Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants Audiobook

Hi, are you looking for Water for Elephants audiobook? If yes, you are in the right place! ✅ scroll down to Audio player section bellow, you will find the audio of this book. Right below are top 5 reviews and comments from audiences for this book. Hope you love it!!!.

Review #1

Water for Elephants audiobook free

Note on Kindle version: A number of minor glitches: Typos in some of the latter chapters and the author’s note appeared twice; The first was joined to the last sentence, unseparated by any spacing (this one’s pretty annoying, in fact). Other than that, reads beautifully, the images in between chapters appeared fine and crisp, dictionary functions well.

Water for Elephants is one of those big, entertaining read that is packed with action and wonderful details, and, of course, a love story. From the first few pages there you get a clear sense that the story is just tailor made for the movies. The structure of the narration, the intricate period details as well as the classic twists and turn of the plot makes you feel like you are, quite literally, reading a movie. I could even hear faint soundtrack music in the background as I flipped through the pages!

Jacob Jankowski, Ivy League vet science student, found himself on the road after his life is turned upside down by a freak accident. He made a fateful jump on a passing train, which turned out to a travelling circus. Soon after, he finds himself employed as the circus vet and falls head over heels for the star of the troupe, Marlena, who just happened to be the wife of the schizophrenic head of the menagerie. Then one day, an elephant joins the troupe and everything started to unravel.

The love story itself is filled with cliches. Young man falls in love with a woman out of his reach, thinks his love in unrequited but can’t help to yearn for her and therefore continues to woe her. And just when he thought his chances are gone, she confesses that the feeling’s mutual. Aha, what about the evil, schizo husband? Well, they go through heaven and hell to escape him and that’s basically it. The love story.

And so it’s not a surprise that the characters are not of great depth. Jacob is the naive, testosterone-bursting young fella who knows what or who he wants but doesn’t have a clue how to get it. And is showered with luck and good friends to support him. Marlena, is the charming damsel in distress and her husband the wicked yet brilliant villain.

But all those flaws, as great as they seem, are overridden by Gruen’s superbly paced and gripping storytelling of a magical world of a bygone era. The world of the travelling circus in the 1930s she described just sucks you in. The lack of depth of the human character is replaced by the depth of character of their animal counterparts. Rex and Leo, the lions, Bobo the chimp and Rosie the Elephant. The story just came alive with all those great period details.

Also, despite of the predictable outcome of the love story, it is the structure of the narration that keeps you glued until the last page. Gruen zooms back and forth between Jacob’s old self, a miserable 93 yo in a nursing home, wifeless and seen as a mere duty to his family and his young self. The way old Jacob yearns for life is all too familiar and is echoed in the young Jacob’s lust for life. Ultimately, you want to know what happens to both Jacobs: Will the young Jacob win his love, and will the old Jacob regains his peace of mind?

Finally, this is not high literature. Like a circus show, Water for Elephants is entertaining, exhillirating, memorable, beautiful and therefore makes a great holiday read. Recommended.

Review #2

Water for Elephants audiobook Series

I won’t try to tell you what this book is about….there are many other reviews here that can do that much better than I can….I just want to let you know how it made me feel.
I had the miraculous privilege of growing up with all of our “ole folk”. Both sets of my great-grandparents lived well into their 90’s. For anyone who had this kind of wonder in their lives, you know what a blessing that was….and for those who didn’t…..well my heart aches for your not knowing what you missed. Watching and listening to; in particular, my Grand-dad E. was both heart breaking and fabulous! His mind was sharp and exact till the end…even though sometimes his physical self didn’t follow suit the way he thought it should. Even with all of the frustration that came with getting older and losing control of parts of his life, he always had advice to give and stories to tell. I would stay up at the barn with him all through the summer days, helping him work on his projects while he explained to me how to tell when a snake was venomous or showing me how to brush the horses out at the end of the day, because no matter how tired you where…they had worked harder. I am filled with memories of sitting and listening to him telling tales of when he was in his 20’s and 30’s and what they all did to get by during the depression. He also made sure I knew how wonderful it was to get sit out in the field you’d been working in all day and eat your fill of the melons that were being harvested. Reading this book was like sitting in that barn all of those years ago listening to this man that I love so much, tell me about a world that we can’t even imagine while he showed me the right way to do things in the world that I lived in now.
Reading this book was like spending those summers with my Grand-dad. Sara Gruen made me feel the train swaying as it ran through the night and let me smell the smell of the animals as they stood in the heat of the day waiting to be tended to. She let me cry over the hardship of the lives that these poor men and women lived then let me feel the excitement of hearing the music start up for the shows. She had my stomach aching for want of a bite to eat…to then have my mouth water when the flag finally went up over the cook tent. Of all of the books that I’ve ever read, Water for Elephants, ranks high up in the ones that made me forget myself and drift into the world that had been put down in the pages.
While pregnant with my oldest son, I helped care for my Grand-dad and as he had been an enthusiastic reader most of his life…when his eye sight began to fail I read to him. I wish I’d had this book to read to him. He would have been as lost to it’s wonder as I have been these last two day..
Mrs. Gruen….amazing. Simply amazing.

Review #3

Audiobook Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This book had me gripped from the first page. It is brilliantly written and so descriptive that you really ‘live’ the book, rather than just reading it. It is gritty and a true depiction of circus life, warts and all. In places exciting and in others desperately sad and uncomfortable to read, but always you are compelled to keep turning the pages. The author must have done so much research into the background of circus life, and the characters, some of whom you love, and others whom you loathe, are cleverly drawn. I was, for the first time in years, saddened to come to the end of this book. One of the clever aspects of it is the way it is told through the eyes of Jacob as an old man, and also flits between that and events as they happen. Cannot recommend this book enough.

Review #4

Audio Water for Elephants narrated by David LeDoux

Some say don’t judge a book by its cover and others say don’t judge a film by the book. I chose not to take heed of that advice. I watched the film/movie titled ‘Water for elephants’ before reading the book. In fact it was because of watching the movie that I was induced to read the book. Both were an adventurous experience. Sara Gruen is the name of the writer. Her style of writing is brilliant. The collection of words have recreated a living circus of a bygone era. The story begins when a nonagenarian named Jacob Jankowski reminisces. He remembers his time spent working for a 1930s American travelling circus. When the young Jacob joins the circus he soon finds his fledgling veterinary skills put to the test. The horse belonging to the wife of the circus owner becomes terminally ill. Jacob makes the decision to put the animal out of its misery. Since the horse was the star attraction the circus is now in danger of loosing its popularity. Fate steps in when an elephant is acquired as a substitute. Unfortunately the animal fails to respond to any verbal instruction. Only the violent use of a bull hook persuades it to obey. Fortunately the situation changes when Jacob discovers the animal is familiar with the Polish language. The circus now enjoys a new found public adulation. Sadly the enjoyment is short lived. It is said that elephants don’t forget. For me ‘Water for elephants’ is a story I won’t forget!

Review #5

Free audio Water for Elephants – in the audio player below

I have to say this is not the kind of book I would usually pick up for myself – it mostly sounded like a romance, and that’s just not my kind of thing. Stacie picked it for me for our Random Reads feature – and that’s why I love doing this feature, so I can try things out of my comfort zone.

I tried to go in with an open mind, but my head just kept providing images of the film with Twilight guy and Bridget Jones (I’ve not watched it, and I don’t think I will after reading the book).

There were two things that I really liked about this book. One was the beginning, and how it influenced the way I read the book and thought about the characters. I can’t say too much without spoiling it, but it was very clever.

I also really liked the bits in between the main storyline, where we see Jacob as an old man in a nursing home. This is just a personal point for me, but I found it really sad. I have a grandmother who livs with me and a nan who lives in a home and they both have varying stages of dementia. This book let me imagine things from their point of view, getting frustrated when you forget things you know you should remember, getting confused over time and over your words. It was a bit painful to read to be honest, but in a way I could appreciate.

I think the main downfall for me on this book was that I just didn’t feel the connection between the main couple (Jacob and Marlene). It was a bit insta-love for me: they both just saw each other and fell in love and I don’t buy it. Even when they were together, I just didn’t see it, and as a lot of their actions – towards the end especially – revolved around that love for each other, it just didn’t make sense to me.

Marlene was also a disappointment to me. The other characters in the book felt so well rounded and I completely believed in them, but she felt a little hollow to me. It felt like she was just there for Jacob to fall in love with – I didn’t get much character from her. A big bugbear (is that really a saying?! It looks weird…) was the fact that the two bits where she spilled her heart out and talked about her past and relationship problems, were narrated by Jacob, rather than us hearing it from her, which spoke volumes to me.

I think her flaws were more obvious because Jacob was such a brilliant character. Again, I loved him as the old man, where he was witty and grouchy and loveable in equal measures.

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