Water for Elephants: A Novel

Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants
“Atmospheric, gritty and compelling”, this is a superb novel which delves into the fascinating world of the 1930s travelling circus. The author reveals at the end that many of the events in her story are anecdotes from the travelling circuses, and probably (though you can never be sure) actually happened. This includes a funeral where the recently deceased fat lady is paraded through town in the hippo’s tank, to the wails and shrieks of the obviously distraught circus performers, just ahead of a packed show. The story has a huge emotional range, at times hilarious; it is also sad, shocking and moving. Water for Elephants has received numerous awards and accolades and deservedly so. It's hard to put down and utterly engrossing.