Water for Elephants

Title: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Rating:4.5/5

Description:Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

My Review: This book grabbed me from the first page. You are wondering what is going on and then it skips back to the beginning leaving you to read back to those events that you know are coming. Jacob is ninety or ninety three he is not sure which but he remembers those earlier days better than he remembers yesterday and with the circus coming into town the memories consume him. The book flips back and forth between a much older Jacob and the younger Jacob  in his memories from the time of the Great Depression in 1931 but in a very easy way to follow. The story is tinged with danger throughout the entire novel.You never know what is going to happen and the characters are both colorful and some that you love to hate. Marlena is brilliant and you wonder how the book will end through out and how Jacob has come to be where he is today. And the ending is just as sweet and the story he is telling you. This is a wonderful book and one that you should most certainly read if you gt your hands on a copy. You will learn things about the circus that you may not have known and again just a great and fascinating read.
Happy Reading!!