Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of At the Water's Edge, Water for Elephants, Ape House, Riding Lessons, and Flying Changes. Her works have been translated into forty-three languages and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Water for Elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon, Rob Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz in 2011. She lives in western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the world's fussiest goat.
"[An] arresting new novel. . . . At its finest, Water for Elephants
resembles stealth hits like 'The Giant's House, ' by Elizabeth
McCracken, or 'The Lovely Bones, ' by Alice Sebold, books that
combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowd-pleasing
romanticism. . . . Black-and-white photographs of real American
circus scenes from the first half of the century are interspersed
throughout the novel, and they brilliantly evoke the dignified
power contained in the quieter moments of this unusual brotherhood.
. . . With a showman's expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific
revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana
into an enchanting escapist fairy tale."--New York Times Book
Review
"Vibrant . . . gritty, sensual, and charged with dark secrets
involving love, murder, and a majestic, mute heroine (Rosie the
Elephant)."--Parade
"Novelist Gruen unearths a lost world with her rich and surprising
portrayal of life in a traveling circus in the '30s. An emotional
tale that will please history buffs--and others."--People
"[This] sprightly tale has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing
pace."--Entertainment Weekly
"A compulsive page-turner . . . a fascinating setting and a richly
anecdotal story that's enjoyable right up to the final, inevitable
revelation."--The Onion
"A rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating
footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined."--Denver
Post
"One of the many pleasures of this novel is the opportunity to
enter a bizarrely coded and private world with its own laws,
superstitions and vocabulary. . . . I couldn't bear to be torn away
from it for a single minute."--Chicago Tribune
"You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously
researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy
side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago
speak-easy."--Washington Post
"Riveting." --The Toronto Globe and Mail
"Life is good for Jacob Jankowski. He's about to graduate from
veterinary school and about to bed the girl of his dreams. Then his
parents are killed in a car crash, leaving him in the middle of the
Great Depression with no home, no family, and no career...This
lushly romantic novel travels back in forth in time between Jacob's
present day in a nursing home and his adventures in the
surprisingly harsh world of 1930s circuses...just like a circus,
the magic of the story and the writing convinces you to suspend
your disbelief."--Booklist
"Old-fashioned and endearing, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced
story."--Library Journal
"Lovely and mesmerizing...genuine talent."--Kirkus Reviews
A "page-turner...Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks,
rubes and freaks who populate her book."--Publishers Weekly
"In this thrilling, romantic story set in a traveling circus in the
1930s, Sara Gruen has a Big Top's worth of vivid characters and an
exhilarating narrative that kept me up all night. From the
perseverance of a terrier named Queenie, to the charm of Rosie the
elephant, this masterpiece of storytelling is a book about what
animals can teach people about love."--Susan Cheever, author of My
Name Is Bill
"The circus, the Great Depression, a complex elephant, equally
complex love, the mists and twists of memory articulated in the
utterly winning voice of a very old man who's seen it all--these
are the irresistible elements of Water for Elephants. Sara Gruen
has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff
of life."--Robert Olen Butler
"So much more than a tale about a circus, Water for Elephants is a
compelling journey not only under the big top, but into the
protagonist's heart. Sara Gruen uses her talent as a writer to
bring that world alive for the reader: I could smell it, taste it,
feel every word of it. This is a fiction reader's dream come
true."--Jeanne Ray, author of Julie and Romeo Get Lucky
"Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, Water for Elephants
swept me into the world of the circus during the Depression and it
did not let me go until the very end. I don't think it has let me
go even now. Sara Gruen has a voice to rival John Irving's, and I
am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. Read
it."--Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama
"An entirely original, captivating story of finding love in a
down-at-the-heels traveling circus in the Great Depression. Sara
Gruen writes with great tenderness and breathtaking drama which
makes the novel impossible to put down."--Stephanie Cowell, author
of Marrying Mozart
"[This] sprightly tale has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing pace."
--"Entertainment Weekly"
"At its finest, "Water for Elephants" resembles stealth hits like
'The Giant's House, ' by Elizabeth McCracken, or 'The Lovely Bones,
' by Alice Sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical
premises with crowd-pleasing romanticism. . . . Black-and-white
photographs of real American circus scenes from the first half of
the century are interspersed throughout the novel, and they
brilliantly evoke the dignified power contained in the quieter
moments of this unusual brotherhood. . . . With a showman's expert
timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages,
transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist
fairy tale."
--"New York Times" Book Review
"You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously
researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy
side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago speak-easy."
--"Washington Post"
" At its finest, "Water for Elephants" resembles stealth hits like
'The Giant's House, ' by Elizabeth McCracken, or 'The Lovely Bones,
' by Alice Sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical
premises with crowd-pleasing romanticism. . . . Black-and-white
photographs of real American circus scenes from the first half of
the century are interspersed throughout the novel, and they
brilliantly evoke the dignified power contained in the quieter
moments of this unusual brotherhood. . . . With a showman's expert
timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages,
transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist
fairy tale."
-- "New York Times" Book Review
" [This] sprightly tale has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing
pace."
-- "Entertainment Weekly"
" You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously
researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy
side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago speak-easy."
-- "Washington Post"
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