Water for Elephants

By Sara Gruen

A young man finds salvation and peril in a Depression-era circus.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 1,722,495 ratings

368 pages· 100,483 words

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Bookroo's summary

Jacob, a penniless veterinary student, stumbles into a Depression-era circus, where he cares for a menagerie and meets Marlena, a captivating equestrian, and Rosie, an untrainable elephant. Amidst the chaos, bonds of love and trust form, offering a glimmer of hope in a world of hardship. Can these unlikely allies survive the brutal realities of circus life?

From the publisher

Over 10,000,000 copies in print worldwide #1 New York Times Bestseller A Los Angeles Times Bestseller A Wall Street Journal Bestseller A Newsday Favorite Book of 2006 A USA Today Bestseller A Major Motion Picture starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz Jacob Janowski’s luck had run out–orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was the Great Depression and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. There he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but brutal animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this group of misfits was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

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