I noticed that Water for Elephants is one of the most-read books on goodreads.

It's the next book on my list to read, but I wanted to ask: Anyone read it? Why would you say it's a Must Read?

i've just finished the book and found it thoroughly enjoyable. great if you enjoy something not too heavy, with a very interesting and believable dose of history (America, 1930s), and in-depth character development (even through animals).

cheers!

I don't know if I would classify it as a must read but it was pretty enjoyable. The set-up of the story was a bit contrived, as was the end, but by the time you get to the end you are enjoying the ride enough to ignore the contrivance. It provides an interesting perspective on the old circus life and creates characters that are fun to hang out with for a bit. So, I would definitely recommend it.

Not a must-read. I enjoyed it, but it is what I would consider to be a 3 1/2 star book. I'm wishy-washy enough to wish Good Reads would invoke the half-star system. :)

I really enjoyed Water for Elephants! The descriptions of the colorful circus characters, and the slow buildup of the central romance made it a rich, pleasant story. It doesn't make my list of top books of all time, but the pace was just fast enough to make it a nice, mellow vacation read.

I would absolutely say it's a must-read. I honestly couldn't put it down. I fell in love with the main character, Jacob, and even more so with the animals. I really loved the relationships of the characters with the animals, and with each other.
It was an easy and enjoyable read, just enough drama, and in the end I was smiling and feeling good.

I highly recommend it.

I haven't read it yet, but I will be starting it this weekend, as it is my book club's choice for this month.

Since you're an author, you should read it. It's been on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists for 53 weeks or something, so it can give you an insight into what many, many readers like.

I loved it - I was enthralled from page one. It has flashbacks from a man in a retirement home to his time as a vet for a circus during the Depression. How cool is that? (And Gruen did an incredible amount of research - fascinating stuff.) Then there are vivid characters - the villian is one of those characters you love to hate - with love, intrigue and all that jazz. The ridiculously happy ending is a huge plus, as well (I'm not giving that away, it's on the cover.) It might not be high art, but it is immensely enjoyable.

Just my two cents.

Consider listening to the audiobook. It uses two different narrators, one young and one old. It really contributed to my enjoyment.

I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it. I loved the way Jacob remembered his experiences in a series of flashbacks and dreams from his room in a nursing home. I've always been fascinated by family stories and I have fond memories of my grandfather's stories. I felt a strong connection with Jacob and also with Rosie the elephant.

Maybe not a MUST-read, but definitely an enjoyable one.

Started slow, but picked when the love interest between the protagonist and the lady started to develop. Rosie the elephant was brilliant!!!!

I really enjoyed it. Interesting narrative from the "two" narrators - the young and the old version of Jacob. Good insight into the circus life, some larger than life characters but a good read nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have recommended it to a ton of friends. I thought the tapestry of characters was well fleshed out, and the story was intriguing. I loved that it took place in a Circus in the Depression-Era, which really came to life and jumped off the page. It wasn't a book that changed my life but it was a lovely story that I think you can get through quite quickly and feel satisfied at the end.

I just started it and it's awesome.

I reviewed this book with my book club and everyone loved it! Seems many of them slipped back in time to their "circus experiences".
Also, they loved the main character, Jacob, and the author's use of flashback to develop his personality and the plot of the story. For me, it's always about the characters in the novel and less about the plot and details. I actually reviewed it with a second book group composed of 70, 80 and 90 year-olds and they loved it just as much. Very informative concerning the way of life for circus people, as well as the treatment of people and animals.

I finished it. It's one of the best books ever.

This was also my book club's choice this time around. Not my favourite, but I would describe it as a good novel, nothing to change your life, just a pleasant enough way to pass a few hours.

On a side note, it must have some of the least sexy sex scenes ever. The author seems so uncomfortable that you wonder why she bothered.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show_grou...
post a comment »I agree it is not a "must read" and that it is enjoyable. I ran through it in less than three days but I have an enjoyable free read time in my commute on a train. The subject matter is light but interesting. In that same vein I learned about I topic I really knew nothing about, the circus in the 1930's.

It's on my "to-be-read" shelf, and, after reading all these glowing reports, I will move it up to the "must-be-read-soon" list. Right now, I'm reading another Jodi Picoult books, "Vanishing Acts".

Since I listen to most of my books, I concur - audio was GREAT!

One of my two favorite characters - Rosie and the old man telling the story!

I have to agree, I loved Rosie and how she pretended to be stupid. This is one of my all time favorite books now.

I really enjoyed the book. Easy to read, digestible, and let me learn about something I knew nothing about. I'm now planning a trip 30 miles south to the Ringling museum to see some of these photos from the book up close.

I agree that Jacob and Rosie were my favorite characters. Eventually, Kinko and his dog grew on me,too.

Definitely not "life-altering", but a very fun and well-written book.

It's a rollicking, surprisingly edgy ride with a great ending. Some of my favorite books have bad endings. This one pulled it off. A hard task for writers.

It's about a 23 year old virgin guy experiencing his first sexual encounters on a circus of all places! Back in the day, nonetheless! OF COURSE it'll be sexually awkward and not "sexy"! That's the point!

I LOVED it!

I loved it too. Rosie the elephant was one of my all-time favorite characters!

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I woudn't put it on my list of Great Literature, but it is genuinely good storytelling. It illuminates a life that most of us have never been exposed to but is fascinating. Because of the use of flashback, it also opens up the topic of how we treat our elderly - especially how we marginalize them and ignore what they have to offer.

As a side note, I'm a high school history teacher and I require my students to do one outside reading book per semester. It can be fiction or non-fiction with a historical setting, but other than that, the choice is theirs. Several of my students chose this book and they all liked it. So, if any of you are looking for a book to recommend to teens, this is a good choice.

I finished reading this recently and though it was okay. What I enjoyed most was learning about the Depression era circus life, and how it was apparently completely different than the romanticized versions we're used to. Jacob was also a good enough character --flawed, but noble and a good guy.

I really hated the nursing home stuff, though. It was just trite and cliche. Nearly ruined the book for me until I just started skipping those parts.

nostalgic.. circus life.. great characters

My busy summer that wasn't supposed to be busy is just winding down, and I forgot I posted this thread!

I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and reviews.

Well guess what? I've made it part way through Water for Elephants. Like Jen said, as an author it's a great way to see what people really, really like to read, since it's been on the NYT best seller list for so many weeks.

I particularly like the character of the old man. I'd imagine there are a fair number of older people, or those with parents in care facilities who have found a measure of humor, realism, and compassion from seeing the world from his perspective! ;)

Real life story

I loved the characters in this book! It hooked me from page one. I especially liked all the details describing circus life. Good, quick read!

I don't know what I am missing but I just found it to be okay... I didn't finish it yet though only read half-way.

Loved it! I was like circus? Yeah, that's going to be a dumb book... but I couldn't put it down!

Hope you enjoy it!

I'm going to dissent here...I HATED it. It totally ripped off Sophie's Choice in more ways than one.

i plowed through WFE in 2 days while on a christmas visit home a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. like so many others have said, not a *must* read, but enjoyable. i've since recommended it to one of my book clubs (they loved it) and the boy (he liked it -- which is saying a lot b/c he never likes anything i suggest when it comes to reading!).

kristin -- what did u hate about it?

SunnyD- Honestly, I thought the writing was lame, the dialog felt forced, etc. For example, Gruen has Marlene describe August in the following way: "glamorous in the way only an equestrian director can be." That quote literally made me stop reading and think - is she really serious here? It was almost laughable. I also felt that Gruen was unsuccessful in conveying the emotions necessary for the novel to really work. One newspaper reviewer of the novel described it in the following way: "barely serviceable, primary-color prose, full of sobbing, shrieking, fighting, boozing and whoring that comes off at the clip of an exaggerated Saturday-morning cartoon." I absolutely agree with that statement.

And then, a few months later I read Sophie's Choice. The parallels are just too similiar for me NOT to wonder if Gruen conveniently lifted, oh the THREE MAIN CHARACTERS as well as some details and scenes from Sophie's Choice, changed the setting and the ending...and voila - Water for Elephants. When I saw this similiarty, I was surprised those in the mainstream media haven't brought it up, because it really was striking. Honestly - it started when I watched the movie version...I thought, "I've seen this scene before." After wracking my brain for a few minutes, I realized I had actually read it in Water for Elephants. Then as I was reading the Sophie's Choice novel, the similarities between the two were almost distracting. I kept a post-it note in the back of SC to keep track...and both the front and back of the post-it was filled by the end.

I was just really disappointed in the book...so many people had liked it, and I was really looking forward to reading a "circus novel." Not to hurt anyone's feelings who really liked it, but I thought it was kind of pathetic.

wow kristin! well...i haven't read sophie's choice yet, but now i guess i have to get on that and see! ;-)

you're comment about the cartoon makes sense. i'll even admit that a couple of times while i was reading WFE, scenes from the disney cartoon movie dumbo came to mind, lol. but i felt like the exaggerations worked, in a way, to allow the reader to fully escape into the story. it may have been that i just needed to escape the holiday/family madness, but i dove right in.

off to put sophie's choice on hold at the library! :-)

I completely agree with Kristin, the book was enjoyable for just a light read, but on the whole it was predictable and in my opinion not worthy of all the praise it has gotten. However - it did have entertainment value.

i really liked this book... it really let my imagination loose, and i was sad when the book ended. I wanted more. I wanted a new "adventure"...just to stay with the book a little longer.
it wasn't one of the best books written, and by all means, not on my top 10, but i would definately recommend it

I thought this book was great. I think anyone who works or spends times with seniors should read this. It gives such insight into what it feels like when age robs you of your independence.

I read it last year and agree with those that said it was a good enough book, but not worth nearly the attention it gets

Some books get loads of attention, but they don't deserve it at all.

I really liked this book. I put off reading it because I thought that I wouldn't enjoy a book about the circus life, but I was happily surprised.

My mom really enjoyed this book and recommended it to me. I think she was most impressed that Sara Gruen wrote most of it during National Novel Writing Month. My mom attempted to write a romance novel during that month and only succeeded in writing a couple of chapters:)

That's great Kayla.

KInd of a dumb question, but I am reading this book right now. Is it on the List? I don't seem to see it, but with that many books I could be missing it.

It is not on the 1001 Book list, Lyn.

This one was a 5-star for me. I thought it was just great. Descriptions were more than enough for me to get a picture of what was going on. I can def. see this as a movie as well.

I heard that movie isn't that good.