Water for Elephants

How it reads

Water for Elephants is historical fiction (historical circus romance, specifically), and its dominant mood is romantic. The relationship is the engine of the story. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in several locations, in the historical past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are love, survival and family. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 368 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a mega-bestseller — the book everyone seems to have read.