"Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen

This book was so intriguing. "Water For Elephants" was about an old man reminiscing about his younger days of working in the circus during the time of the depression. When we go to see a live performance of any kind, we're trained to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain". This book gives us an intimate look at the "man behind the curtain", all the crap that goes on behind all the hokum.

Sara Gruen did extensive research to do the ins & outs of the circus justice, with true to life circumstances jumbled up into one story, such as a dead hippo on display in formaldehyde, Jamaica ginger paralysis, an elephant who escaped to a backyard garden patch, parading a dead fat lady through town in an elephant cage, a murdered ringmaster wrapped in tent cloth, and the list goes on.

Reading this story, i couldn't help but be reminded of Queen's "The Show Must Go On"... ♫"Another hero, another mindless crime behind the curtain in the pantomime. On & on, does anybody know what we are living for?.. Whatever happens, we leave it all to chance. Another heartache, another failed romance. Hold the phone, does anybody know what we are living for?"♫

Definitely not the cleanest book I've ever read, but I would recommend as a must read.

NEXT BOOK: "Table for Five" by Susan Wiggs (review, end of July)