Sara Gruen

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

After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year's Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis's father, a former army Colonel who is already embarrassed by his son's inability to serve in WWII due to his being colorblind. To Maddie's horror, Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father's favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster. When he finds it, he will restore his father's name and return to his father's good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. And Maddie, now alone in a foreign country, must begin to figure out who she is and what she wants. The novel tells of Maddie's social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and finally, to love.

a novel

At the water's edge

Rachel Kanyid

the writing style was very beautiful and engrossing, as per usual with Sara Gruen's writing, I just wasn't very captivated by the story....

Sara S

At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen was without a doubt a novel that I enjoy reading. The characters are well constructed and you keep thinking about them after finishing the book.
Although when I started reading this novel I wasn’t sure what to think about it, at the end the story reached my expectations. In my opinion, the beginning the novel seemed a little slow, but once you reach the middle of it, you just fly between one page and another. 
As I mentioned before, I find the characters in the novel very interesting. Although at the beginning they seem simple and without feelings, that makes the right effect in the reader. When they start changing, especially Maddie’s character, I just fell in love with her new personality and how she manages the unusual situations happening in Scotland. Madeline’s search for love, real love, is the most heartbreaking feeling throughout the novel. She doesn’t stop wondering “what it would be like to love that much” (108), “what it was like to experience a love so deep you couldn’t bear to exist without it” (281), and after knowing her story, how she lived her childhood and adolescence, you can’t help but want her to have a happy ending.
Another great characteristic of the novel is that Sara Gruen always knows the perfect moment to reveal the missing piece in the puzzle, because although you can imagine what is going to happen at the end, when it becomes real (in the book at least) you can breath again.
For all of that I recommend this novel. I admit that it’s not the best book I’ve ever read, but it was, without a doubt, an enjoyable reading.

Kerry Gibbons

Eh, this book was so all over the place, it's really hard to say. I'd almost call it fantasy for a second since we seem to have run-ins with Nessie and the crows or ravens or whatever as well as the omen woman in the woods... but it just didn't commit to those things being real for me to call it such.

I thought the climax OVERMUCH. But it was generally not a bad book, hence the 3-star rating.

b.andherbooks

Gruen's latest, set in WWII era Scotland, is predictable and often unbelievable, but hot damn I did enjoy reading it. Her prose is beautiful, the Scottish setting hit all the right notes for my current state of mind (post-Scotland holiday depression), and I ended up caring about poor little Maddie and wanted her to get her happy. Go girl. Oh yeah, and there may or may not be a Loch Ness monster. Just saying.

Carla Aquino

Sooooo...a pair of rich, spoiled rotten guys and Maddie who is Ellis's wife (by chance of a freakin coin toss) go to Scotland during WWII in search of the Loch Ness monster in order to save face with his dad and remain in his good graces for sake of the money! 

Well Ellis and Hank are pieces of shit!!! Spoiled rotten rich junkies and drunks...the whole lot of them! And Maddie well, she's dumb, but I'm glad the "trip" woke her ass up to reality. 

They all got what they deserved in the end....I'm happy Maddie is happy and especially glad Angus is happy!

In her stunning new novel, Gruen returns to the kind of storytelling she excelled at in Water for Elephants: a historical timeframe in an unusual setting with a creature who may or may not be the hero of the story. After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year's Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis's father, a former army colonel who is already embarrassed by his son's inability to serve in WWII due to color-blindness. Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father's favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster and, when he finds it, he will restore his father's name and return to his father's good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day, the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. Meanwhile, Maddie undergoes a social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and, finally, to love.

At the Water's Edge

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