"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen


Sara Gruen’s world-famous novel Water for Elephants begins as the main character, Jacob Jankowski, starts to talk about his past while living his last days in a nursing home. He starts many decades ago when he was forced to go and work for the circus when his parents died in a tragic car accident, leaving him with nothing at all apart from a pre-paid tuition. However, Jacob left the education system without even writing a single word on his exams, eventually winding up aboard a circus train.

Naturally, Jacob joins the circus troupe , although it is far from being the next big thing.From then on, Jacob’s life starts to become more and more extraordinary while at the same time taking the reader into a world which gets progressively dirtier, grittier and more cruel. Sara Gruen makes use of her talents to give a very lifelike description of the post-depression era world in which Jacob lives, not to mention the colorful cast of characters.

There is for example Uncle Al who is a power-tripping crap who stomps on people just because he is able to while the animal trainer, August, is literally a paranoid schizophrenic. August has a wife however by the name of Marlene with whom Jacob ends up falling in love; it goes without saying that things take a dive for the worst as their relationship develops.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Book cover)
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the fact that it manages to be a very deep character study while actually telling an interesting story complete with numerous twists and turns which will not only make for an entertaining read but will also keep you actively involved in the events of that surrealistic world. Keep in mind however that some parts of this book are quite explicit and possibly inappropriate for a younger audience.



Sara Gruen (Author)

Sara Gruen


Personal site

Sara Gruen is a Canadian-American author who was born in Vancouver. Her love for animals heavily transpires through her books as they, more often than not, deal with animals, educate about them, and generally place them in the spotlight. Her best-known novel is without the shadow of a doubt Water for Elephants, a circus drama set in the 1930s.



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