The Second Book

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen
 

With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book.   -Bookmovement.com

 

Definitely excited for our second book choice!  Especially since the movie is coming out in April and looks pretty fantastic! (To watch the trailer:    http://www.hulu.com/watch/201524/movie-trailers-water-for-elephants)

So I believe that some of us have already read this book.  I would suggest that you pick the book that you voted for and read that and then review it for us on the blog.  We would also love to hear what you thought about this book too!  Or you can take a little reading vacation and pick up 

later on with the next book. 


As for Little Bee please let us know what you thought when/if you finish it.  Technically there is no deadline, so read on!

Here is the link to download the Itunes audiobook:  http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAudiobook?id=315593222&s=143441

And here is the link to a reading discussion guide that might get you thinking about themes that you could write about:  http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/view.php?ratings&readingGuideID=1079

 Let's set an end date of March 15th.

Just finished Little Bee. Like everyone else, I loved it but was left disappointed. This story was so gripping and the language really made the characters real, individual and unusual but I wanted the story to go on. It felt unfinished.

I don't want to spoil it for Heather because she hasn't read it yet. I'd still recommend any one read it.

Can't wait for the next book. I already read Water for Elephants so i'd be excited to ready any of the others.

Lisa