, she just makes you read page after page completely forgetting your surroundings. The story is original, it has a drama and a force that absorbs you into it.
If you want to have a great time reading or are looking for a special gift for someone: BUY THIS BOOK!
Absolutely fantastic with universal appeal November 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There aren't too many books that both my husband and I find impossible to put down, but this was one. The combination of human drama, adventure and historical detail were extremely compelling. We absolutely loved this book.
The Most Spectacular Book on Earth! November 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Okay, so the title might be a stretch, but I really enjoyed Water for Elephants. Gruen takes the reader into the gritty, yet exciting circus life through the eyes of Jacob Jankowski. The reader actually experiences the events of the book from two perspectives: Jacob as an elderly man and Jacob as a young man who accidentally joins the circus as veterinarian during the Great Depression. The reader is constantly exposed to a multitude of emotions such as grief, depression, love, passion, and anger. Jacob's interactions with those on the Benzini Brothers' Most Spectacular Show on Earth, whether they be human or not, shape his life after it appears his whole world has come crashing down on him.
This book was a true page-turner. The well-developed characters and their relationships kept my attention throughout the book and always left me wanting to read more. I would suggest this book to any reader, especially those with an interest in this historic, yet little-known subject.
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