**Not Recommended** Water For Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars




Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.



(Let me explain that the reason I read this book was because of the upcoming movie and more specifically the actor in the movie.)



          This is not my typical book to read due to the fact that it has animals in it. Animals always seem to be the victim of a tragic accident or inhumane act by a villain in books and movies and they makes me feel sad. I read to feel happy and be entertained. This book was no exception, the animals were abused throughout and the language was atrocious. I don't understand why authors choose to use crass language as I feel it "dumbs down" the feat of writing a book.
           The romance was a side line in the story and and was not explicit.  The heroine being married while "getting to know" the hero left a bad taste in my mouth regardless of her reasons for being married.  While this was a very interesting story I cannot recommend this book due to it's low moral characters, horrendous language and animal abuse.