Sara Gruen's novel Water for Elephants is about romance, and the circus, though not necessarily about the romance of the circus. I thought it was a nice, quick Summer read. Fair warning: don't read this book if you dislike happy endings.
Here are some semi-random circus & carnival links:
1. Ringling, Montana (near Bozeman) was named after one of the famous Ringling Brothers.
2. Memoirs of a Sword Swallower is my favorite book about life in a carnival sideshow.
3. The Ringling Museum is worth a visit if you're ever near Sarasota FL. (I visited the museum during Spring Break many years ago.)
4. Circus Peanuts - a classic from The Straight Dope. (Bonus: kraut juice.)
5. The movie Freaks has a pretty scary ending (I have the DVD).
3 comments:
Thanks for the review. I've held this book in my hand at least 3-4 times and put it back on the shelf every time because I couldn't get a sense of its worthiness. Now, I'm willing to take a chance on it - I like happy endings.
I've just finished reading this book and found so much more in it than I imagined, much more than a nice summer read. But, I suppose we all bring a lifetime of experiences and beliefs to each and every book we read, so an elephant named Rosie might mean more to me than someone else. Thanks again for the review. Keep 'em coming.
I enjoyed it too - it brought together a lot of my previous reading & experiences with circuses / carnivals.
I rode a young elephant once - about 20+ years ago. They are much hairier up close then you'd think.
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