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Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.
The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan
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Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 5332086-n
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERNOW A FILM STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON AND ROBERT PATTINSON'Great story, loads of fun; hard to put down.' STEPHEN KINGThe Great Depression, 1929. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and utterly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits in the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth: a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive by making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student now unable to finish his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. He meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, 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. Illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds, in a world in which love is a luxury few can afford. The gritty, compelling international bestselling novel of star-crossed lovers and circus life, set in Depression-era USA. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780340962725
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780340962725
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780340962725-GDR
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. The gritty, compelling international bestselling novel of star-crossed lovers and circus life, set in Depression-era USA. Seller Inventory # B9780340962725
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 448 pages. 7.80x5.00x1.18 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0340962720
Book Description Condition: New. The gritty, compelling international bestselling novel of star-crossed lovers and circus life, set in Depression-era USA. Num Pages: 448 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 129 x 29. Weight in Grams: 310. . 2008. 1st Edition Pbk. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780340962725
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Book Description Condition: New. The gritty, compelling international bestselling novel of star-crossed lovers and circus life, set in Depression-era USA. Num Pages: 448 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 129 x 29. Weight in Grams: 310. . 2008. 1st Edition Pbk. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780340962725
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6666-HCE-9780340962725