Stones from the River [Paperback]

Ursula Hegi (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 1997

Stones from the River is a daring, dramatic and complex novel of life in Germany. It is set in Burgdorf, a small fictional German town, between 1915 and 1951. The protagonist is Trudi Montag, a Zwerg -- the German word for dwarf woman. As a dwarf she is set apart, the outsider whose physical "otherness" has a corollary in her refusal to be a part of Burgdorf's silent complicity during and after World War II. Trudi establishes her status and power, not through beauty, marriage, or motherhood, but rather as the town's librarian and relentless collector of stories.

Through Trudi's unblinking eyes, we witness the growing impact of Nazism on the ordinary townsfolk of Burgdorf as they are thrust on to a larger moral stage and forced to make choices that will forever mark their lives. Stones from the River is a story of secrets, parceled out masterfully by Trudi -- and by Ursula Hegi -- as they reveal the truth about living through unspeakable times.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Oprah Book Club® Selection, February 1997: Ursula Hegi's Stones from the River clamors for comparisons to Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum; her protagonist Trudi Montag--like the unforgettable Oskar Mazerath--is a dwarf living in Germany during the two World Wars. To its credit, Stones does not wilt from the comparison. Hegi's book has a distinctive, appealing flavor of its own. Stone's characters are off-center enough to hold your attention despite the inevitable dominance of the setting: There's Trudi's mother, who slowly goes insane living in an "earth nest" beneath the family house; Trudi's best friend Georg, whose parents dress him as the girl they always wanted; and, of course, Trudi herself, whose condition dooms her to long for an impossible normalcy. Futhermore, the reader's inevitable sympathy for Trudi, the dwarf, heightens the true grotesqueness of Nazi Germany. Stones from the River is a nightmare journey with an unforgettable guide.

From Publishers Weekly

A dwarf woman struggles to find acceptance in her small German town in this novel spanning both world wars.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 525 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Later Printing edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068484477X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684844770
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (386 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 127 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent must read June 30, 2002

By Lesley West

Format:Paperback

A friend insisted I buy this book, telling me what a masterpiece it was. I was at first sceptical, and I must confess it did not grab me within the first few chapters as I had hoped that it would. The main character is a dwarf, the child of a mentally ill mother and a father disabled in World War 1, and whereas her life looked as if it would be interesting, if filled with angst, I was confident that this itself would not hold my attention for the whole of the book.

How wrong I was, becuase it is not Trudi's life that grabs you, it is the world she is living in - the horror of Germany between the wars. It is difficult to find words to describe how that world changes, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the slow and deliberate persecution of the Jews, and the terror of ordinary citizens who barely dared to question what was hapening to their lives. The story becomes shocking, unimaginable and utterly compelling. I also think that it is something that everyone should read, and I like my friend, will recommend it to everyone.

It is not an easy story to read, and Trudi, the main character is spiky and independent - not always easy to identify with. But is an important book because it also chronicles the life of everyday Germans who were caught up in unspeakable times, and it is with these characters that our sympathies lie.

I am pleased that I took my friend's recommendation. Again, not an easy read, but a picture of history that cannot be ignored. It is a truly compelling and magnificent novel.

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "In some people, [fear] brings out the lowest instincts while others become more compassionate." July 15, 2006

By Mary Whipple HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Written in 1994, and set in the small (fictional) German town of Burgdorf from 1915 - 1951, this compassionate novel centers on Trudi Montag, a bright, observant, and articulate young woman who is also a zwerg, a dwarf. Born to a mentally ill mother who dies when Trudi is three, Trudi is at first bewildered by her small size, hanging from doorframes to "stretch" her arms and legs, praying that she will become more like other children, and believing that if she is truly good, God will help her.

Though a circus dwarf once comforts her by describing a fantasyland filled with gold and jewels, where everyone is a zwerg, Trudi finds that real life is not so magical. She is physically and emotionally assaulted, and, as a teenager, watches in horror as the Nazis come to power and assault and later "deport" her Jewish friends, who are now considered "different." Trudi's experience of her own "otherness" makes her a sympathetic friend and active supporter of the local Jews, and Hegi evokes great power by connecting the overwhelming Nazi horrors with the life of one small person in one small community. Through Trudi, Burgdorf's citizens come alive--those who befriend her and those who reject her, those who support her efforts to help the Jews and those who don't, and those who pity her and those who are inspired by her.

Throughout the novel, Hegi shows the power of storytelling to influence lives. Trudi works in her father's pay-library, and she is the community's best known storyteller, creating entertaining and lively stories that teach lessons, especially during the war years. But Trudi is no Pollyanna--she also uses her storytelling as a weapon against those who offend her, wreaking her own brand of personal vengeance. As the novel evolves, her childhood companions come and go.... Some remain stalwart friends, and some change with the times. She matures emotionally, falls in love, and becomes part of the community's rebuilding after the war.

Hegi, who lived in Germany until she was eighteen, includes the small details of German life that bring the community and Trudi to life. Her depiction of war-time horrors is honest, and the stories of Trudi's Jewish friends are heart-breaking in their realism. Despite the sadness inherent in the times, however, Hegi is often lyrical in her celebrations of happiness, and Trudi's stories are often enchanting. Incorporating universal themes of love and hatred, life and death, strength and weakness, and acceptance and rejection, Hegi creates a novel that is as powerful on its second reading as it is on its first. n Mary Whipple Read more ›

78 of 84 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazed at the hostility in these reviews! November 24, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I usually try to avoid Oprah's picks for literature. After I finished She's Come Undone, I unknowingly picked up Stones without realizing that it, too, had Oprah's stamp of approval. The first few chapters--the ones dealing with Trudi's mother--bored me and I started to wonder why everything Oprah picked had to do with mental illness of some kind. Once I became engaged in this book, I could not stop reading it. I am amazed when I read other reviews by people who say that this novel is trite or that it's difficult to care about the characters. Not many Americans could relate the experience of the Nazi regime from the inside. Hegi stunned me as she gave me a clearer insight into World War II Germany (which my high school history classes failed at miserably). This piece works on so many different levels. Trudi's disability, if that's the word for it, is an allegory to which almost every other element in the novel can be compared. Stones connects a "biography," a story of a community, and a compelling account of a horrific time in world history. You don't have to care about Trudi, but didn't anyone feel for Alexander or Frau Abramowitz? I'm giving it four stars; Hegi lost my last star for making the first few chapters way too difficult to get through. But this book is definitely rewarding once you get into it.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No Easy Answers May 23, 2001

By K. Fromal

Format:Paperback

Through the past several years, I have been able to read a great deal of important Holocaust literature. While some other stories have greater historical or literary significance, this book stands apart for me. It is the first book that has truly forced me to question what I would do in this situation.

The protaganist of the book is Trudi Montag. Trudi is born a Zwerge - a dwarf - between the two World Wars. Her difference sets her apart from the other villagers, and while they feel sorry for her, it also gives her a certain power over them as she is able to learn their secrets. The girl comes of age just as Hitler's pronouncements begin to threaten the Jewish residents of her town, and of all of Germany. Trudi has difficult ethical choices to make, and these decisions shape her for the rest of her life.

While the war years are the most significant part of the book, Trudi is also followed in the post-war years. She begins to see how guilt and confusion begin to engage the members of her community in an elaborate denial of the tragedies of the war years.

The book is beautifully written, and is sure to be a book you will treasure.