Chris Noland loaned me a copy of this book and I finally got it read (in about 3 days) interspersed with grad school work. Although it is not my favorite book, it is very well-written. Sara Gruen is quite the story teller. It is "gritty" (book jacket) definitely, even sometimes just dirty! There are some moments I wish I don't remember if you know what I mean. But the story grabs you and holds you til she is finished weaving this tale of life in the circus in 1931 and its denizens including a young veterinarian. They're filming the movie right now starring Reece Witherspoon and Robert Patinson.My dad was a big fan of the circus and so I thought I'd like the book. He would have been one of the young "rubes" who loved to see the circus come to town in that era of the real big top and circus trains.
