Water for Elephants
- 11 hrs 26 min
- Two narrators
- Rated 4.4 ★ on Audible
Peter’s Verdict
A truly engaging audiobook from start to finish. The circus setting is vivid, the characters stay with you, and the two narrators bring both the young and the elderly Jacob to life. The narration is spot on, and I loved every minute of it. I’m sure you will too.
At the beginning of Water for Elephants, Jacob Jankowski is 93 (or was it 90… he can’t remember), living out his days in a nursing home and hating every second of it. Through Jacob’s memories we learn his life wasn’t always so dull. In fact, he has led a wild and wonderful life.
When he was twenty-one, Jacob ran away and joined a traveling circus, the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Among an assortment of freaks, grifters and misfits, he meets Marlena, the beautiful star of the equestrian act; August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus’ animal trainer); and Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.
David LeDoux portrays Jacob in his twenties and John Randolph Jones the elderly version of the same character. Both are excellent.
Adventure, heartbreak, sorrow and personal growth.
That’s what fills this story, and it keeps you engaged from start to finish. It’s the kind of audiobook you look forward to getting back to, and the two-narrator approach works beautifully for a character looking back across a lifetime.
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Listen if…
- You enjoy historical fiction with a vivid, unusual setting
- You like stories told by a character looking back on his life
- You appreciate two narrators for two ages of one character
Skip it if…
- You prefer lighter stories: there’s real heartbreak and sorrow here
- You want a fast-paced thriller rather than a character-driven tale
Where to listen to Water for Elephants
Audible has the David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones recording.
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