Reviews

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

madelineb's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Idk how Reese Witherspoon managed to make Marlena a compelling character but by god she did it. Book Marlena is BORING. I had a moment where I thought we were going to have an accurate portrayal of a head injury and was impressed but then Gruen had him climb and jump across six box cars on a moving train sooooooooo

2 stars because I love elephants

monalowe's review

5.0

Oh I loved this book… the ending was so unexpected and in my opinion PERFECT ending to this story!!!! I LOVED IT !

crezbi's review

emotional sad

2.0

usnebojemesa's review

5.0

finished at 15:20

db1987's review

medium-paced

3.0

rachelbernholtz's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A fantastic reflection on what could be a true story. I love how she mixes the past with the present and how the ending ties everything together. 

jackie_fitzgetald's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sam_hartwig's review

5.0

Water for elephants was such a wonderful book! I can not wait to watch the movie now and see the book come to life! I had no idea that that's what circus life was like back in the 30's, so hard and cruel. Jacob felt so real to me, it felt like I was reading a real person's biography. Marlena was beautiful and I could imagine her so clearly - sparkling & pink riding atop Rosie, the elephant's head. August and Uncle Al were so horrible & loathsome, I was so happy to know they got what they deserved. This book had a happy ending and I finished feeling like I wanted to go to the old "Ringling Circus"

ultimatekate's review against another edition

4.0

Admittedly, I was distracted while reading this book. In fact, during the course of reading it, I read "The Collector," "Equus," "Grendel" and Harry Potter. Maybe if I had concentrated solely on this book, I would have liked it more.

Anyway, it's about a man named Jacob who runs off and joins the circus, and it's set in the 1920's. The novel tells two stories: Jacob as a young man when he joins the circus and Jacob as an old man when he's reliving his circus days. Like my favorite kinds of novels, both stories eventually meet up (much like an episode of "Lost"). As someone who is scared of circuses (and the inherent clowns), I found the novel well-written and engaging. It also made me flash back to a READ magazine article we read in sixth grade about one of the biggest circus catastrophes ever: a fire at Ringling Brothers. The characters in the novel hint that the stampede that becomes the climax of the novel rivals the fire at Ringling Brothers. Honestly, I don't understand the draw of circuses, but it was interesting to read about them as an insider, so to speak.

greevianguy's review

3.0

Sweet, interesting novel. It was a little to vulgar for me at parts, and the scenes that were overly vulgar were out of place in my opinion. Still, I enjoyed it.