Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

A momentous read. (479 words)
by ninacolada86 - written on 09/02/09 (Very useful, 93 readings)
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It has been so long since I picked up a book and turned its pages that I had almost forgotten the love affair we had shared so many years ago. Then came the year of my first laptop and slowly the books left my shelves to be replaced by hard drives and chargers, books were scrolled through not turned and pages but a sweet and distant memory like your first kiss. Then there was a long trip to be had, no power supply available and a book randomly picked from a shelf at the library. The book was called "Water for Elephants" The title itself seems to be pretentious after all it is no simple task to bring water to an elephant as the narrator points ...

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

A Circus, a Boy, and an Elephant (661 words)
by Nat_test - written on 18/01/08, updated on 01/10/09 (Very useful, 250 readings)
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not be thrown off again, Jacob meets some folk that immediately see the value in his skills and the very next day he is given work as a labourer. Sara Gruen beautifully illustrates the appalling lifestyle suffered by some to bring the circus from town to town. Behind the glitz is an entourage of hundreds who constantly slave for little pay and live in cramped conditions. Gruen spent a long time researching this book and this is evident in the way she created a believable tiered community within the circus environment. At the bottom are the stragglers who do the mucky jobs and the hierarchy then extends to cooks and trainers, with the talented acrobats and dancers ...