Water for Elephants: A Novel

Not a bad read, but I found the storyline predictable.

Amazingly written. Enthralling. Left me sitting and listening wanting to know what would happen instead of doing things like I usually do while listening to my books like usually. Such a good story, I cried. Recommend to others 100%.

The book and the film were stunning.

I spent most of this book wondering why Gruen chose to intersperse her primary story of a young man who found himself thrust into the circus life in 1931 with the musings of that same man at the age of 93. The story of how Jacob came to be in the circus and what happened to him there seemed like enough to me, and Jacob's aged voice seemed unnecessary. At the end of the book, though, I realized why she gave us both perspectives, and could hardly argue with her narrative device, as the closure it provides works so well.

Our May book club selection. I found the first half pretty boring despite of or because of how beginning spoiled the end, but I enjoyed the end a little more. Still, it was a little predictable, and didn't have a lot of deeper literary value.

It's interesting though that a lot of research went into the book to make both the experience of working on a circus and the actual elephant realistic. I respect that.

I also agree with my dad that the book could have used "more elephant."