Water for Elephants in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Dec 27, 2007 Rachel rated it did not like it

* * REVIEW CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS * *

I really wanted to like this book. I think my low opinion is partially my fault, because I drove into the story with high expectations due to rave reviews. I need to learn not to do that.

The beginning of this novel was excellent. A Ivy League dropout, who formerly studied to be a vet, runs away and joins the circus. The time period? The Depression and Prohibition America - a historical era of uncertainty and chaos. I was looking for an intriguing tale of a * * REVIEW CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS * *

I really wanted to like this book. I think my low opinion is partially my fault, because I drove into the story with high expectations due to rave reviews. I need to learn not to do that.

The beginning of this novel was excellent. A Ivy League dropout, who formerly studied to be a vet, runs away and joins the circus. The time period? The Depression and Prohibition America - a historical era of uncertainty and chaos. I was looking for an intriguing tale of a college youth thrust into an unfamiliar world, along with a dose of touching animal stories. What I got was a romance. Pure and simple.

A major issue in this novel is the characterization. The characters, with the exception of Walter (aka Kinko) and his dear Queenie, were flat and predictable. Marlena and August bothered me the most - Marlena being beautiful and kind and boring, and August being a cruel husband due to his mental illness. Besides the hackneyed stereotype of the mentally ill being violent, August's schizophrenia appeared to be a plot device to bring Jacob and Marlena together without making them look like bad people for cheating. I didn't buy it for half a second. I think the affair would've been much more interesting if August was...well, basically a normal husband who was maybe a little too obsessed with his own accomplishments.

The romance between Jacob and Marlena made me yawn. While Jacob was a fairly developed character, Marlena was the epitome of a side-female love interest: gorgeous with little beneath the surface. Barbara, the "cooch girl", had more depth than her. If Marlena were developed further (and if she had a flaw or two), I could buy their love story. And hey, maybe one day I'll appreciate where the characters ended up. Today is not that day. On a similar note, I've heard some people complain about the sex scenes, and while the descriptions are a bit odd, I had no problem with there being sex in the book. The setting is a circus, there is booze everywhere, and sex is gonna happen.

Again - I think I went into this novel with high expectations and if I'm getting the wrong idea or whatever, that's my own doing. I'll probably pick it up again in the future to see if I think differently then. ...more

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Jul 15, 2008 Nicole rated it really liked it

Good, but slightly predictable.

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Jun 28, 2009 Agatha Donkar Lund rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009, fiction

I loved this story -- as predictable as it was -- and yet somehow hated the ending. I felt like ... I felt like it wasn't set up to have a happy ending, and yet it got one. I would have far preferred -- and thought it would have been far truer to the overall story -- if the ending had been a little bittersweet instead of saccharine. ...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Missy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nook-books, 2011-reads, fiction, historical-fiction, favorites

I thoroughly enjoyed Water for Elephants. I found myself thinking about the story and the characters throughout my day and was just tickled to get to sit down and dive back into the circus world every night. The love triangle, the animals, the circus life made this a very memorable novel. I definitely recommend it.

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Feb 23, 2010 Jody Rowan rated it liked it

Kept my interest but didn't really like it until the very end. ...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Jennifer rated it really liked it

This book just sucked me right in - great story, and great characters. I'd love to give it 5 stars, but there was just too much animal abuse/neglect. I appreciate that it's historically accurate and all, but it still bothered me. ...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Meg rated it it was amazing

Ok so I gave this book 4 stars originally but then I decided it really deserves all 5 stars because I am still thinking about it a day later. I really loved the characters!

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Feb 08, 2008 Hilary rated it it was amazing

Loved it! The best book I've read in quite a long time. I thought it would be a book entirely about the circus, but there was much more to it. ...more

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