Quotes from Water for Elephants

“When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It's fate.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“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, quote from Water for Elephants

“When you are five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties, you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties, something strange starts to happen. It is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you are not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Life is the most spectacular show on earth ♥”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles is hard work, but important.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“When will people learn that just because you can make something doesn’t mean you should?”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“The more distressing the memory, the more persistent it's presence. ”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Age is a terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Dear God. Not only am I unemployed and homeless, but I also have a pregnant woman, bereaved dog, elephant, and eleven horses to take care of.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Is where you're from the place you're leaving or where you have roots?”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“...if you expect people to try to do things your way, you're going to have to give some hints as to what that way is.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“I stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. 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 lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. I'm afraid to breathe in case I break the spell.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Although there are times I'd give anything to have her back, I'm glad she went first. Losing her was like being cleft down the middle. It was the moment it all ended for me, and I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Why the hell shouldn't I run away with the circus?”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“It's just a crazy damned life, that's all ...”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Sometimes I think if I had to choose between an ear of corn or making love to a woman, I'd choose the corn.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“i meant what i said, and i said what i meant.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“The whole thing's illusion, [Jacob], and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what people want from us. It's what they expect.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Afterward, I curl around her. We lie in silence until darkness falls, and then, haltingly, she begins to talk...She speaks without need or even room for response, so I simply hold her and stroke her hair. She talks of the pain, grief, and horror of the past four years; of learning to cope with being the wife of a man so violent and unpredictable his touch made her skin crawl and of thinking, until quite recently, that she'd finally managed to do that. And then, finally, of how my appearance had forced her to realize she hadn't learned to cope at all.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“I roll onto my side and stare out the venetian blinds at the blue sky beyond. After a few minutes I'm lulled into a sort of peace. The sky, the sky--same as it always was.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“I open the orangutan's door and set a pan of fruits, vegetables, and nuts on the floor. As I close it, her long arm reaches through the bars. She points at an orange in another pan.
'That? You want that?'
She continues to point, blinking at me with close-set eyes. Her features are concave, her face a wide platter fringed with red hair. She's the most outrageous and beautiful thing I've ever seen.
'Here,' I say, handing her the orange. 'You can have it.'
She takes it and sets it on the floor. Then she reaches out again. After several seconds of serious misgivings, I hold out my hand. She wraps her long fingers around it, then lets go. She sits on her haunches and peels her orange.
I stare in amazement. She was thanking me.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Afterward she lies nestled against me, her hair tickling my face. I stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. 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.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“I stare at her for a long moment. I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“What else do I have to offer? Nothing happens to me anymore. That’s the reality of getting old, and I guess that’s really the crux of the matter. I’m not ready to be old yet.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“I look after those who look after me." He smacks his lips, stares at me, and adds, "I also look after those who don't." - Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants)”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Sometimes when you get older — and I’m not talking about you, I’m talking generally, because everyone ages differently — things you think on and wish on start to seem real. And then you believe them, and before you know it they’re part of your history, and if someone challenges you on them and says they’re not true — why, then you get offended because you can’t remember the first part. All you know is that you’ve been called a liar.”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

“Age is terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back”
― Sara Gruen, quote from Water for Elephants

About the author

Popular quotes

“Time passed on; and as the eldest son did not come back, and no tidings were heard of him, the second son set out, and the same thing happened to him. He met the fox, who gave him the good advice: but when he came to the two inns, his eldest brother was standing at the window where the merrymaking was, and called to him to come in; and he could not withstand the temptation, but went in, and forgot the golden bird and his country in the same manner.”
― Jacob Grimm, quote from Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

“He did well, but he couln't afford the blood for a transfusion.”
― quote from Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures): True Stories from a War Zone

“The Indian temperament is so excitable, you know.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“But the most rare are the ones that are both invisible to us and to others. Those we are blind to. They may be our greatest weakness of all.”
― Jeff Wheeler, quote from The Hollow Crown

“Because, you know, evil demon librarians, not so much known for the honesty policy.”
― Michelle Knudsen, quote from Evil Librarian

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.