Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen's novel is a fun read, and I found it hard to put down. Although the characters are not very complex, I enjoyed the depiction of train circus life, which was more palatable than say, _Geek Love_. I could almost taste Cracker Jack and cotton candy, and certainly salivated over Gruen's descriptions of food in the cook-house! Gruen also had some insightful comments about aging, but really in retrospect, it may have been unfair of me to read this book right after _Anna Karenina_.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Dates: 7-10 Feb 2009