Water for Elephants: A Novel

by Sara Gruen

http://www.amazon.com/Water-Elephants-Novel-Sara-Gruen/dp/1565125606/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212681505&sr=1-1


I began reading this book while on vacation at the Wilmington, NC beach over Memorial Day weekend. Got most of the way through it and stopped until I picked it up again right after 4th of July. This is a really good book and though it doesn't have a lot of action in it (most of the story takes place on a circus train and in an retirement home), it was a fun read with a good story line.

At the time I began reading this book I had my car into the shop for service. The woman who was checking me out noticed I had a book in my hand and we got to talking about it. She asked if it was any good and I said it was if you liked the circus. She then said that she didn't like circuses because she was scared of clowns and I told her this story had clowns. Then she said, 'Oh, and midgets scare me too.' I laughed and told her that this book would definitely not be for her then because, in fact, one of the supporting characters in the book is a midget clown. I believe she also said she didn't like elephants either, so this one is a three-strikes loser for her.

The book begins with an old man reminiscing about his time traveling with the circus in the depression-era after dropping out of veterinary school following the death of his parents. In the author notes, she explains that though the book is fiction, a lot of research went into traveling circuses of the time and some of the events in the book were based on historical information she gathered. Overall, it is a very interesting look behind the "big top".