I feel compelled to address the minority of reviews that refer to this book as sleazy and laden with gratuitous sex and violence. It is neither of these. The descriptive writing by the author is highly effective in her character and setting development. The reader can smell the circus; the despair, and the struggles of survival in the midst of the Great Depression as well as the pain, anguish, regret, and fear from the eyes of a 93 year old -or was it 90?!- widower.
Perhaps those few readers that find realist literature to be so offensive should stick to fiction that is church-approved only and stay away from the evil mainstream.
Water For Elephants is, in my opinion, a balanced, exquisite piece of literature. It rolls along at the pace of the circus train in which much of it is set, the characters feel real and believable, and it is basically a very easy read.
My only regret is that it is relatively short at 331 pages; I could easily have kept going with this one.
This story could also make for a fantastic feature film if done properly.