Sara Gruen

As a world-class equestrian and Olympic contender, Annemarie Zimmer lived for the thrill of flight atop a strong, graceful animal. Then, at eighteen, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career and Harry, the beautiful horse she cherished. Now, twenty years later, Annemarie is coming home to her dying father's New Hampshire horse farm. Jobless and abandoned, she is bringing her troubled teenage daughter to this place of pain and memory, where ghosts of an unresolved youth still haunt the fields and stables—and where hope lives in the eyes of the handsome, gentle veterinarian Annemarie loved as a girl . . . and in the seductive allure of a trainer with a magic touch. But everything will change yet again with one glimpse of a white striped gelding startlingly similar to the one Annemarie lost in another lifetime. And an obsession is born that could shatter her fragile world.

A Novel

Riding Lessons

Ninety-something-year-old Jacob Jankowski remembers his time in the circus as a young man during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, and Rosie, the elephant, who gave them hope.

Water for Elephants

While her brother, Ellis, and his friend try to find the Loch Ness monster in an attempt to get back into her father's good graces, Maddie is left on her own in World War II-era Scotland and experiences a social awakening.

At the Water's Edge

Anxiety rules Annemarie Zimmer's days—the fear that her relationship with the man she loves is growing stagnant; the fear that equestrian daughter Eva's dreams of Olympic glory will carry her far away from her mother . . . and into harm's way. For five months, Annemarie has struggled to make peace with her past. But if she cannot let go, the personal battles she has won and the heights she has achieved will have all been for naught. It is a time of change at Maple Brook horse farm, when loves must be confronted head-on and fears must be saddled and broken. But it is an unanticipated tragedy that will most drastically alter the fragile world of one remarkable family—even as it flings open gates that have long confined them, enabling them all to finally ride headlong and free.

Flying Changes

Ce roman pas comme les autres a une histoire exceptionnelle : en quelques mois, il a fait d’un auteur inconnu un véritable phénomène d’édition, le coup de coeur de l’Amérique. Durant la Grande Dépression, dans les années 1930, les trains des petits cirques ambulants sillonnent les États-Unis. Jacob Jankowski, orphelin sans le sou, saute à bord de celui des frères Benzini et de leur « plus grand spectacle du monde ». Embauché comme soigneur, il va découvrir l’envers sordide du décor. Tous, hommes et bêtes, sont pareillement exploités, maltraités.Sara Gruen fait revivre avec un incroyable talent cet univers de paillettes et de misère qui unit Jacob, Marlène la belle écuyère, et Rosie, l’éléphante que nul jusqu’alors n’a pu dresser, dans un improbable trio.Plus qu’un simple roman sur le cirque, De l’eau pour les éléphants est l’histoire bouleversante de deux êtres perdus dans un monde dur et violent où l’amour est un luxe.

roman

De l'eau pour les éléphants

A gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman's personal awakening as she experiences the devastations of World War II in a Scottish Highlands village.

Aylin Yengin

Een oude man blikt terug op een korte, maar cruciale periode in zijn leven toen hij toetrad tot een reizend gezelschap tijdens de crisisjaren in de Verenigde Staten.

Filler için su

Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena are no ordinary apes. Isabel Duncan, a scientist, feels more comfortable among bonobos than among humans, until she meets reporter John Thigpen. When an explosion tears apart the lab, injuring Isabel and 'liberating' the apes to an unknown destination, John's piece turns into the story of a lifetime.

Ape House

FROM INTERNATIONALLY-BESTSELLING AUTHOR SARA GRUEN, A COLLECTION OF HER MOST BELOVED NOVELS 'ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST COMPELLING STORYTELLERS' Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help 1 - WATER FOR ELEPHANTS The international phenomenon - with over 10 million copies sold, made into a film with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. 'I loved Water for Elephants' Stephen King 'You are so immersed in circus life that you are blinded by the thrilling, fatal dazzle of sequins and sawdust' The Telegraph 'An imaginative modern fairy story, teeming with eccentric characters' The Times The Great Depression 1929 - when Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits in the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive making one-night stands in town after endless town. He meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her... 2 - AT THE WATER'S EDGE A gripping and poignant love story set in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands at the end of the Second World War. 'The only fault I can find with this book is that I've already finished it' Jodi Picoult 'Truly enthralling' Scotsman 'Breathtaking' Harper's Bazaar 1945. After disgracing themselves at a high society party, spoilt young Philadelphia socialites Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off from the family without a penny. Ellis decides their salvation will be to hunt down the Loch Ness Monster, a venture his father very publicly failed at. So, oblivious to WW2 raging around them, they make their way to the Scottish Highlands, where Maddie has to face reality and decide just who the real monsters are. 3 - APE HOUSE The New York Times bestseller. 'If you love animals like I do, it's a must read' Ellen DeGeneres 'Had me instantly enraptured' Dallas Morning News 'Wildly entertaining' Booklist (starred review) These bonobos are no ordinary apes. Like others of their species, they are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships - but, unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language. Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn't understand people, but animals she gets, especially the bonobos. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she's ever felt among humans . . . until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what's really going on inside. When an explosion tears apart the lab, severly injuring Isabel and 'liberating' the apes to an unknown destination, John's human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime.

Water for Elephants - At the Water's Edge - Ape House

The Sara Gruen Collection

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this thrilling new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s awakening as she experiences the devastation of World War II in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands. After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind. The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected. As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities. Praise for At the Water’s Edge “Breathtaking . . . a daring story of adventure, friendship, and love in the shadow of WWII.”—Harper’s Bazaar “A gripping, compelling story . . . Gruen’s characters are vividly drawn and her scenes are perfectly paced.”—The Boston Globe “A page-turner of a novel that rollicks along with crisp historical detail.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Powerfully evocative.”—USA Today “Gruen is a master at the period piece—and [this] novel is just another stunning example of that craft.”—Glamour

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits - the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth - a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student who almost earned his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. Water for Elephants was a major movie starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon.

Marilyn Herbert

Running away with the circus is one of the world’s most enduring and romantic ideas. However, the reality of circus life during the Depression era was hard and painful. Jacob Jankowski, now over ninety years old, looks back on that time of desperation, cruelty and prejudice, but at the same time, he recalls a magical atmosphere, the animals, the larger-than-life circus population, love, and, of course, a special elephant named Rosie. Sara Gruen depicts a juxtaposed world of the train circus and the nursing home. The Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide for this marvelous novel will uncover the mystery of how to carry water for elephants. In addition, you will explore Gruen’s masterful story-telling techniques and how the worlds of aging and circus adventure intersect. Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author.

Bookclub-in-a-box Presents the Discussion Companion for Sara Gruen's Novel Water for Elephants

مياه الفيل

El agua de la vida

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate circus struggling to survive.

Voda pre slony

Anna Olga de Barros Barreto

Desde que perdeu sua esposa, Jacob Jankowski vive numa casa de repouso, cercado por senhoras simpáticas, enfermeiras solícitas e fantasmas do passado. Durante 70 anos Jacob guardou um segredo - nunca falou a ninguém sobre o período em que trabalhou no circo. Aos 23 anos, Jacob era um estudante de veterinária, mas teve sua vida transformada após a morte de seus pais num acidente de carro. Órfão, sem dinheiro e sem ter para onde ir, ele deixa a faculdade antes de fazer as provas finais e, desesperado, acaba pulando em um trem em movimento. Ele acaba sendo admitido no Esquadrão Voador do circo Irmãos Benzini para cuidar dos animais, Jacob sofrerá nas mãos do Tio Al, o empresário tirano do circo, e de August, o chefe do setor dos animais. É também sob as lonas que ele se apaixona duas vezes - primeiro por Marlena, a bela estrela do número dos cavalos e esposa de August e depois por Rosie, a elefanta que deveria ser a salvação do circo.

Água para elefantes

«Es ist unmöglich, ein Zwiegespräch mit einem Menschenaffen zu führen oder einem von ihnen aus nächster Nähe in die Augen zu blicken, ohne verändert aus der Begegnung hervorzugehen.» Sara Gruen Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani und Makena sind keine gewöhnlichen Affen: Die Bonobos beherrschen die Gebärdensprache, sind in der Lage, mit Menschen zu kommunizieren. Für die scheue Wissenschaftlerin Isabel Duncan sind die Tiere wie eine Familie. Als eine Explosion das Labor zerstört und ihr die Affen entreißt, bricht für sie eine Welt zusammen. Der ehrgeizige Journalist John Thigpen steht vor dem Ende seiner Karriere – und vermutlich auch seiner Ehe. Zusammen mit Isabel macht er sich auf die Suche nach den verschwundenen Affen. Er ist nicht nur angetan von der attraktiven Forscherin, sondern wittert auch eine große Story. Dabei ahnt er nicht, wie sehr beides sein Leben verändern wird ... Sara Gruen ist die geborene Erzählerin und gewährt uns mit diesem Buch einen faszinierenden Einblick in die Seele von Menschenaffen – einfühlsam, packend und mit viel Sachverstand und Humor.

Das Affenhaus

"Cuando el joven Jacob pierde todo, incluso su familia y su futuro, y el mundo entero parece al borde del abismo en los difíciles años treinta, se aventura en un circo ambulante para trabajar como veterinario. Transcurren años de penuria y crueldad, pero también de ensueño y plenitud: en el deslumbrante espectáculo de los hermanos Banzini, las emociones más profundas surgen cuando se cruzan los destinos de un hombre una mujer y la elefanta Rosie bajo la carpa del circo."--

Sara Gruen

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