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Water for elephants : a novel
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Water for elephants : a novel

Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Chapel Hill, N.C. : Algonquin Books, ©2006.
Edition/Format:   Book : Fiction : English : 1st edView all editions and formats
Summary:
A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring  Read more...
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Details

Genre/Form: Love stories
Historical fiction
Fiction
Additional Physical Format: Online version:
Gruen, Sara.
Water for elephants.
Chapel Hill, N.C. : Algonquin Books, c2006
(OCoLC)607500393
Material Type: Fiction
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Sara Gruen
ISBN: 9781565125605 1565125606 1565124995 9781565124998 1442066075 9781442066076
OCLC Number: 61362217
Description: 335 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Responsibility: Sara Gruen.

Abstract:

A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.--From publisher description.
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WorldCat User Reviews (3)

Good except the ending

by standish (WorldCat user published 2011-04-08) Fair Permalink

I really enjoyed this story until the very end. I want to be very careful not to spoil, so I'll leave it at that. This was the best of Ms. Gruen's offerings and I recommend this for adults and children 14 and up. Very well researched topic and quite believable.

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Water for elephants

by judo (WorldCat user published 2006-09-13) Very Good Permalink
It's funny. It's sad. He's 91 (or maybe 93) and in a nursing home. He's grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. But not as grumpy as the others living there, so he thinks. He's young, and getting a job in a circus during the Depression. Life is hard, the living is hard, the working is hard, the loving is hard. In the...
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Debut by Gruen is a Winner

by saxton (WorldCat user published 2006-09-29) Excellent Permalink
Sometimes you pick up a book just because the title grabs you. This was the case with Water for Elephants. Told in flashbacks by 90, or perhaps 93 year old, Jacob Jankowski, nursing home resident, this debut by Gruen is a keeper and one you'll want to share with others. Young Jacob is studying to be...
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