This is obviously a well-researched book that unblinkingly tells a story of the circus from an insider's point of view. In the process the reader is educated in the slang used in that world, e.g., "rubes", "red lighting", "roustabouts", and "hay burners". Each chapter is preceded by a pertinent archived photograph which also adds to the feeling of authenticity. Although not the focus of the story, the racism, class-ism, prostitution, "freak shows", drug abuse and violence associated with the circus during this period in our history are exquisitely painted onto the backdrop. Furthermore, Gruen has incorporated many of the anecdotes that she discovered during her research into her novel.
The narrator is an old man who is frustrated by his life in the present and is reminiscing - but not romanticizing - his time in the circus as a young man. Interestingly, a parallel theme of chaos emerges during both periods of this man's life. As an elderly man he still identifies as being a respected professional, but is reduced to being treated like a toddler. And as a circus performer, he is a scientist plunged into the foreign world of performance art, living on the edge of poverty. As such, Gruen's novel is essentially the heroic journey of a seemingly powerless man struggling to assert some control over his destiny.
Water for Elephants is a vivid escape into a surreal world most of us have never experienced - and will never experience - that comes to a satisfying and somewhat unexpected conclusion.