,
Spring's Most Anticipated New Books
Sara Gruen
0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

more photos (1)

Sara Gruen’s Followers (6,235)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Add New
Videos

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen - OFFICIAL TRAILER
Add a comment
Meet the Writers - Sara Gruen
1 comment

More videos…

Sara’s Bookshelves

read (0)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (0)

Sara’s Friends (67)

Megan A...
Megan Amick
336 books | 44 friends

Donna F...
Donna Foster
1,684 books | 4,869 friends

Natalia
Natalia
9,800 books | 852 friends

Christina
Christina
8,537 books | 3,192 friends

Brooke ...
Brooke Rollins
4,662 books | 103 friends

Becca
Becca
8,917 books | 276 friends

Tegan
Tegan
12,234 books | 605 friends

Susan H...
Susan Haught
1,916 books | 1,657 friends

More friends…

Sara Gruen

Goodreads Author


Born
Vancouver, Canada
Website

Twitter
saragruen

Genre
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

Member Since
July 2015

URL


Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of five novels: AT THE WATER'S EDGE, APE HOUSE, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, 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. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

Sara Gruen is currently not accepting new questions.

Popular Answered Questions

If you could live in another period of time, when would it be? Why?
Sara Gruen I'd love to live temporarily in all kinds of different time periods (if I got to pick and choose my circumstances, of course--everyone kind of assumes…moreI'd love to live temporarily in all kinds of different time periods (if I got to pick and choose my circumstances, of course--everyone kind of assumes that if they went back in time they'd be a Lady Mary and not a Daisy in the kitchen, but the reality is most of us would have been Daisy in the kitchen or a fish wife on the docks). But my completely non-exciting answer is that I would choose to live in the here and now, because I would not have made it to my first birthday without antibiotics, and I think things like central heating, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and kitchen/laundry appliances are most excellent. I cannot imagine going outside and stirring a great pot of boiling lye once a week to do the family's laundry, but I can tell you that my tolerance for dirty clothes would be a lot higher. (less)
flag
What is your research process like, and how do you check your work for historical accuracy? Can you describe an instance when you decided, for dramatic or plot purposes, it was better to overlook historical precedent?
Sara Gruen Research is one of my very favorite parts of the writing process. It’s also why you’ll never see me set a book in Sudbury, Ontario, in the middle of w…moreResearch is one of my very favorite parts of the writing process. It’s also why you’ll never see me set a book in Sudbury, Ontario, in the middle of winter!

I love that I can find something that fascinates me--and that I hope will fascinate others--and immerse myself in it until I feel I know it well enough to write not just about it but from within it, if that makes sense. I have to create a fictional world in my head that I pass into when I'm writing, and because I also hope to transport readers there, all the details have to be in place. Although I no longer enter the world of "At the Water's Edge" to write, I still know every cobweb in the Fraser Arms, every floorboard that creaks, the earthy, oppressive smell of the Anderson Shelter.

I incorporate real incidents into my novels all the time. It's the interesting little nuggets I've never heard of that fascinate me the most, and I think readers like taking away odd little bits of knowledge as well. It's also true that when I'm blending fact with fiction, sometimes the lines do blur. If I want to include something historical that almost works but not quite, I remind myself that I’m a novelist and can take a little creative license. For example, in “At the Water’s Edge,” I incorporated every Nessie sighting that happened up to the time of the novel, and reimagined the most famous one, the “Surgeon’s Photo,” as the Colonel’s photo in my book. I also incorporated a few wartime incidents, like the Royal Observer Corps sighting of the monster and the bombing in Foyers, although in both cases I changed the year.

I’m very careful about accuracy, and during my initial research make contacts with museums, historians, and others so I can ask questions and verify things that come up as I'm writing the story. I also have a point person to read the final text for accuracy. I can’t say history was my thing in school, because it seemed dry and somehow disconnected from real life, but now that I’m learning about it by unearthing WWII installations, unwittingly tromping around among undetonated 70-year-old bombs, and crawling under abandoned circus wagons, it feels very much alive! (less)
flag
See all 8 answers from Sara Gruen…

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.07 · 1,678,664 ratings · 76,093 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors
Water for Elephants
4.10 avg rating — 1,551,734 ratings — published 2006 — 194 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
At the Water's Edge
3.67 avg rating — 79,740 ratings — published 2015 — 19 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Ape House
3.50 avg rating — 29,093 ratings — published 2010 — 12 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Riding Lessons (Riding Less...
3.46 avg rating — 10,990 ratings — published 2004 — 41 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Flying Changes (Riding Less...
3.72 avg rating — 6,948 ratings — published 2004 — 26 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Sara Gruen Collection: ...
4.36 avg rating — 118 ratings — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Sara Gruen Collection! 4 Bo...
4.06 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2005
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
So geht's noch besser zum G...
3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
もう一度あの馬に乗って
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
FIT IN DEUTSCH NIVEAU A1 GU...
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by Sara Gruen…

Series by Sara Gruen

Riding Lessons Flying Changes
(2 books)
by
3.56 avg rating — 17,933 ratings

Related News

A Philadelphia socialite and her husband hunt Scotland's Loch Ness monster in At the Water's Edge, a new World War II-era novel from the author of...
Read more...
38 likes · 15 comments
Tea parties and tickle tag with primates—the animal lover who wrote Water for Elephants describes the friendships she made with bonobos while...
Read more...
22 likes · 19 comments
Quotes by Sara Gruen  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It's fate.”
― sara gruen, Water for Elephants
tags: water-for-elephants
801 likes
Like

“With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
tags: secrets, truth
761 likes
Like

“I want her to melt into me, like butter on toast. I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin.

I want.”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
tags: desire, obsession, want
560 likes
Like

Polls

173045
Una de las lecturas grupales del mes de junio estará basada en la categoría #26: Un libro con un animal en el título. .

Vota por tu favorito o agrega el que tú quieras.

 
  15 votes, 19.7%

 
  13 votes, 17.1%

 
  7 votes, 9.2%

 
  6 votes, 7.9%

 
  5 votes, 6.6%

El beso de la mujer araña (write-in)
 
  5 votes, 6.6%

 
  4 votes, 5.3%

 
  4 votes, 5.3%

Seis de cuervos de Leigh Bardugo (write-in)
 
  4 votes, 5.3%

 
  3 votes, 3.9%

 
  3 votes, 3.9%

Los gatos guerreros: En territorio salvaje (write-in)
 
  3 votes, 3.9%

 
  2 votes, 2.6%

 
  1 vote, 1.3%

 
  1 vote, 1.3%

 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Mujeres que bailan con lobos, de Clarissa Pinkola Estés
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

76 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Books I Want To T...: Water for Elephants - NO SPOILERS 22 127 Feb 10, 2008 01:21PM  
The Book Challenge: Heather's 2008 Challenge 111 305 Dec 07, 2008 08:15AM  
The Next Best Boo...: Advice for newbie? 19 146 Dec 30, 2008 06:52PM  
The Book Challenge: Jennifer's 2008 Book Challenge 70 308 Jan 01, 2009 10:20PM  
The Next Best Boo...: Group Read Nominations for February IS CLOSED! 95 562 Jan 28, 2009 08:35PM  
The Next Best Boo...: March's Group Reads are....... 262 896 Mar 15, 2009 11:53AM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Frankie's 50 April 2009 - April 2010 8 149 May 16, 2009 06:50PM  
The Next Best Boo...: Adam's 2009 Reading Goal 23 353 Jun 14, 2009 07:15AM  
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009 6412 8933 Jun 14, 2009 02:57PM  

Sara’s Friend Comments




Comments (showing 1-1)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Donna
Nov 24, 2017 08:04PM

Donna Sara, thank you for accepting my friend request on Goodreads.


back to top