Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere near as good as Stones From the River
Review: Ursula Hegi is a great writer and really knows how to tell a story. However, the problem with this book is that the characters, including the title character, are boring and I wasn't interested in any of them. The most intriguing character was Trudi (from Stones From the River) who was briefly mentioned somewhere in the middle. I found this a bit annoying since I felt I had already heard her story and had closure on it. I didn't want to hear it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Like March, came in like a lion but went out like a lamb!
Review: Ursula Hegi is a truly gifted writer with a magical ability to bring a story to life vividly. STONES FROM THE RIVER, my first literary encounter with Ms. Hegi's work, was one of my favorite books so naturally I was looking forward to reading THE VISION OF EMMA BLAU, which is a spin-off of the previously mentioned novel. Stefan Blau was the son of 2 of the villagers in Trudi Montag's hometown in Germany who ran away to America when he was 13 years old - this is the story of his American legacy.The consistent "character" throughout the century spanned in this novel was not a person but a place...actually a hotel known as the Wasserburg, which Stefan Blau built in New Hampshire in the early-20th century. The hotel became representative of human growth, opulence and deterioration as it reflected the lives of those who made it their home. I couldn't help but think of several other literary works in which a place played such a major role in plot development ...Our Town by Thornton Wilder and Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg, for example. I also couldn't help compare Emma's attachment to the Wasserburg to that of Scarlet O'Hara's to Tara ...land/property, in both cases, is what endured and remained important as time marched on. I really like the beginning of this book better than the end. I enjoyed reading about the German-American immigrant experiences of both Stefan Blau and Helene Montag Blau and I also happily revisited Trudi and Leo when Helene visited with her son Robert (I remember that whole sequence of events in STONES FROM THE RIVER from Trudi's perspective). I found their 2nd - 4th generation American descendants, however, somewhat depressing to read about. So many of the main characters were unable to find happiness within themselves and it sort of made me wonder what type of legacy Stefan ended up leaving his progeny after all! Anyway, I still enjoy Ursula Hegi and am planning to read some of her other works.
Rating: 
Summary: A Vision of Desire
Review: Ursula Hegi uses her poetic prose and emotional insight once again to create a world in which by exploring the lives of others we learn more about our own. Hegi's previous book, Stones from the River, used the dramatic backdrop of Hitler's Germany and the life of a young dwarf to explore themes of belonging, exclusion, alienation, and "status in the tribe". In The Vision of Emma Blau, Hegi creates five generations of characters through which she explores human desire, how desire manifests"~ itself in our lives, and the impact of those manifestations on those around us. to provide a means to explore our humanity, then this book is fine art indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Not an extreme amount of plot.
Review: We've all read the sort of book which is all plot, but has no character developement; Hegi's book is the opposite sort. Not to say that it has no plot, but it is mainly a lengthly meditation on character.
Rating:
Summary: The Vision of Emma Blau
Review: While I did enjoy this book, I felt it was much more powerful in the beginning and began to lose steam about 1/2 way through.Hegi started to weave a colorful tapestry of characters but then abruptly stopped developing them, characters were introduced and then barely written about.It almost felt like she left the door open for a sequel because so many characters were left "dangling." Instead of being a GREAT book, it was merely a pleasant read.
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