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Monday, May 16, 2011

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

First published in the US and Australia in 2006
PaperBack : 394 pages
ISBN : 978 - 1 - 74175 - 295 - 3

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate circus struggling to survive.

A veterinary student, who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrienne who is married to August, a charismatic but violently unpredictable animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems unmanageable until he discovers an unusual way to reach her.

Water for Elephants is a story that has it all - warmth, humor, poignancy and passion. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin. It is a novel that will win your heart.
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I have to agree with this last statement, this book DID win my heart from the first few pages. I loved the way that the story flicks between the present day and the past, with Jacob remembering his time in the circus and his first stirrings of love for Marlena.

I think the story encompasses alot of different issues that we all come across in our daily lives, obviously not in the circus confines, but I think that everyone would find it easy to relate to so many of the situations that Jacob and the other performers face on a daily basis.

The love story - I enjoyed watching that grow, and right up to the end, you could still feel the love bouncing off the pages, reading from Jacob's point of view.

For me, I cannot wait to see this movie - love the story in print, and can only hope that it transfers to the screen with the same intensity of love, passion, pain and experiences.

RATING - 9/10

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