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.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen-368 pages

Jacob Jankowski falls on hard times after his parents unexpectedly die in a car accident in the 1930s. He joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show by accident after jumping their train. This is a story about Jacob and his time with the Benzini Brothers circus where he meets Marlena and works as a veterinarian for Uncle Al and August. Marlena is married to August who is the leader of the animal Menagerie. Jacob and Marlena quickly become star-crossed lovers, but can't act on it for fear of August and Uncle Al. Events unfold somewhat slowly early but very quickly near the end and this has a fairly surprising ending. I liked this book, although some of the things that happen are pretty sad. I would rate this 4 out 5 stars, though.

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
OverDrive Audiobook - 10 hrs., 12 min.

Three privileged, self-centered twenty-somethings spend their days getting drunk at social functions in Philadelphia while World War II rages.  Ellis and Maddie have been married for a few years, and Ellis's best friend, Hank, is always in on their shenanigans.  Ellis and Hank are generally scorned because although they look healthy, they were rejected from serving for medical reasons.  This is unforgivable in Ellis's father's eyes.

When Ellis openly embarrasses and insults his parents he and Maddie are cut off and kicked out.  Ellis and Hank decide the only way to regain Ellis's father's favor is to succeed where his father very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster.  Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic on a cargo ship where she awakens to the world around her and is forced to face the reality of her circumstances.

It's a good piece of historical fiction, and I appreciate Gruen's description of the WWII era from the view of Scottish Highlanders.  Because I don't care for stories with unlikable main characters the book dragged at times.  I'm glad I made it to the excellent ending!  One more note:  the reader is good, but not great.  I may have enjoyed it more with a different voice.