rosiestack's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
allymuddyorbs's review
5.0
I've seen good reviews and bad reviews of this book, which is something to be expected because authors can't please everyone in this world. But I went into it with an open mind and found myself liking the book, probably even loving it, because of the fact that this book is nothing (and let me just repeat, NOTHING) like the books that are being published today. Today, books like to focus on creating a published version of mythical or paranormal fan fiction, and while that's all and good, sometimes you just have to crack open a book where there are no vampires, witches, or any of the like in a single page. This is a perfect example of those kinds of books.
This book is a GREAT read and I would recommend it for anyone who loves romance, adventure, and animals. It's a great way to spend your free time and definitely worth every cent you spent on it.
This book is a GREAT read and I would recommend it for anyone who loves romance, adventure, and animals. It's a great way to spend your free time and definitely worth every cent you spent on it.
ruthielin's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kkop12's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the shift between present day and past. I couldn't put it down!
rosann's review
4.0
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed - who doesn't dream of escaping life and joining a circus?!! But there were some parts that I could have done without (the very detailed account of the cooch's show, some of the violence towards the animals, etc). I did really enjoy the descriptions about life in a train circus during the great depression, and the loyalty of friends, and the personality and brains of the animals.
gabieowleyess's review against another edition
3.0
Full Review from my blog Owl Eyes Reviews
I am trying my hardest to work through my owned TBR shelf this summer. This book was among the many that I own that I haven’t read. For some reason, I’ve been putting this one off for a while. I tend to do that with books that I own quite often. My thought process is that with books that I own quite often. My thought process is that if I own a book than I can wait to read it. This is not so great for my growing TBR. I’m glad I picked up this book because it was good.
I was nervous about this book because I watched the movie a long time ago. Usually when I watch the movie of a book before reading it, I have a hard time enjoying the book because I know everything that is going to happen. Since I watched the movie of this book so long ago, I didn’t really go through that too much. It was a good story but it didn’t go past good.
I am trying my hardest to work through my owned TBR shelf this summer. This book was among the many that I own that I haven’t read. For some reason, I’ve been putting this one off for a while. I tend to do that with books that I own quite often. My thought process is that with books that I own quite often. My thought process is that if I own a book than I can wait to read it. This is not so great for my growing TBR. I’m glad I picked up this book because it was good.
I was nervous about this book because I watched the movie a long time ago. Usually when I watch the movie of a book before reading it, I have a hard time enjoying the book because I know everything that is going to happen. Since I watched the movie of this book so long ago, I didn’t really go through that too much. It was a good story but it didn’t go past good.
readformehaikuforyou's review
4.0
“Life is the most spectacular show on Earth.”
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is set during the 1920s/1930s prohibition and depression era. It tells the story of an orphaned Jacob Jankowski who doesn’t quite finish vet school, but finds himself a part of a traveling train circus as their resident veterinarian.
Told in a dual timeline, Jacob moves in and out of the present day as he remembers his time with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Adequately described as ‘gritty’ this story is a heartbreaking, frustrating, yet worthwhile read.
Though it’s hard to choose, brevity tends to be best, so here’s one thing I adored and one thing I didn’t.
✔️ I adored the back and forth timeline.
I am a sucker for timeline jumps. It is such a neat way to tell a story and listening to Jacob as a 90 (or 93) year old tell his story was heart wrenching. Bringing in his voice was so important, especially in these two very different portions of this life.
✖️ I was absolutely disgusted by the animal abuse.
However, this wasn’t an issue with the book. Animal abuse was prevalent in circuses and it’s always important that this is known and discussed. It was just incredibly difficult to read about.
There are loads of content and trigger warnings in this book. Here are the ones I can remember coming up.
⚠️ animal abuse, spousal abuse, mental illness portrayed negatively, murder, racism, classism, alcoholism, non consensual sexual encounters.
Quotes that stuck:
“With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.”
“When you are five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties, you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties, something strange starts to happen. It is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you are not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it.”
“The more distressing the memory, the more persistent it’s presence.”
“Age is a terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse.”
“Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?”
“Being the survivor stinks.”
“The whole thing's illusion, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what people want from us. It's what they expect.”
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is set during the 1920s/1930s prohibition and depression era. It tells the story of an orphaned Jacob Jankowski who doesn’t quite finish vet school, but finds himself a part of a traveling train circus as their resident veterinarian.
Told in a dual timeline, Jacob moves in and out of the present day as he remembers his time with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Adequately described as ‘gritty’ this story is a heartbreaking, frustrating, yet worthwhile read.
Though it’s hard to choose, brevity tends to be best, so here’s one thing I adored and one thing I didn’t.
✔️ I adored the back and forth timeline.
I am a sucker for timeline jumps. It is such a neat way to tell a story and listening to Jacob as a 90 (or 93) year old tell his story was heart wrenching. Bringing in his voice was so important, especially in these two very different portions of this life.
✖️ I was absolutely disgusted by the animal abuse.
However, this wasn’t an issue with the book. Animal abuse was prevalent in circuses and it’s always important that this is known and discussed. It was just incredibly difficult to read about.
There are loads of content and trigger warnings in this book. Here are the ones I can remember coming up.
⚠️ animal abuse, spousal abuse, mental illness portrayed negatively, murder, racism, classism, alcoholism, non consensual sexual encounters.
Quotes that stuck:
“With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.”
“When you are five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties, you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties, something strange starts to happen. It is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you are not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it.”
“The more distressing the memory, the more persistent it’s presence.”
“Age is a terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse.”
“Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?”
“Being the survivor stinks.”
“The whole thing's illusion, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what people want from us. It's what they expect.”
jnikolova's review
3.0
"Carnivale", "The Night Circus", "Joyland", "The Carnivorous Carnival", "Cirque Du Freak", the upcoming "American Horror Story: Freak Show", and also many more that I have neither read, nor watched... What's the common denominator? CIRCUSES.
Just about everyone and their grandmother has written a book about a strange circus and a hero or heroine's tale of misfortunes in a circus. This theme is much too exploited. Frankly, I am fed up with circuses, especially ones in America during the Great Depression. I had a great depression of my own, watching "Carnivale", and "Water for Elephants" brought me right back to that place.
What is the story of this book, you ask. Is there anyone left who hasn't seen the movie where dreadful Pattinson ruins yet another role? If so, let me explain.
It's the Great Depression. A boy loses his family and completely on accident jumps the train of the not-so-spectacular Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He, of course, manages to convince them to keep him, in a time when everyone is looking for a job with much less success. After that he randomly has a love-at-first-sight experience with exact woman that is completely forbidden to him. She is, in fact, married to a cruel and vicious schizophrenic who seemingly befriends our misguided hero, Jacob, but later it is revealed that August actually sees Jacob as a rival and is ready at any moment to have him thrown off the train if he but looks strange at his maaarvelous wife. So, Jacob has to fight for Marlena and for his right to be the circus vet.
With me so far?
Now, Jacob is depicted from the first three pages as a die-hard virgin and throughout the book it is his most consistent personality trait. He acts brave at some moments, then he completely chickens out, then he is cocky, after that he is a total looser.
And that's Jacob in the past. In the present, 90 or 93 three years old Jacob is telling this entire tale, and he is a completely different person. He stands up for himself much more, he is also very cranky and an actual pain in the butt. But as a result of this narration of sorts, we very well know that nothing really happened to Jacob and there is no reason whatsoever to be worried about him or even care, considering that he is alive and in his 90's.
Not to mention that the prologue to the book pretty much makes reading the rest of the story pointless because it actually shows what happens in the most crucial scene in the book. Once you know which character is who, there is really no point reading on. Unless you expect something to change in that scene. Which does not happen...
Marlena is the lovely, charming, perfect and astonishing love interest of the protagonist and the antagonist. But if you skip the pompous descriptions made by Jacob, she is quite a nothing. She lacks personality beyond the fact that she really, really, and take me seriously here, she really loves her horses. She left her family to join the circus and not to get married to a fat old guy, to instead marry a crazy old guy. O-okay. But she is fascinating and beautiful and marvelous and spectacular. Yeah?
Despite the book being about the story of young Jacob, the story which made me actually care was the one about old Jacob and his struggles with old age, his family which doesn't really care any more, and the actually amazing finale of the book. Whereas the prologue scene which I talked about already, was totally spoiled when it was repeated in the end, the really last scene had me clapping for old Jacob. He was a total asshole, in my opinion, but nobody deserves being left and forgotten by the people he loves, so I was really proud of him at the end.
As far as the writing goes, there were moments when I enjoyed the way the author tells stories and describes things, at that she is good. But the story itself was not that good. Maybe if she had a truly great idea, she could write something fantastic. Sadly, I could compare this book to a vulgar teenager, still a child but trying through false and forced vulgarity to try and look older and more mature. That's what Gruen does. She talks about sex so much that she seems to forget that our dear Jacob is still a virgin! And for a virgin guy in his twenties, he is much too unimpressed at certain moments, and only in some does he act as virgin guys usually do.
ON THE OFF-TOPIC SIDE: Please do take a look at this gif of Pattinson doing what he usually does while acting: stare. And stare some more. Have you seen The Twilight Saga: Just the Stares! IT'S 26 FUCKING MINUTES OF STARES.
I also highly recommend this: haven't laughed so much in my life.
Just about everyone and their grandmother has written a book about a strange circus and a hero or heroine's tale of misfortunes in a circus. This theme is much too exploited. Frankly, I am fed up with circuses, especially ones in America during the Great Depression. I had a great depression of my own, watching "Carnivale", and "Water for Elephants" brought me right back to that place.
What is the story of this book, you ask. Is there anyone left who hasn't seen the movie where dreadful Pattinson ruins yet another role? If so, let me explain.
It's the Great Depression. A boy loses his family and completely on accident jumps the train of the not-so-spectacular Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He, of course, manages to convince them to keep him, in a time when everyone is looking for a job with much less success. After that he randomly has a love-at-first-sight experience with exact woman that is completely forbidden to him. She is, in fact, married to a cruel and vicious schizophrenic who seemingly befriends our misguided hero, Jacob, but later it is revealed that August actually sees Jacob as a rival and is ready at any moment to have him thrown off the train if he but looks strange at his maaarvelous wife. So, Jacob has to fight for Marlena and for his right to be the circus vet.
With me so far?
Now, Jacob is depicted from the first three pages as a die-hard virgin and throughout the book it is his most consistent personality trait. He acts brave at some moments, then he completely chickens out, then he is cocky, after that he is a total looser.
And that's Jacob in the past. In the present, 90 or 93 three years old Jacob is telling this entire tale, and he is a completely different person. He stands up for himself much more, he is also very cranky and an actual pain in the butt. But as a result of this narration of sorts, we very well know that nothing really happened to Jacob and there is no reason whatsoever to be worried about him or even care, considering that he is alive and in his 90's.
Not to mention that the prologue to the book pretty much makes reading the rest of the story pointless because it actually shows what happens in the most crucial scene in the book. Once you know which character is who, there is really no point reading on. Unless you expect something to change in that scene. Which does not happen...
Marlena is the lovely, charming, perfect and astonishing love interest of the protagonist and the antagonist. But if you skip the pompous descriptions made by Jacob, she is quite a nothing. She lacks personality beyond the fact that she really, really, and take me seriously here, she really loves her horses. She left her family to join the circus and not to get married to a fat old guy, to instead marry a crazy old guy. O-okay. But she is fascinating and beautiful and marvelous and spectacular. Yeah?
Despite the book being about the story of young Jacob, the story which made me actually care was the one about old Jacob and his struggles with old age, his family which doesn't really care any more, and the actually amazing finale of the book. Whereas the prologue scene which I talked about already, was totally spoiled when it was repeated in the end, the really last scene had me clapping for old Jacob. He was a total asshole, in my opinion, but nobody deserves being left and forgotten by the people he loves, so I was really proud of him at the end.
As far as the writing goes, there were moments when I enjoyed the way the author tells stories and describes things, at that she is good. But the story itself was not that good. Maybe if she had a truly great idea, she could write something fantastic. Sadly, I could compare this book to a vulgar teenager, still a child but trying through false and forced vulgarity to try and look older and more mature. That's what Gruen does. She talks about sex so much that she seems to forget that our dear Jacob is still a virgin! And for a virgin guy in his twenties, he is much too unimpressed at certain moments, and only in some does he act as virgin guys usually do.
ON THE OFF-TOPIC SIDE: Please do take a look at this gif of Pattinson doing what he usually does while acting: stare. And stare some more. Have you seen The Twilight Saga: Just the Stares! IT'S 26 FUCKING MINUTES OF STARES.
I also highly recommend this: haven't laughed so much in my life.
ekmon's review
1.0
Only got a little way into this book. I prefer not to read books with large quantities of vulgarity or books with explicit sexual content. It was really disappointing as I think the writing without those things was very interesting.