Water for Elephants

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to Cart failed.

Please try again later

Add to Wish List failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wish list failed.

Please try again later

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

Try for $0.00

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.

Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Water for Elephants

Written by: Sara Gruen

Narrated by: David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones

Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $32.37

About this listen

An atmospheric tale of life and love in a Depression-era traveling circus.

Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It's the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus' animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.

Beautifully written, with a luminous sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells of love in a world in which love's a luxury few can afford.

Coming of Age

Fiction

Genre Fiction

Historical

Historical Fiction

Literary Fiction

Romance

Elephant

What the critics say

Book Sense Book of the Year Award, Adult Fiction, 2007
Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007

" Water for Elephants resembles stealth hits like The Giant's House, by Elizabeth McCracken, or The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowd-pleasing romanticism. . . . With a showman's expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale.” ( New York Times Book Review)

"Just like a circus, the magic of the story and the writing convince you to suspend your disbelief." ( Booklist)

"Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes, and freaks who populate her book." ( Publishers Weekly)

Featured Article: 18 Award-Winning Audiobooks by Female Authors That Will Excite and Inspire You

Discover the best of the best from female authors with this list of audiobooks created by strong women voices. From historical fiction to contemporary love stories, this list has it all.

Most relevant

A beautiful story with memorable characters. very curious to see how they've adapted this for film because so much happens ! 5 stars all the way!