Stones from the River

I found this book a nice departure from the usual telling of the horror of Nazism as this book is about a small town in Germany during the war and the impact of the war on its inhabitants. The book was well written with interesting characters but it didn't really have a conclusion, it just petered out. I wasn't looking for a happy ending but any ending would have helped. Worth reading for insight into what was happening within Germany during the war and an interesting story well told but be a good book needs an ending.

An unexpected story of thought provoking frankness about secrets and the power they hold over the doers and holders. Anyone seeking to understand the mindset of German WWII will be intrigued by this book.

Wonderful read with many layers to contemplate. The author touches the heart of the German soul. As an English /German descendent, I was moved to reflect on my heritage in a way never before thought of.

This book arrived in new condition. The story was great and full of historical information about pre and during WWII. The writer is so good - I felt like I was watching a movie as I read. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. It took something incredibly sad and made it personal but also light in places. I laughed, I cried. Personally I feel it would have been a stronger story if the ending had been shorter. I lost interest in the last 50 pages or so.

The book, "Stones from the River", arrived in the condition that was stated on the store and the price was very good for the book.

It is a wonderful book that lets you inside the head of the young dwarf during the time of Hitler and what her life was like. Anyone who has an interest in history and World War II will enjoy this book.

Trudi Montag is a character that will stay with me for a while. Through her "zwerg" eyes, Hegi has created a rich tapestry that displays the beauty and horrors of Germany during both World Wars. Without a doubt the best Holocaust fiction I have read.

The author has an insightful ability of describing life as Trudy lived it. How her life as a dwarf 'colored her world.' The review of the war, the treatment of the peope, the hardships, the way they dealt with those hardships...I thought it was an outstanding piece of literature.

A friend recommended this book and her opinions on books are usually good so I gave this one a try but I just can't get past the first few chapters. It just is not that interesting or captivating. I also am turned off by the constant derogatory comments about all things Catholic. Sorry but this book just isn't as good as I had hoped.

This book is a German language course disguised as a lenghty but dwafted story leading up to WWII. In it, little-village women drive cars, bath in their own indoor tubs, but also swim in mighty rivers, and keep food cold in refrigerators. Give me a break!
This is not how women lived and behaved in a small village back then, or even a big town for that matter. If people bathed at all they had to use public bath houses which weren't free and at home they took sponge baths over the kitchen sink. In summer milk and butter was kept cold in basements and in winter the food was placed between two windows to keep it from freezing. Women back then didn't learn to swim and driving a car was out of the question since most people couldn't afford a vehicle.
Judging from the obvious errors I still remeber, after laboring through 500+ rather boring pages, proper research for what could have been an important story was sadly ignored.
You'll be the judge!

The rise of Nazism in Germany is portrayed by Heigl (who wrote the book based on stories her German grandmother told her) as an insidious, almost casual, thing. Many were concerned but everyday life intervenes, and is portrayed in the book, as politics erupt around the country...leading to what we now know as World War II. I thought it was fascinating. As Americans of our generation, we never had to live through a war, or occupation, or the inhibitions of our freedom of speech to the extent that the Germans did during Nazi rule. Neighbors turn against neighbors, families terrified to the point of madness, and the main character, Trudi, a dwarf, lives in fear with all others who are "different", waiting for the day the knock comes on the front door asking her to accompany the soldiers to a camp. It is brilliant in its detail.

Stones from the River is a historical fiction novel set in the town of Burgdorf, Germany. Written by German author Ursula Hegi, the book follows Trudi Montag through her aging and maturing process. Trudi's dwarfism adds an intriguing layer of conflict, development, and self-discovery to the angst-ridden journey of teenage life and to her encounters with discriminatory, Nazi ideology.

The initial chapters, depicting Trudi's relationship with her mentally ill mother, did not grab my attention as much as the later sections of the book. At first, the novel was hard to really get into as it seemed boringly slow with only little character development and lacked the thought provoking nature seen in the rest of the book. However, the significance of the events in these first chapters are revealed as you continue to read and uncover the important role that they play in Trudi's growth and the overall symbolism of the novel. The seemingly bland life of 3-year-old Trudi slowly blossoms into a rich story, especially as it becomes considered within the context of a larger world; the troubled backgrounds of Burgdorf's citizens, World War II, and the rise of the Nazi regime. An already complex system of historical happenings, biographical insights, and psychological scrutiny is deepened and connected with Hegi's creative use of symbolism. The stones, the river, the flood, all participate in solidifying the book's themes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, however it was a little difficult to get invested in, hence only 4 stars, but Hegi made up for the slow start by keeping me interested the rest of the way. I would definitely recommend Stones from the River if you're looking for a very deep, and sometimes dark, novel.

This is a work of historical fiction that takes place in a small town in Germany beginning in the year 1915, when the main character, Trudi Montag, is born. Trudi’s mother suffers from mental illness and she dies when the girl is four. Her loving father raises her to be an independent young woman. Trudi is a master story-teller and she is also a zwerg, or dwarf. As Trudi struggles with her own self-image, she is faced with a country marching towards a truly ugly image. As Hitler comes to power, Trudi’s neighbors begin to change. Some embrace the Nazi ideal, others go along out of fear, and a few like Trudi and her father quietly do the right thing. They refuse to join the party and they secretly hide Jews.

I have to admit, I almost gave up on this book. The first third of the book (and it is over 500 pages!), was extremely tedious. Hegi spends so much time describing in minute detail everything about this town. The buildings, the people, the landscape. Prose is wonderful, but it must be deliberate. I found her writing here to be information overload. When the Nazis come to power, the story really takes off. From that point on, I was engrossed in the story.

One of the things I really appreciated about this book was the German perspective of the war. As the war progresses Hegi does a marvelous job of illustrating even small challenges that the residents are faced with. And of course, when the fighting is over and the Americans come to Burgdorf, they are faced with fear as well as many conflicting emotions. Townspeople become indignant – “we suffered, too” was a mantra Hegi expressed in her characters. People were forced to take a good, hard look at themselves and their actions during the war. The reality of the atrocities came to light and the realization that their actions or inactions were a catalyst, was something each person had to face.

Throughout the novel, Trudi has a talent for seeing people as they really are, and for telling stories that reflect what people want to hear. When the war is over, they must all face themselves as they really are, and despite their faults and weaknesses, accept themselves so that they can move forward.

Trudi is a Zwerg, a dwarf. This makes her something of an outsider, and what makes matters worse, her mother is crazy. As in, going to church and taking off all her clothes for the angels, crazy. Then she dies before Trudi is even four years old. Trudi learns to collect stories, and takes pride in retelling them, reshaping them, making them her own. She also has a touch of prescience.

The Jewish people in Burgdorf are an integral part of the town, initially. But slowly, over the course of years, they are first subtly demonized. There are the German people, and there are the Jews, Us and Them. After the feeling of separation is created, after people have come to tolerate the Jews being insulted, cheated, stones thrown at their windows, they may have their fine houses and businesses taken away. If a Jewish person is thriving while the rest of Germany is in recession, it's easy enough to play on the resentment of the neighbors. Surely those things couldn't have been honestly earned. Once moved to the outskirts of town, they are then moved to other towns, and finally the "work camps." Hegi does a powerful job of portraying how such a horror can come about. At first, rather than protesting their mistreatment, many of the Jewish people themselves believe that if they just keep a low profile, this too shall pass. By the time the harassment gets serious, it is also taken for granted. Those who protest and speak up to defend their neighbors, are also jailed and harassed.

I found this part of the story fascinating. I found Trudi herself sometimes admirable, generally interesting, and other times not very likable. In the beginning, when she believes that if she hangs from her arms, it will stretch her out and she will grow, I felt very sorry for her, and was moved by her experience of meeting another Zwerg, a beautiful and talented woman named Pia who was comfortable in her own skin. Then there's the search for a boyfriend or lover, because like any girl, she wants to be kissed, and loved. Trudi is definitely a complex, but not comfortable character. She uses rumors - collecting them, spreading them - to get back at those who've hurt her, or who've persecuted their Jewish neighbors.

I think about 90% of the book is told from Trudi's point of view, including the first third. The early chapters move slowly, but as Trudi's voice becomes older, it becomes much more compelling. The end, on the other hand, is a little choppy, as if the author realized how long the book was already, and felt the need to wind it up quickly. All in all, this is an excellent book, rich in description, and well worth the read.

Intro

Although I often read history, especially books regarding World War II and Germany, memoirs, collected memories, analysis into the various horrors and sheer arrogant stupidity of what the Nazis and others did, I seldom, if ever, read fiction books about those times.

This book, however, caught my eye because the central character was a Zwerg, or dwarf, one of the many groups considered "unfit to live" which were summarily done away with under the Nazi regime. Secondly, this character, Trudi Montag's best friend as a child was a boy named George whose mother dressed him as a girl and kept his hair long. Naturally, I being I, was intrigued. Without reading anything further into the short synopsis on the back of the novel, I thought it might be about their personal interactions, regarding their "disabilities", with those who meant for them to die. In the end, the book is about far more.

Background

Germany is a country I love. It's my favorite place in the world, and I never truly feel peace or relief or joy unless I am there. This is quite shocking to some people, those who still look on Germany as Nazi, intolerant and ugly. It is infuriating to others who insist on judging a whole population by their former government or by certain groups. Subjectivity without objectivity. Whatever one thinks of modern Germany and its population, whether one is insistent on their culpability and propensity to commit evil acts, or is merely doubtful in some way, few people know the depth of the self-loathing, national examination and fury of descendants of "those ones" who participated, "looked the other way" or somehow minimized what happened. Though it is considered a more "unreligious" Christian country, there is a national insistence almost nearing religious fervor, that one be tolerant of all peoples, all thoughts, all desires and lifestyles, etc. and I share that fervor.

First of all, it's a subject few Germans except scholars or other academicians will discuss with "outsiders". It's a subject if brought up, the faces shut down, become wary or misdirective, or if they are the outspoken sort, they will question why you are pursuing the topic. Some, usually the younger generations, don't want to hear about it anymore because they are sick and tired of the still accusatory comments or jokes made towards them, their people and country. In reality, no nation or peoples on this earth now living are free of some sort of holocaust or attempted massacre of another people. Australia, Spain, England, the USA, Russia...each and everyone. It is still happening in areas of Asia and Africa. Read this objectively, please.

Review

I initially found the book difficult to get into, not because of topic, but because of style, which was choppy and sporadic, with a POV which toggled between an omnipotent viewer and the main character as an infant and toddler who made observations about individuals and situations that would be impossible for a child of that age. Often there were snippets of thoughts or memories provided as if from old age looking backwards, yet it was in early childhood details. Many other facts are merely implied. You have to ascertain a conclusion from information presented, and you're often left doubting or wondering if you understood something correctly.

The setting is a small village in Germany, one of the many burgs which often surround or are near a larger, cosmopolitan city. Hegi is excellent at setting a mood so you can "see" and feel what it's like to live in such a place: the little relationships, the jealousies, the short-lived boasts and affairs which kept everyone just a certain distance apart yet always together. There are good people and bad people, ones you ultimately as a reader can judge as such, yet the author makes no such attempt. She gives you the information, you can draw your own conclusions.

You are drawn into the world of Trudi Montag, her father owns a book circulation library and is a former injured veteran of WWI. She is visibly different, painfully and emotionally aware of the fact, yet with ingenius courage survives and keeps a dignity so many thoughtlessly attempt to brush away. That very difference, Trudi's birth, her dwarfism is yet another trigger into her mother's slow descent into madness, and poignantly we observe the bittersweet nature of a child's desire to please and make happy a parent who soon is helpless against their own compulsions.

As other peers grow taller, grow up and pursue the nature courses of life, Trudi feels trapped yet determined to also grow in all ways, but her obsession with being "normal" teaches hard yet important lessons which keep her alive during the years to come. Unrequited love, secret abuse, solitary agony and loneliness. Trudi is small in stature but hugely spirited, fierce and passionate in her hates and personal battles.

Characterization is extremely important to this writer, even if the amount of names and descriptions can be confusing at times, with each person Hegi shows aspects of the German character, its idiosyncracies, faults and positives. About midway through, Hegi finally hits her stride, as the inevitable events we now know as history, begin to unfold. Almost frenetically we are drawn along in the emotional flood knowing what is going to happen, but as we've been made to care for each person, reluctant to progress already realizing the inevitable.

Conclusion

For some who are more narrow-minded, they will not take away from the book the knowledge Hegi is trying to impart: that although virtually all Germans of that time knew and felt something very wrong was occurring, and they knew the basis on which it was focused, the ridding of the fatherland of Jews, many resisted and helped those Jews or others as they could with risk to their own lives. Some more than others. Others not at all, but many in some way or another did. It's very easy with hindsight or a superior attitude to proclaim what one would have done in such a situation, but Hegi excels at showing just how normal people can change, and how the world around can change you.

For those who've studied socialism or communism, you'll clearly see the examples of what type of attitude a police state creates in its populace. One most notable is the willingess to turn in others to prove their own loyalty, even children against parents, sibling to sibling, old friends of old friends. And later, to minimize or justify those acts. To conveniently forget what roled they played.

Yet the book is not a political statement. It is not a justification. It is not a mediation. It is starkly plain as seen through Trudi Montag's eyes what people are and can be. As a little person who was often ignored or dismissed, her insight is brutally honest yet acceptable as truth. It is a character which I often find in Germans today, the willingness (if they allow you in) to harshly examine self, to admit to weaknesses or wrongdoing of thought or deed, but with a pragmatism which accepts those facts but is unwilling to be dismayed by them. Life goes on. Some people call that arrogance. For myself, I would much rather be with someone or among a people who admit wrongdoing and go on with life, instead of those who apologize profusely yet don't mean a word of it. If a German says something, they mean. If they don't mean something, 9 times out of 10, they are not going to say it. It might be said hard, but the intention is not to hurt. But my commentary is listing to the side....back on track.

As an editor, I would have been compelled to "clean up" Hegi's writing, make it more coherent and flowing, yet it would have lost the sparkle which makes unique her voice. As a reader, I found it challenging, but overall this book is extremely successful. I would strongly consider it one not to be missed. Although they make hundreds of films these days about anything and everything, this is a book I would love to see adapted for film. With its snippet like quality, it would be perfect for the big screen.

A bittersweet and wonderful gem. I am glad I didn't put this one to the side simply because I don't often read contemporary fiction or because the stamp on my copy proclaimed it a "Oprah's Book Club Selection". I would have been much less having not read it. It really is perfect in it's view of German life of the era, the complexities underlying an entire country and people's past which continues to haunt with a darkly golden light.

From my review/interview site Flying With Red Haircrow

This book was everything I didn't expect. I enjoy reading books about WWI and WWII, but Stones from the River was fictional with less graphics and gore than some of the other books I've read. If you're looking for a political book with a lot of insight on the concentration camps, move along; you won't find that here. Someone mentioned this book requires patience and I agree, but don't let that stop you from reading this book.

Stones from the River is slow paced with lots of character development through the eyes of one girl, Trudi. Trudi lives in the fictional town of Burdorf and takes you through her journey of life as a "zwerg", or dwarf. She learns to live with her difference in trying times. The author takes her time describing the people of Burdorf and how they have an impact on Trudi's life.

Honestly, I thought the book would never "take off" or pick up pace and I had a lot of questions building as I read. This is one of those books, you have to trust the author with the journey she is taking you on. I'm really glad I stuck with it and finished the book because it ended up being a really good story. I think it's a must read for anyone who feels different or who may be experiencing trying times.

Ursula Hegi's novel Stones from the River was unlike any WWII novel I have ever encountered. Although we are exposed to some of the injustice Jews encountered during the Nazi regime, the story centers more on the everyday people of Burgdorf and how they responded to the economic hardships Germany faced as well as Hitler's changes to their culture and lifestyles.

In a pretty interesting sort of way Hegi managed to show a side of the WWII story that we might not have considered, in particular how the everyday citizen in Germany was affected by the evil surrounding them. Often we think about what people had to know and why they didn't do more to defend the Jews. Although the story doesn't focus on that, I got a better feel for why people didn't do more than they did. The fear people felt and the harsh reality of living day to day made the crazy stories they heard about their Jewish neighbors seem like impossibilities. We watch as the men in the town head off to war, either to never return home again or to never be the same. Women who remained behind either suffered from providing for children alone, from despair and loneliness, or from the guilt they felt from moving on to new loves. Also, the tension surrounding Trudi Montag's dwarfism lends the story a new twist; Trudi isn't a Jew, but she knows what it is to be different and sometimes an outsider.

Overall, I felt that the novel did an interesting job of telling a character story, most of all. The characters felt real and present. I did find the distance in the story strange at times. For instance, Trudi tells of what they heard happened to their town's Jews, but not of her own thoughts or opinions. We understand that she hated Hitler and wished him to be taken out of power, but she was as powerless as everyone else to ever express these opinions. In short, the novel felt mostly like a retelling, but with an interesting perspective on what the average German did during the war and how they might have felt. For that, I was glad to have had a book that allowed me to rethink Germany and the impact the war had on everyone there, and not just the Jews.

Right from the start I need to preface this review with the fact that I know my review will not do this story justice. It is a most eloquent story told through Trudi, a dwarf born in a small German town during WWI. This story actual begins during the first World War and continues through the second World War.

Trudi struggles with being a dwarf and hangs from her hands to stretch her body and tightly ties scarves around her head to keep it from getting any bigger. She yearns for love and believes that she will not find love as a dwarf. She supplements her desire by learning others secrets and using them to be somewhat of a storyteller. Trudi endures teasing and general shunning by people all her life, but manages to come through WWII, even though The Reich is know to use such anomalies as test subjects.

As the story moves nearer to WWII, the sense of doom was so overwhelming to me, I nearly found myself screeching out loud. I had not previously read a book that included Hitler's promises to the people nor did I completely understand why they went along with the terrible things he did, but I do now. I really felt the gradual control shift as Hitler started his programs and recruited the young-it was just eerie.

Trudi is sort of a tough cookie and may annoy the reader at times with her fierce independence and stubborn behavior, but don't let that throw you off her trail because you would miss out on one of the most moving pieces of literature out there. A truly moving and interesting story with a hint of folklore, I highly recommend this read.

Although a bit repetitious and overwritten, this novel does a nice job depicting life in Burgdorf, Germany from World War I to the '50's, and how the residents and community were transformed for the worse by the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, and never really returned to "normal." It's largely told from the point of view of Trudi Montag, a dwarf and a very perceptive keeper and spreader of the town's rumors and secrets. This is the second of Hegi's four novels in the Burgdorf Cycle, but my understanding is that Stones From A River, the best known of the four, should probably be read first since its predecessor is really a sequel to this one, oddly enough.

A wonderfully woven story about a young woman born a dwarf in pre-World War II Germany. The story chronicles her life by setting the stage before her birth to a mother with a light grip on reality. It continues on through the aftermath of World War II in a small town in Germany.
TRUDI MONTAG WAS DIFFERENT IN A WAY THAT WAS VISIBLE TO OTHERS: This she reasoned was why; she was rejected early in life by her mother and why; her mother went crazy. Though she finally realized she was not to blame for her mother's problems, she took many years to come to grips with the fact she could not change what she was and in fact being different had some advantages. Trudi had an opening in everyone's life in the town of Burgdorf, in the sense than many considered themselves more fortunate than her. For this reason, they often revealed more of themselves to her, to show that they were not so fortunate in the end. Due to this, Trudi developed a stronger sense of who every one was in this small town and was an intricate part in the grapevine, dispensing her stories to gain as much information as she delivered..
THE GROWTH OF THE NAZI PARTY IN GERMANY WAS NOT WELCOME BY ALL, BUT TO OPPOSE IT, WAS TO BECOME A TARGET OF IT. This story through Trudi and the town of Burgdorf, lets the reader see, how Germany with the leadership of Hitler was duped into embracing a philosophy, that not only energized the nation, but enslaved it. People in the town like Trudi who were different were more immune to the process than those who were mainstream and wanted to stay that way. This book does a wonderful job of making the reader understand how such a horrible philosophy could be so embraced.
URSULA HEGI'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL BRINGS THE CHARACTERS IN TRUDI'S WORLD TO LIFE. While reading the story of the day-to-day details of Trudi's life, from her thoughts, to the actions of the townspeople, you begin to see the undercurrents of the town in her eyes. From the not so pious "fat priest", to her friend Eva with the birthmark and the unknown benefactor all the characters come alive and you see through Trudi's eyes the potential of their future lives.
This is an artfully crafted story, done as a prequel to the book she previous wrote: "Floating in my mother's palm", where her story of Burgdorf is continued on in one of the characters born toward the end of Stones from the River. If you want an opportunity to step back in time, to another life in another place, this one offers amazing insights.