Water for Elephants

By John Randolph Jones, David LeDoux, Sara Gruen

Heat level

Warm

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

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Severity reflects intensity, not value — “central theme” means a warning is a core part of the book, not that the book is bad.

Depression on-pagecentral theme
Death of a partnerscene
Animal harmscene
Domestic violencescene

Water for Elephants

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