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  • Awesome! Very, very unique & truly enjoyable.
    Love the colorful atmosphere and characters of the circus.

    

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• ― Nini said on Nov 16, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • nice twists and the present parts touch me the most. would recommend this!

    

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• ― Vickywt said on Mar 28, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Exotic Though Domestic

  • A very romantic and adventurous story: a Cornell Veterinary student was struck with family disaster. His parents were involved in a car accident and left him to be penniless. He jumped on a circus train with desperation, which later became an integral part of his life.

    

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• ― artie said on Mar 14, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • How do I love this book? Let me count the ways...

  • Two stories are told simultaneously: Jacob Jankowski, the nonagenarian trying to survive the indignities of a nursing home, and young Jacob Jankowski, who found himself hopping aboard a circus train during the Great Depression. Early in the novel I fell in love with this character. By the end it was ... Continue

    Two stories are told simultaneously: Jacob Jankowski, the nonagenarian trying to survive the indignities of a nursing home, and young Jacob Jankowski, who found himself hopping aboard a circus train during the Great Depression. Early in the novel I fell in love with this character. By the end it was hard to say who I loved more, Jacob Jankowski or the elephant he tended! For readers who can relate to the Great Depression era in any way, parents, grandparents, etc. this is a wonderful book. Thank you to my friend Bibliophile who recommended it to me!

    

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• ― Marion the librarian said on Jan 17, 2009 about the Paperback edition| 1 feedback| 1 feedback

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  • Wow!

  • I loved this book. The character of Jacob is so real and so believable. The background of the 1930's train circus is really interesting. I was so caught up in Jacob's past that when it switches to the present I could not wait for it to flip back. Completely involving as a story - highly recommen ... Continue

    I loved this book. The character of Jacob is so real and so believable. The background of the 1930's train circus is really interesting. I was so caught up in Jacob's past that when it switches to the present I could not wait for it to flip back. Completely involving as a story - highly recommend.

    

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• ― Bibliophile (jjordan) said on Dec 10, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Brilliantly written! The author made the characters come to life so well, I almost felt like I was there watching the story unfold. Definitely a must read. The ending was PERFECT!

    

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• ― Miraclesmommadesigns said on Sep 29, 2008 | Add your feedback

An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.

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.

Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.

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