“In your thirties something strange starts to happen. It’s a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I’m — you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you’re not. You’re thirty-five. And then you’re bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it’s decades before you admit it.” – 4/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: senior homes, old memories, difficult routines, inexperienced vets, and of course, water for elephants.

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.

I wasn’t even planning on reading this book anytime soon, but one day I saw it in my TBR and decided to give it a go!

I read this randomly near the end of the year 2023… and I just can’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t know the story or anything about it before picking it up, so I was completely in the dark – in the end, I ended up giving it a 4-star rating! It was a fascinating and well-made story. I have to say I found the animal abuse scenes disturbing and upsetting to read, but I get why they were important to the story. 

I’m not sure if this was popular when it came out, but if it wasn’t, this deserves all the hype! It was a very heartbreaking read, but there is something very special about this book that has stuck with me. 

Also, a few weeks after finishing the book, the movie version was on TV and I ended up seeing it! If you saw the movie, I would say that you don’t necessarily need to read the book because I thought they did a good job adapting the story to the big screen. But of course, there’s always something that is lost so if you like the story, I would say to read the book anyway!