Karen Lonesome Lonesome itibaren Texas itibaren Texas

Water for Elephants grabs you from the beginning and then leisurely takes you on a very strange journey with a circus train. Oddly, the circus-coming-of-age story told by the 20-something year old Jacob was interesting but not as riveting as I'd hoped. What I really enjoyed and got quite emotional reading were the chapters told by the 90-something year-old Jacob in the nursing home. They were so personal and had so many insights into old age. I'd love to know how Gruen was able to write so eloquently and with such empathy. Anyone caring for elderly would benefit from reading Water for Elephants.

Easy, mindless reading. Jerry Springer comes to mind.

Huge disappointment. Most of the professional critics praise this compilation of short stories but most of them are boring (of course matter of taste). Author tries to shock so much, that after reading 2 stories you can expect what hides behind the corner in the others. Very predictible, very artificial. I also bought "Windup Girl" (due to many awards) but I need to take a long break to read another Bacigalupi work.