Riding Lessons: A Novel | Sara Gruen

Riding Lessons: A Novel | Sara Gruen | Really hits the mark

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Riding Lessons: A ...

	Riding Lessons: A Novel Sara Gruen Harper Paperbacks, 2007 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 102 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

VERY GIFTED WRITER!

A lot of talent here, each page is a story in itself; it's no wonder her third novel (Water for Elephants) was on the New York Times bestseller list for twelve weeks. You can see the diamond in the rough in RIDING LESSONS, an amazing first novel about the journey of a woman grappling with the sucker-punches life deals out. The heavy subject matter could have been depressing and overwhelming, and truthfully these are the kind of books I normally avoid, but Gruen handles it with style, grace and humor, and I really enjoyed the journey. None of us knows for sure how we'd cope with so many bumps in the road, so many difficulties lined up to have a go at you. Gruen has a clever way of turning over the facets of life so they are briefly illuminated one by one. Her knowledge of the horse itself, not just riding, is captivating, especially to us horse nuts, and I could actually smell the hay, shavings and saddle leather. I loved the ending, it left me happy; not easy for a "heavy" story. The pages sometime wander a little with musings, and you can get exasperated with Annemarie, thinking you surely could make better decisions; but then again could you? Under those circumstances? Who knows. Annemarie is so very human and ultimately loveable for it.

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Really hits the mark

I was given this book as a gift from someone who knows how much I love horses but so many books involving animals and romance are sappy and sweet and just too much.
So, I was very pleasantly surpised when I read "Riding Lessons", the more I read the more I couldn't put it down. Clearly this author gets the horse world, she understands the combination of fear and love and respect that is between rider and horse. Her writing allows you to taste, smell and feel what the main character Annemarie is feeling.
I read Water for Elephants and enjoyed it very much but this book really hit home for me. Her writing is rich and sensitive and her main character is frought with flaws but the reader really relates to her and her struggles with her relationships with her mother, father, daughter and "friend" If you at all have a love for horses or just a really good and real story, give "Riding Lessons" a read.

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Many Story Lines - keeps your interest

The first twenty pages rope you into the story & there are another 360 pages to go....SO MUCH HAPPENS you HAVE to keep reading. There are a few story lines going on simultaneously & you really can't figure out where everything will end up. The end is a little predictable but good reading all the same. I JUST HAD to read the last 50 pages to know exactly how it ends.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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