Thursday, April 29, 2010

Book twenty-two: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My expectations for this book were rather low. I didn't hear the hype about it and reading the inside cover did not excite me. A book about a 90-year old man reminiscing about his time working as a vet for the circus? This didn't really make me want to run out and grab a copy. So I checked it out from the library instead.

Gruen does a great job creating characters I was instantly emotionally attached to, and she does the same for the animals. In some cases, I ended up caring more for the animals than the people. It's filled with all sorts of tidbits about life on the road and provides an interesting look into the inner workings of a circus. It turns out, the circus folks are just one big old dysfunctional family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although the scenes with animal abuse are tough to read. 22 down, 4 to go.

2 comments:

Megan said...

Was it difficult to read about the animals? That is what has always stopped me from reading this book. I'm VERY sensitive to any animal suffering, particularly at the hands of neglectful or abusive people.

Christie said...

Yes. It was very difficult but it is a worthy read so don't let that stop you.