Book review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (link - this link tells you the ending, so avoid if you plan to read the book) is a magical book, a wonderful read, or a wonderful listening experience. Both PP and I listened to the recorded book on CD - highly recommended.
A young man is about to finish veterinary school when his parents die and he is left alone in the world. It is during the Depression in America and jobs are scarce, but he finds work with a circus and new friends. The book tells the story from the view of the old man while he is in a nursing home, and the contrast between old age and young age is intriguing and extremely well described. There are paranoid schizophrenics, stampedes, illegal drinking, giant women and dwarf clowns, love and pain, trains and elephants... all described in great detail and with care.