S
tones from the River
By Ursula Hegi
Oprah Book Club® Selection #5, February 1997
Editorial Review:
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.
Read first chapter FREE – Click right and left arrows.
Related Posts
Oprah’s Book Club Collection – Complete List
Cane River by Lalita Tademy – Oprah’s Book Club Selection #44
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton – Oprah’s Book Club Selection #50- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry – Oprah’s Book Club Selection #46
The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard – Oprah’s Book Club Selection #1
Latest posts by Susan (see all)
- My Second 5-Gallon Bucket Garden – Tomatoes, Red Bells, Green Beans and Herbs - June 25, 2016
- Roasted Eggplant Parmesan – Plus a couple of simple low carb recipes with Eggplant! - September 16, 2015
- Cauliflower Mac & Cheese - August 21, 2015