Friday Recommends #2

I can't believe it's Friday again already! These days are just flying by at the moment!
And as it's Friday, this also means that it's time for Friday Recommends. I thought for this week I would choose a book that I've read fairly recently, that will definitely be going down as one of my top 10 favourites that I've read this year! I implore you all to read it!


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Waterstone's synopsis:
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits - the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth - a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student who almost earned his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.

When I first read the synopsis for this novel, I considered trying it, but was a little sceptical that a novel set in the circus would be able to hold my attention for over 400 pages. It took me a couple of months to decide to go for it, so I got it for my eReader and read it between studying for my end of year university exams, and I'm so thrilled that I went for it! Water for Elephants is a truly passionate love story set against a circus background that showcases an image not a life of wonder and glamour that the circus tries to project, but of horror and hardship. But this perspective of circus life does not detract from the love story between Jacob and Marlena, but rather makes it all the more spectacular and heart-warming.

Jacob is a truly inspiring character - he overcomes all hurdles against him, despite the odds he faces, including the death of both his parents, the loss of his family home, and the abuse and threat he discovers once he finds himself with the circus. Marlena's character is no less inspiring though; she is a wonderfully loyal character, and although obviously unhappy in her marriage to the sometimes malicious and unpredictable August, she still manages to find a great deal of love in her heart for the others around her.

My favourite character however, is Rosie, the Elephant. Although as an animal she doesn't speak, and we don't understand her like we can understand the human characters, she definitely has a fantastic personality, which shines through in her actions, particularly towards the end of the novel. It is easy to forget that she is an animal, and definitely easy to fall in love with her!
This book has made such an impression on me, and it will stay with me for a long time to come! I'm almost certain that it would stick with anyone who reads it.



If you are considering watching the film, I implore you to read the novel first. The film alters the story a little too much for my liking, and you will want the full impact of the proper story before you watch the edited version.