I was surprised to find out that the author was a woman of the 21st century who had never attended a circus before researching for her novel, Water for Elephants.

I bought the novel after browsing through a few pages in a book store, as I instantly was enamored with the words I read on the pages.

I noticed the title, but didn't pay much attention to who wrote it. I quickly became immersed in the magic of the story and the entourage of eclectic characters - such as Kinko, Jacob, Marlena, August, and most importantly, Rosie.

I especially loved Ms. Gruen's presentation of the elderly Jacob Jankowski, looking back on his younger days with the circus, and giving nurses hell in the living assistance facility. His stubborn nature and ornery attitude reminded me a lot of my grandfather and I almost thought the story was something of an autobiography until I read the interview with the author at the end.

I was stunned to see that this story came from a woman's imagination with little, true tid bits from real circus history. It felt so real, I couldn't believe it was actually fiction.

As an aspiring writer myself, I found this book to be a magnificently clever work and an inspiration to pursue my desire to be a writer.

Ms. Gruen nailed it with this book and I loved it. I couldn't put it down and was so disappointed when I finished it. I wanted to read more!

What an outstanding author!