Review: Water For Elephants

I might be the last book lover in the entire world to read Sara Gruen's novel Water For Elephants.  The truth is, it sat on my bookshelf for over a year before I finally picked it up.  (Yes, there is a trend here.  I'm trying to finish all the unread books on my shelf before purchasing any more - it's like a kind of self-inflicted book buying rehab).   

Water For Elephants is set during the Great Depression, and tells of a young veterinarian named Jacob who aimlessly runs off to join the circus after discovering his parents have been killed in a car accident.  The story of his experience with The Bezini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth is mesmerizing, full of sideshow freaks and exotic animals, seedy ringmasters and dramatic fist fights.  The beginning of each chapter features a photo from a Depression-era circus, which further enhances the overall effect of the novel.  The story centres around the show's purchase of an Elephant named Rosie, and Jacob's romance with Marlena, circus performer and wife of the dangerously unpredictable animal trainer, August.  Every so often it shifts to the present day, when Jacob is old man living in a nursing home.

While it's certainly not a children's book, parts of Water For Elephants reminded me of something I would have read as a child - and I mean that in the best possible way.  Rosie the elephant doesn't exactly talk, but she smiles, cries, and forms relationships with those around her.  It is also a book that begs to be read in one sitting (which would be nearly impossible unless you had nothing else to do that day or were a very fast reader).  In essence, it is a page-turner without being pulp (not that there's anything wrong with pulp) and it's hard to imagine anyone not liking this novel.  I for one was a little bit sad when I finished it.