Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I’m probably the last person to read this book but I gave it to my sister for her birthday and she read it in only a few days and then lent it to me so I figured I’d better read it!

Jacob Jankowski is just finishing up his ivy league veterinary degree when he receives some bad news that causes him to walk away from his life and join a travelling circus. The circus crew is firmly divided into performers and others, with performers being the upper class. As Jacob is a vet he’s not technically a performer but since he is ivy league educated and in a vet, he seems to be able to bridge the gap. He soon is befriended by the beautiful Marlena and her husband August, the animal trainer, who is a cruel, abusive man. Of course, Jacob and Marlena fall in love and August can’t help but notice. To make matters worse the circus obtains a seemingly untrainable elephant.

I really liked the story, it flowed really well and pulled me right along with it. It wasn’t unputdownable (I know, not a word) but almost. The story is definitely original and Gruen did a lot of research and even based some of the plot lines on true stories. I really can’t wait to see the movie (even though the book is always better, am I right?) but I do have one complaint. And it’s the same problem I had with Ape House. I felt the ending was a little rushed. I didn’t love the ending either but that I could have dealt with. I just seemed like she kind of got bored of the book or lost steam and just decided to finish it up as quickly as she could. Other than that, though the novel was definitely enjoyable and worth reading.