From the Bookshelf of 100+ Books in 2025

Water for Elephants
by
Start date
August 18, 2010
Finish date
August 20, 2010

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What Members Thought

Dolly
Wow! I was bowled over by this story. I am not a fan of circuses and I wasn't sure what to expect from this story. But I kept seeing it over and over on the Goodreads site and I figured I'd move it up on my to-read list. I held onto this book for over a year before I finally cracked the cover, but once I started it I couldn't stop. I was fully immersed in the story and sad when I finally finished it, because of course, I wanted more. It was full of drama and suspense, humor and oddities that cou ...more
Amber
Aug 21, 2008 rated it it was ok
Slight Spoilers:

Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants tells the story of Jacob, an Ivy-League trained veterinarian who, after family tragedy, finds himself aboard a traveling circus. During his journey, he encounters a really interesting group of friends and enemies.

Gruen's depiction of circus life in the 1930's is done so well that some scenes involving murder, animal abuse, horrible leaving conditions are unsettling at the least.

In the middle of the rough human and animal conditions, Gruen does o
...more
Laura
Mar 18, 2009 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2009-reads
After reading Geek Love, I didn't ever want to read another book about the circus again.
An old friend basically forced me to read this book. I must have put the book down 100 times in the first 10 pages. I'm so glad I stuck with it. I loved this book.

It was so visual - and not in a circus freak kind of way. The ickiness factor was very very low.
...more
Carol
Jan 04, 2009 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Loved it. Very interesting story and creative.
Carmen
Jun 20, 2008 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: popular-fiction
This book was quite unusual. The only thing I can say is that it reminded me a bit of Max and Moritz.
Dana
May 05, 2008 rated it really liked it
Laura
May 14, 2008 marked it as to-read
Jennifer
May 16, 2008 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Sabrina Poole
May 25, 2008 rated it really liked it
A
May 26, 2008 marked it as to-read
Stephanie
Jun 01, 2008 rated it really liked it
Suzanne
Jun 09, 2008 rated it really liked it
Nola Tillman
Apr 13, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Stephen
Jun 26, 2008 rated it really liked it
Bill Florio
Sep 14, 2008 rated it liked it
Shelves: fiction, audible
Melanie
Sep 25, 2008 rated it liked it
Kayleen
Jan 29, 2019 rated it really liked it
Jessica
Nov 23, 2008 rated it really liked it
Rachel
Jan 16, 2009 rated it really liked it
Ramona
Feb 19, 2009 rated it really liked it
Jennie
Mar 07, 2009 marked it as to-read
Shelves: nook-books
mae
Jun 18, 2009 marked it as to-read
Kerissa
Jul 18, 2009 rated it really liked it
Wendi Matheny
Sep 11, 2009 rated it it was ok
Megan
Sep 26, 2009 rated it really liked it
Gaijinmama
Oct 25, 2009 marked it as to-read
Shelves: bees
Lori
Dec 14, 2009 rated it liked it
Meg
Jan 16, 2010 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2010-books