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Washington Post: 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. New York Times Book Review: [An] arresting new novel... 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. Parade: Gritty, sensual and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder and a majestic, mute heroine.

The wildly entertaining new novel from the bestselling author of Water for Elephants. 

Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn't understand people, but apes she gets—especially the bonobos Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena, who are capable of reason and communication through American Sign Language. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she's ever felt among humans—until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter writing a human interest feature. But when an explosion rocks the lab, John's piece turns into the story of a lifetime—and Isabel must connect with her own kind to save her family of apes from a new form of human exploitation.

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.

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.

Jacob was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Now he's ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian, and he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. El joven Jacob lo ha perdido todo: familia, amigos, futuro... A su alrededor, el mundo parece desmoronarse entre las penurias y la crueldad de los dificiles años treinta. Jacob decide cambiar de vida, y se aventura a trabajar en un circo ambulante como veterinario. Allí encontrara la amistad en el fascinante espectaculo de los hermanos Benzini, a la traviesa elefanta Rosie y al amor de su vida. Muchos años despues, Jacob no se resigna a abandonarse al destino. Con renovada valentia nos revelara un secreto impactante y decidira emprender nuevas andanzas, cueste lo que cueste.

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth . It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an un-trainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. Description in Spanish: Todos hemos querido cambiar de vida, todos hemos querido huir alguna vez. Cuando el joven Jacob pierde todo, su familia y su futuro, y el mundo entero parece al borde del abismo en los dificiles años treinta, se aventura en un circo ambulante para trabajar como veterinario. Transcurren años de penuria y crueldad, pero tambien de ensueño y plenitud, pues Jacob encuentra en el deslumbrante espectaculo de los hermanos Banzini la amistad, al amor de su vida y a la traviesa elefanta Rosie. Han transcurrido ya muchos años, pero Jacob no se resigna a la postracion que el destino le depara. Con renovada valentia nos revelara un secreto impactante y decidira emprender nuevas andanzas, cueste lo que cueste. Sara Gruen, con un estilo apasionado y vibrante, ha escrito una novela aclamada por millones de libreros y lectores. Romance, lucha, asesinato, tragedia y humor integran el cartel de esta gran funcion que conmueve y asombra por igual.

Isabel Duncan, científica del Laboratorio de Lenguaje de Grandes Primates, no comprende a la gente pero sí entiende a los simios, especialmente a los bonobos Sam, Bonzo, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani y Makena, que son capaces de razonar y de comunicarse en el lenguaje de signos americano. Isabel se siente más a gusto con ellos de lo que jamás se ha sentido entre los humanos, hasta que conoce a John Thigpen, un periodista centrado en su matrimonio que está escribiendo un artículo de interés humano. Pero, cuando una explosión hace volar el laboratorio por los aires, la crónica de John se convierte en el reportaje de su vida e Isabel se ve obligada a interactuar con los de su propia especie para salvar a su familia de primates de una nueva forma de explotación por parte de los humanos. Sara Gruen siempre le ha fascinado la comunicación bidireccional entre humanos y primates, sobre todo en lo que se refiere a la especie de los bonobos. Ha estudiado lingüística, ha aprendido un sistema de lexigramas para poder comunicarse con ellos y es una de las pocas personas a la que se le ha permitido acceder al Great Ape Trust de Des Moines (Iowa). Allí, los primates la adoran. Sara Gruen comparte con nosotros en esta nueva novela su experiencia y sus años de investigación, y nos descubre el mundo animal como muy pocos escritores han hecho hasta ahora. La casa de los primates resulta fascinante; es una novela divertida, sensible y profundamente conmovedora en la que Sara Gruen se consagra como narradora consumada y nos permite vernos a nosotros mismos desde un punto de vista totalmente diferente. Entre los reconocimientos que esta ha recibido por su obra se encuentran el premio al libro del año otorgado por Book Sense, el galardón Cosmo Fun Fearless Fiction, el premio Bookbrowse Diamond Award al libro más popular, el Friends of American Literature Adult Fiction y el Ala/Alex 2007.