Water for Elephants: A Novel

I usually wait to read popular bestsellers to see if the writing quality holds up after the marketing's died down. But I picked this one up on the recommendation of a sibling's book club and devoured it on a long plane flight. I would never expect to be so engrossed in a theme of misfit (sometimes repulsive) circus rowdies and second-hand animal acts, but Gruen's writing style compelled me right into the narrative and once there, I had to keep reading to solve the mystery of what happened with the characters and why I cared! My only complaint with the way the story is resolved is that Gruen tried to do too much with biblical metaphors and clever double entendres. The characters as written hold enough interest and tell a significant enough story without leaning on outside references. Overall, though, this a book that deserves the attention it's received.

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen is a well written, depression-era book, that most readers ages 15-95 could read and enjoy even if you think this isn't the typical type of book you would read.
This book tells two stories simultaneously as a 93 yr. old crumudgeon embittered by his surroundings in a retirement home recollects his life as he travelled with a second-rate circus while falling in love with a married woman.
I probably would have never read this book had it not been for a family book club (Isn't that why you have them), however I'm sure glad I did, I really did enjoy this read and found the pages turned much quicker than I anticipated.
I always am interested to see how an author can write in the point-of-view pf the opposite sex and I thought it was executed wonderfully. Also, the terminology that was used was very specific to the time and to how the circus-folk spoke at the time. One could tell Gruen definately did her homework.
If there is any drawback it would be the end to one of the stories (I'm not going to say which one or how it ends don't worry). I thought it ended kind of sappy and a little unbeleivable for a story that seems very factual.
Bottom line, four stars. I am very stingy with my stars, so please read and enjoy.

A friend raved about this book so I purchased it. It is a very good read

I loved every moment of reading this book with the exception of the last 5 pages or so. The ending, in my opinion, was forced, rushed, incredible, and slightly ridiculous. To have this wonderful, beautifully written story end in such a way really did the story an injustice. I still recommend reading it, because it was a beautiful story, and was fantastically written, but the ending left so much to be desired.

From the very first paragraph, this author grabs our attention, and awakens every sense...touch, smells, descriptions that have us see every nuance of the scene before us, as if we were standing next to the hero. Besides, she surprises us with unexpected descriptions that are raw, real and gutsy. For eg., I left there "stiff all over."
Wonderful reading, I need to go to bed earlier so I can read more of this wonderful book, before sleep o'ertakes me.