Questions About Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (28)

seen this book around at sales a lot..finally picked it up.Is it primarily written for a female audience or will i like it

Laura Shields why would you even assume it was written for either or

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200 pages into the book, and the characters still feel remote. Is the book any good at all?

Tracy Valentine Currently reading it, and I have to say no. The animal abuse is horrific and utterly disgusting. Yet Sara Gruen seems to LOVE it, because she lingers …moreCurrently reading it, and I have to say no. The animal abuse is horrific and utterly disgusting. Yet Sara Gruen seems to LOVE it, because she lingers on those scenes for pages at a time. Struggling through this book full of horrible abuse and one-dimensional cardboard cutout characters has made me dislike her not only as a writer, but as a person. (less)

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I can't abide animal violence. I understand that the elephants are brutally beaten. I also understand that Rosie the Elephant lives on and kills her tormentor by accident. But: Can does the book have the kind of animal violence from which an animal lover like myself cannot recover? In other words, is the violence graphic and drawn out, and is the ending satisfying enough to justify the violence?

Karen Hobbs did we read the same book? rosie's handler didnt die by accident. i thought that had been made very very clear. pretty satisfying for me…moredid we read the same book? rosie's handler didnt die by accident. i thought that had been made very very clear. pretty satisfying for me(less)

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I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this but is the 'redlighting' mentioned in this book something that happened in real life travelling circuses?

Sarah Feliciano Found this. https://www.quora.com/Did-circus-trai...

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Just finished this book and was enthralled from start to finish.It is intricately written,with interesting and believable characters showing the many sides of humanity.i feel I know about a whole other,bygone way of life now.Do other readers agree?

Millie Agreed! To me, it was so well researched that I actually had to go and do some sleuthing myself to uncover some of the circus lingo. I really like tha…moreAgreed! To me, it was so well researched that I actually had to go and do some sleuthing myself to uncover some of the circus lingo. I really like that it was told from a male's perspective too. I really want to find more books like this. Gruen did an amzing job of showing a blip in time and still capturing its beauty, glamor, and corruption.(less)

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