Water for Elephants

#106
Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Algonquin
Year: 2006
Genre: Fiction
350 pages

Water for Elephants was an enjoyable novel with well-written characters who inspire identification and empathy. The setting and historical circumstances seem to be reasonably well-researched, and the plot moves along nicely. I read it in one sitting, which is unusual these days. The author has said that the story references the biblical story of Jacob, but I didn't pick this up at all, and don't see it now that I've learned of her intention. If it's there, it's weak and not well-executed. Read this with Geek Love and Freaks: We Who Are Not as Others for circus saturation; read it with Ironweed for the context of the Depression's aftermath and a different peripatetic experience.