Water for Elephants

莎拉·格鲁恩（Sara Gruen），对动物有着莫名的狂热，先前出版过两本与马有关的书，都广受欢迎。书中很多的角色都是根据真实人物为蓝本，故事背景则是根据1930年代的巡回马戏团。她现与丈夫、三名子女、四只猫、两头羊、两条狗、一匹马同住在芝加哥北部的环保小区。

出版者:Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

作者:Sara Gruen

页数:335

出版时间:2006-05-26

价格:USD 23.95

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9781565124998

图书标签:小说大象的眼泪外国文学fiction獸醫，愛情，人世間英文英文原版Novel

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Surprising, poignant, and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down; with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder, a world so real, one starts to breathe its air.

读后感

“我九十岁，或者九十三岁，不是九十就是九十三。 当你五岁的时候，自己几岁零几个月都了然于心。即使年过二十，你也把岁数记得一清二楚。你会说我二十三岁，二十七岁。可是到了三十来岁，怪事便发生了。一开始不过是一时的语塞，片刻的迟疑。“你几岁？”“噢，我——”...

好吧，我承认我用这样的标题是有那么一点点过，但是谁让它打出超越《追风筝的人》的口号呢？ 我是坐在三联书店的台阶上伴着优雅的钢琴曲看完这本书的，三个小时一气呵成，其间没有受到任何打扰，看完之后虽然不至于后悔浪费时间，但是亲身体会到了广告是多么的不可信。...  

在咣当咣当的火车上，我翻开了《大象的眼泪》——如此切题，这正是发生在火车马戏团上的故事。“我九十岁，或者九十三岁，不是九十就是九十三。”故事从第六页开始变得有趣。伴随着摇晃而漫长的旅程，慢慢读下去。 从某种意义上说，每个人的重要选择只有一次，余下岁月...  

这一本畅销书，美国女作者莎拉.格鲁恩的作品，它的宣传词是：一次冒险换一个人生。听着很刺激，是不？ 我看书名和简介时，想起的是电影《大鱼/big fish》的场景，马戏团，千奇百怪的人，与众不同的刺激冒险经历。 实际上并不是这样。 多数女作家写的东西柔情似水，而冒险类的小...  

嗯，所谓生活中，会有一些细小的，经历，让某一天变得与众不同，这是文字或者说故事，在我们不能亲自经历生活时所额外赐予的神奇力量。是的，没有想到，这本拖了整整一个月的书，在包里，在车上，在飞机上，在酒店里，在公司的桌上，在枕边，每一个位置都呆过，都告诉自己，要...  

用户评价

5 days.... that was fast +_+

原版总是更有味道

我还记得小的时候看过的马戏团，这种本身游走在城市之间的稀奇古怪的团体带着稀奇古怪的东西，还真是让人心动，可是现在已经基本绝迹，有的时候还真的很怀念呢

比较适合拍成电影，不适合当做书来看。

Kindle version for 2 weeks