From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

Start date: March 1, 2022

Finish date: March 31, 2022

Discussion: MODERN / POPULAR READS

Why we're reading this: March 2022 - Modern Selection
[close] March 2022 - Modern Selection

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 228 topics — 6,116 comments total

MODERN / POPULAR READS

Girl with the Pearl Earring - SPOILER-FREE
By Renata · 17 posts · 69 views

last updated Sep 28, 2025 01:17PM

Girl with the Pearl Earring - *SPOILERS*
By spoko · 4 posts · 34 views

last updated Sep 23, 2025 12:19PM

showing 10 of 20 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Aug 03, 2013 Amber Lea rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

I don't know how to feel about this book. I don't have any complaints that I can clearly articulate. I just never felt very invested in this story. Several times I put it down and forgot all about it.

I will say the elephant, Rosie, is a great character. (Unfortunately, she comes into the story kind of late.) I love that she's just as real for the reader as any of the human characters. Perhaps she's a little too smart to be believable, but I like her.

And I love the portrayal of poverty and strugg I don't know how to feel about this book. I don't have any complaints that I can clearly articulate. I just never felt very invested in this story. Several times I put it down and forgot all about it.

I will say the elephant, Rosie, is a great character. (Unfortunately, she comes into the story kind of late.) I love that she's just as real for the reader as any of the human characters. Perhaps she's a little too smart to be believable, but I like her.

And I love the portrayal of poverty and struggle. That was probably the best thing about the book. And I adore Kinko/Walter and his dog, Queenie. He's the only other character who's in between the two worlds like Jacob is, but Jacob is invaluable with his ivy league education, and you have no doubt he has good things in store for him. Walter is stuck with no real hope for anything better, and that makes him abrasive and realistic. He's such a necessary character. If it weren't for him I probably wouldn't've bothered to finish the story.

Anyway, I went into this book with zero expectations. I knew it was popular and well-liked but I mean, so is 50 Shades of Grey. I think if I'd expected an amazing book I'd have hated it. It's really just ok.

*edit* I watched the movie because Christoph Waltz is a dreamboat and I'll watch him in anything. It wasn't too bad. They found the most adorable old man in the world to play elderly Jacob. Understandably, they cut out everything from the retirement home, which I thought was a shame. I don't know that all that stuff really worked in the book, but I appreciated it. They also made August and Big Al into the same character, which makes sense...but I kind of wish they hadn't. Those two were totally enabling each other to get away with the horrible things they did, and I would have liked to have seen that dynamic in the movie. (But there's no way they would have had time for those scenes anyway.) Anyway, the reason I'm adding this here is this: if you're curious about this book, I say watch the movie first. It will give you a pretty good idea of what you're going to get. I didn't realize there was a movie when I picked up this book. ...more

Like · see review

Sep 13, 2019 Becky rated it it was amazing

Wow, just wow! A great story of the circus and all its colorful characters in the heyday of the 30’s! What brings this story around full circle is the story of a young Jacob and his 93 year old counterpart looking back on a most fascinating well lived life from his wheelchair in an assisted living facility where the circus is about to come to town.

Like · see review

Mar 08, 2011 Franzi rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

Ein schönes Buch, vielleicht nicht überragend aber definitiv irgendwie besonders. Ich fand den Blick ins Zirkusleben total spannend, die Tiere (besonders Rosie :D) und allgemein gab es viele tolle Charaktere (denen es aber leider oft an Tiefe mangelt). Zuweilen hat mir Jacob als alter Mann noch viel besser gefallen als während der Rückblenden. Ein schönes Buch für "Zwischendurch" :) ...more

Like · see review