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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823
EAN num: 9780684844770
ISBN number: 068484477X
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 525
Printing Date: March 01, 1995
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 61592
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
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.
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.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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This is one of the most original and deeply "human" epics I've ever read. A must read.
Rated by buyers 
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I had to read and annotate this book for AP language/composition. It was the worst book I have ever read in my entire life.
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Some books disappoint on a second reading, but not this one. When it came time for my book club to read this book I was very excited, because I remembered that I really liked it the very first time I read it. And I was not disappointed. I think I liked this book at least as much the second time around as the first.
This is a story with two contrasting themes. One is difference. Told mostly from the perspective of Trudi, a dwarf, who feels how different she is from the members of her community on a daily basis. And she sees how difference in others is persecuted under the Nazis.
The other theme of this book is community. One thing I really liked about this book is how we come to know so many members of Trudi's community throughout their lives. We understand as well as Trudi does why certain members of the community do certain things, because we have known them almost as long as she has. Hegi does a wonderful job of bringing the whole community to life.
And she is more than equal to the task of describing what the advent of Nazism does to this small German community. She does not shy away from the people who enthusiastically embrace Hitler and his party, but she does portray in a more sympathetic way those who at least question Hitler's policies.
Rather than making a judgment call, though, based on how her characters respond to the Third Reich, Hegi seems more interested in demonstrating the range of responses that existed in a small town, and how those differing responses change the character of the town itself.
Rated by buyers 
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This was my book club's choice last month, and probably not a book I would have picked up on my own. But I enjoyed it. It was a little hard to read with a lot of German words stuck here and here, and a lot of characters to keep track of. But you were rooting for Trudi throughout the book. Got an understanding for what a small person goes through on a regular basis. It also painted a great picture of Nazi occupied Germany, and not only what Jews went through but how good German people did what they needed to, to survive and keep their families alive. I sometimes wondered what was going on in those towns outside the concentration camps and why they didnt ask what was going on..have a pretty good picture now why.
Rated by buyers -
This book took me on the journey through a woman's life who just happens to be a zwerg (dwarf). She was an amazing character who experiences an extraordinary life in a small town in Germany. I often can't get through a book because of authors who have phony styles and try too hard. This book, however, is so REAL. It is beautifully written and anyone who disagrees has bad taste (in my not so humble opinion). I couldn't put the book down and at every moment wanted to immerse my mind in the intricate story of Trudi Montag. I stayed up until 4 in the morning 2 nights in a row, unable to stop reading.
The journey this story took me on is not to be missed. I am so grateful that I experienced it!
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