Water for Elephants: A Novel

　　一段冒險換來的人生，一個太過真實的幻想，一條駭人又浪漫的出路

　　雅各是一個即將自名校畢業的醫學生，一夕之間，被父母雙亡的打擊震懾的失去方向。他茫然的跳上了馬戲團巡迴火車，於是駛向了一段不同方向的人生。

　　歡樂的馬戲團背後，是另一個無法想像的世界。在巡迴表演途中，雅各發現表面風光的馬戲團並不單純；金錢至上的團主、脾氣喜怒無常的經理；想在馬戲團生存，就必須讓自己變得有用。新認識的侏儒華特和喝了假酒而半身不遂的雜工老駱，都變成生命共同體，雅各開始懂得如何與人相處，生命中還有比讀書和名利更重要的事情。

本書特色

　　★歡笑背後的淚水，華麗背後的蒼涼！2007年絕不可錯過的暢銷好書！

　　★作者巧妙添加浪漫愛情、歷史懸疑，增加小說耐人尋味、虛實交錯的吸引力，最後結局更是出人意料，讓人大呼過癮。

　　★震撼2006年全美書市，讀者口耳相傳，創下銷售神話；榮登2007年台灣各大書店暢銷排行榜，看過的人都說好，連連再版！

　　★本書中譯本《大象的眼淚》由天培出版

　　An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.

　　When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob 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.

　　Beautifully written, 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.

作者簡介

莎拉．格魯恩（Sara Gruen）

　　對動物有著莫名的狂熱，先前出版過兩本與馬有關的書Riding Lessons、Flying Changes都廣受歡迎。書中很多的角色都是根據真實人物為藍本，故事背景則是根據1930年代的巡迴馬戲團。她現與丈夫、三名子女、四隻貓、兩頭羊、兩條狗、一匹馬同住在芝加哥北部的環保社區。

　　SARA GRUEN is the best selling author of Riding Lessons and Water for Elephants. She is an animal lover who lives with her husband, three children, five cats, two goats, a dog, and a horse in an environmentalist community north of Chicago.