Water for Elephants - Anna's Review

-Anna

1. Non spoiler version, short and to the point.
DID I LIKE THE BOOK?
Well, I didn't hate it.
WOULD I READ THE BOOK AGAIN?
Nope.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THE BOOK?
With some big reader beware cautions and definitely not to my mother.


2. The spoiler version - pre book club discussion.
So, if something bad happens, walk away from your life and join a crazy, seedy circus. There you will meet the woman of your dreams (no, not the stripper, the pretty girl in pink sequins) who is...married. No worries. The woman of your dreams is married to a paranoid schizo and she is leaving him. So go ahead, knock her up because the Polish speaking elephant will take care of the crazy mad man and you two, or three, well you and the entire circus can live happily ever after. Until you are 93 and your family has forgotten you and then you can run away to the circus...again? Oh, yeah, and just to add some spice to the story, make sure to include some profanity and explicit sexual content!


3. The post book club discussion version.
So, apparently, I read the edited version. Part by choice and part by accident. First the accidental bit: THERE IS A PROLOGUE! WHAT! Where? Oh, there, in front of Chapter 1, the Chapter 1 that I read online, and therefore just skipped onto Chapter 2 when I got the book. ARGH to Amazon's sneak peak! Why did you jip me like this!? And seriously, this prologue is important! It creates a mystery and suspense about the entire storyline that I DID NOT GET! So, okay, most of my pre book club review stands, but well, I like the book a little more than I did, and I can't say how I would feel if I had read THE PROLOGUE!

And about the edited part by choice: I got tired of all the sex, so I lent my copy to Lisa and begged her to "censor" the rest of the book for me. She did, and I have to say, I enjoyed the rest of the book SO MUCH MORE! I actually relaxed and fell into the story, no longer worried about Too Much Information sex scenes jumping out at me. What can I say, graphic sex is not my thing. So if it's not your thing either, maybe you can get Lisa to censor for you!