Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - 331 pages, Audiobook - 11.5 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This gritty and compelling novel tells the story 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, drifters, 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.

I'm not a huge circus fan, so this is not a book I would have chosen on my own. However, I'm very glad it was selected in our Book to Movie Club as I enjoyed it immensely. The book, told from Jacob's point of view while he was working on the circus and years later when he is in a nursing home, transports you into the world of circus trains.