Stones from the River

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Summary: A short woman whose spirit, love, and courage stand tall.
Review: Like the water in the river that swirls, divides and moves beyond the stones in Ursula Hegi's latest book, the "Zwerg" Trudy moves through her life hampered by size, heightened by courage and made whole (for awhile) by love. It is a powerful book encompassing many stories at once, all which revolve around Trudy and a Germany that exists before, during and after the Nazis

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Summary: I enjoyed this book but it ends without a sound conclusion.
Review: This book has a remarkable lead character. It also gives good insight on what was going on in Germany during this time. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it highly. Even though the book may be long, once you get past page 50 you will not be able to put it down. Good luck and Enjoy!

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Summary: Acknowledging the stones in the river of my own life.
Review: There are "stones in the river" of everyone's lives, but most folks do not acknowledge the river, much less the stones. I was taken by Trudi's ability to go "the river" often and not only build from the stones, but respect them, alter her course and move around them. After reading this book, I will make time in days to come, to do the same in my life

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Summary: This is a book about...
Review: This is a book about a dwarf in Nazi Germany at the dawning of the holocaust. This is a book about a woman who is painfully aware of her ill fit to society's standards of physical beauty. This is a book about her brilliant insight into the special influence she has over others in her world. This is a book about a redeeming chance that almost saves her. This is a book about goodness within this woman, within each of us. This is a book about evil and temptation within this woman, within each of us. This is--above all--a book about personal power. Read this story about a specific woman in a specific setting, which transcends specifics to end up as a book about each of us and how we find a path amid the forces drawing us every which way in the world, the forces pulling at us from the dark and the light within

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Summary: Even being an outsider has its rewards!
Review: A rough read at the beginning could cause many potential Ursula fans to run for the hills, but if you can avoid getting hung up in the whirlpools...STONES is for you. This is a truly masterful story of a woman who can't and then wont fit in with the society she finds herself in. First, she pays for what others see as her physical shortcomings. Then she gets others to pay before they realize what they're doing. Read this book if you need to discover that being an outsider can have its own reward. Read this book if you need to understand silence in a new way. And, read this book if you are still looking for understanding of yourself, your place and even of the dark portion that Nazis left in history. You will find things out about yourself before you realize you needed to. STONES FROM THE RIVER is a 9.5 on the Reader Richter

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Summary: A Dwarf Who Dreams to Grow
Review: Elegantly written - my praise is foremost for the captive prose. Written from the point of view of a dwarf looking up at the world and its infinite cruelty. As a short woman who is a little on the heavy side, I can feel and relate to this character. Ursula is an important writer that everyone should read - no matter what your height - this is a very good book

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Summary: An amazing woman
Review: The main caracter of this book is an amazing woman. She looks into the hearts of the people in her small town and sees who they really are, at a time when people are hiding their true feelings, even from themselves. She is courageous, and she fights he Nazi's in every smll way that she can

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Summary: The best book I've read in years!
Review: I highly recommend this book! It is so insightful, especially to those of us who never truly lived through a world war. Also made me delightedly aware that not all Germans were evil during WWII. A lovely book

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Summary: A novel which provokes moral introspection on every level
Review: This book is the kind that should leave you feeling disturbed and ill at ease...not only because of the painfully eloquent way in which Hegi portrays the suffering mankind so willingly imposes upon itself, but also because it forces one to examine personal moral dogma. The parallel between Trudi's isolation from her village neighbors as a microcosm of the attempted Jewish genocide by Nazi Germany is masterfully crafted. "Stones from the River" is hauntingly beautiful and should be a required English reading assignment for all American high school seniors

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Summary: Home cooking for the mind.
Review: This is one of those books that you begin to read and find that the only thing you can think about is finding time to sit down and read some more. The book transports you back to childhood, when reading was a lazy, sunny afternoon's project, that satisfied the imagination and the mind the way mashed potatoes and roast chicken satisfy the appetite. Everyone in the country should find time to read this fascinating story about the life of one small town in Germany between the two world wars and through the horror of the Holocaust