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The Hessian

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The Hessian tells the story of the capture, trial, and execution of a Hessian drummer boy by Americans during the Revolution. At the heart of the story is a Quaker family, who hide the boy after his landing party has been killed in an ambush. Because the captain of the Hessians had ordered the hanging of a local whom he thought might be a spy, the town militia lay in wait, massacred the Hessians, and hunted down the only survivor, Hans Pohl.

His capture and trial provide an opportunity to explore the difficult moral position that war presents, complicated by the presence of the Quaker family. The story is told from the point of view of Evan Feversham, a doctor who has seen enough of death, and an outsider in the narrow world of Puritan New England. Based on a true event.

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 1972

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About the author

Howard Fast

305 books250 followers
Howard Fast was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.

Pseudonyms: Walter Ericson, E.V. Cunningham

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Omid Milanifard.
389 reviews43 followers
August 11, 2021
عنوان کتاب the hessian به معنی اهل ایالت هس آلمان است. در زمان جنگهای استقلال آمریکا، انگلیسیها افراد آلمانی عمدتا از ایالت هس را برای نبرد اجیر میکردند که به آنها "مزدور"های آلمانی هم گفته میشد. داستان مزدور یک تراژدی ضد جنگ است. روایتی از چرخه معیوب تنفری که تنفر می آورد.

"زندگی کوتاهش تقریبا پیش از آنکه آغاز شود رو به پایان بود و او فقط میتوانست با شجاعت خود به مرگ بی معنایش مفهومی ببخشد.."
Profile Image for ابوالفضل  نصری.
276 reviews2 followers
April 13, 2024
کسی می‌دونه چرا چاپ نشر خزه (ترجمه مهدی غبرایی) از چاپ قدیمی کتاب با همین ترجمه حدود ۷۰ صفحه کمتره؟ بخاطر چاپه یا نکته‌ خاصی بوده که حذف شده؟
Profile Image for Sanam.
96 reviews37 followers
May 28, 2020
این چاپ کتاب ۷۲ صفحه کمتر از چاپ اول آن با ترجمه همین آقایی غبرایی است. این صفحات چه شده اند؟؟ با توجه به موضوع کتاب که درباره جنگ و اعدام است میشود حدث زد که ۷۲ صفحه برای چه حذف شده اند....
اینکه پایان داستان بسیار تلخ و تکان دهنده است نکته قوت داستان است اما انفعال افراد قابل قبول نیست ... به هر حال شخصیت پردازی داستان متوسط است و داستان بیشتر حادثه محور است...
Profile Image for Chris Thompson.
812 reviews14 followers
June 1, 2012
Set during the American Revolution, The Hessian is a powerful novel about the attitudes and life of early Americans. It is about a bigotry that serves to protect a small town, but with tragic consequences.

Near a young New England town marches a small regiment of Hessian soldiers. Hessians were well-trained and much-feared soldiers who fought for the British during the American Revolution. Because of this, a Hessian regiment, no matter how small, would have generally been left alone. However, an autistic child from the town follows them and is captured and hanged as a spy. This is witnessed by Jacob Heather, a young Quaker boy, who runs into town to tell the physician, Dr. Feversham, as well as Squire Abraham Hunt, the town's leader. Hunt leads a regiment of nervous men to ambush the Hessians, and the ambush is so successful that all of the Hessians are killed except the drummer boy, without a shot fired from the other side. This boy, named Hans Pohl, finds safety in the Heather household, and the Quaker family enlists the help of Dr. Feversham to take care of Hans's wounds. The doctor has no desire to see Hans harmed, but he knows it is only a matter of time before Squire Hunt finds him.

The novel is told in the first person from the point of view of Dr. Feversham. He is a bitter man, and not a very likeable one, though this doesn't detract from the novel. His bitterness is justified. As an Englishman and a Catholic he has faced persecution in some form all of his life. In England he was persecuted as a Catholic, and in America he is persecuted as an Englishman and a Catholic. He is tolerated only because he married an American woman and is the town's only physician. Dr. Feversham finds himself at odds with the narrow-minded Squire Hunt, and he admires the kindness and tolerance of the Heather family. At the same time, their passivity frustrates him. By the novel's end, though, he comes to see this passive nature of the Quakers as a coping mechanism, as he is ultimately powerless to prevent a horrible tragedy.

Fast does an excellent job of bringing the era to life in his descriptions of the daily routines of Dr. Feversham and his encounters with other townsfolk. In a world filled with insecurity and uncertainty, Squire Hunt's narrow-minded prejudices are a necessity for survival, and as such his values won't permit any exceptions. Perhaps the most powerful scene and also the most vivid portrait of life at the time is the trial of Hans's Pohl. Men and women pack themselves into a small, hot courthouse in order to watch a trial whose outcome has been decided long before it even began. What Dr. Feversham and the Quakers see as tragic, Squire Hunt and the other townsfolk sees as necessary. Fast reveals a sense justice warped by the prejudices of those presiding over it, and this is not just a relic of the past, but a problem that faces society even today.

The novel's only weakness is the inclusion of a couple of romantic side plots that distract from the main story. Inevitably, Hans and the Heather girl who is his own age will fall in love, but worse is the way the novel handles an attraction between Dr. Feversham and Sarah Heather, the mother and wife of the Quaker family. There are some awkward, unconvincing scenes that come out of this, particularly in the form of jealousy from Dr. Feversham's wife. It's ironic the way Fast seeks to make a point about bigotry in America, yet casts the women as nothing more than objects of romance for the men.

Nonetheless, The Hessian is a captivating read that transports the reader to a more primitive and unstable time in America's history. What Fast has to say about society then reflects on society today. It raises interesting questions about the necessity of prejudice in a society, whether it really is necessary, and what it says about society that such deep-rooted bigotry still exists.
Profile Image for Jim Barber.
Author 6 books11 followers
October 30, 2020
This one caused me to re-evaluate my list of top 20 list of all-time favorites. In the end, my list stayed put, but "The Hessian" was that good. It's the rare book where the main character is someone I don't particularly like but still have lots of empathy for him as well as just a genuine love of the story. There's something harsh and cold in the way Howard Fast shares this story--seems very Puritan-like, which, I think, is the point. War is hell, they say, and is that evident here. On the whole, sparse writing doesn't always appeal to me but Howard Fast is one of those rare authors who can pull it off. He packs a wallop into his stories and despite the sparseness, you never feel cheated out of character development or anything else. While "The Hessian" won't quite make my top 20--"April Morning" by Fast already resides there--it's one of the best Revolutionary War stories I've read.
Profile Image for Dale.
1,935 reviews67 followers
June 19, 2020
Originally published in 1972.

Howard Fast (1914-2003) was a prolific author with a particular love of historical fiction. He is most famous for the novel Spartacus, the book that the famous movie is based on.

This book is set in rural Connecticut late in the Revolutionary War. The war has moved on south of Connecticut. The main character is Dr. Feversham, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and wars in Europe who is sick to death of war. He is not a particularly pleasant man. He is a lapsed Catholic while most of his neighbors are Protestants. There is also a scattering of Quakers in the area.

A British ship dropped off a squad of 16 Hessians who cause a panic. Hessians are German soldiers hired by the British to help supplement their soldiers during the Revolutionary War. They were particularly hated and feared because they were mercenaries (and they fought very well). The Americans could understand why the British fought, but what was the motivation of soldiers who were rented out by their lord back in The Holy Roman Empire?

The reason for this mission by the Hessians is never discovered, but they do hang a local man during their march. He was a simpleminded fellow who barely knew how to speak. He was following them because they were new and interesting. The Hessians seem to have killed him because he might be a spy, but it was just as likely that they did it because he was annoying and this was a war zone.

The local militia forms up to go after them and, using their...

Read more at: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2020...
11 reviews
March 30, 2024
برای شناختن یه پدیده باید اون رو از جوانب مختلف بررسی کرد. اگر ورودی ها تک جهته یا تک جنبه باشه، تحلیلی ناقص به وقوع می پیوندد. چه موضوع در ذهن مطلوب و چه نامطلوب ارزیابی بشه.
حب و بغض بی منطق و بی ریشه باعث می‌شه نسبت به شبهات بی دفاع و گوش به دهان اطرافیان برخورد نمود. از طرفی دیگه برخی سوالات و تشکیک ها پیشران اندیشیدن خواهد بود.
القصه کلیه کتاب های هاوارد فاست علی‌رغم ظاهر داستانی و رمان‌گونه، مفاهیمی عمیق را مطرح می کند و ذهن را به تکاپو چه در موافقت و چه در مخالفت می‌اندازد.
با این وجود در مقایسه با باقی کتاب های ایشون، مزدور عمق کمتر و داستانی رو راست‌تر دارد. به نحوی که پس از سی چهل صفحه اول پایان کتاب مشخص است.
پ ن: موضوع درباره جامعه ای دیگر با مختصاتی متفاوت تعریف شده اما در برخی موارد الگوهای قابل انطباق به ایران دارد که کشف آن‌ها و کنکاش در آن‌ها از جذابیت های مهم این کتاب برای من بود ...
Profile Image for Lemondrop Booktalks.
303 reviews2 followers
March 2, 2021
This novel was quick and easy to read. I read it for a college class and enjoyed the novel. It has strong themes on outsiders, hypocrisy, and bystander involvement in war. It really makes readers question what a situation looks like from both sides.

While it was a quick read that provided interesting discussion, it was a little short and lacking in my opinion. I did grow attached to some characters, but the story is not one that I think will stick with me years down the road. It brings up good discussion but is not memorable, at least to me. Wonderful use of a first person narrative, though. The writing was extremely well done. Simply was just not super impactful to me personally.
1,615 reviews7 followers
April 25, 2020
This was a story following the Revolutionary War. Hessian soldiers committed an unspeakable crime, but in order to punish fully those responsible, the townspeople commit an unspeakable act. I enjoyed this story and fully got the idea of the viciousness of war time and how brutally people treat their perceived enemies. A story worth reading, it gave me lots to think about.
Profile Image for Sarajevo Ramsler.
86 reviews6 followers
January 28, 2021
Tanta sensibilidad en las palabras de Fast bajo el el personaje del Doctor Feversham.
Escrita en un periodo que no se suele tocar tanto como la Primera y Segunda Guerra Mundial en la literatura moderna.
Es maravilloso, una de las piezas que Emecé tuvo el tino de preservar en su catálogo durante los 70's.
Profile Image for Joe Rodeck.
894 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2022
*The Hessian* was an interesting niche American Revolution story with its plot concerning should we treat young boy soldiers as strictly as wizened professional mercenaries. It is frustrating at the end. Why doesn’t our first person narrator discuss the result of the issues at hand?

Easy reading: middle school and up.
Profile Image for яσвεят.
400 reviews33 followers
July 9, 2024
فاست باشه و مترجم اقای غبرایی مشخصه داستان ارزش خوندن داره ۱۹۰ صفحه تراژدی ضد جنگ از زبون کسی که یه زمانی خودش مسبب شروعش بوده قشنگه
مسلما برای فهمیدن نکات کتاب یکبار مطالعه ی اون کفایت نمیکنه من به عنوان زنگ تفریح به سراغش رفتم در کتابخانه دیدمش که چشمک میزد 🙃
Profile Image for Ali.
37 reviews
June 13, 2025
با کتابایی که شخصیت اولشون یک پزشک فداکاره خیلی حال می‌کنم
اما حالا که به آخرش رسیدم بیشتر از ۲.۵ نمیتونم بدم
نتیجه کتاب هم میشه اگه توی زندگیتون مبلّغ مذهبی ای ، اخوندی ، کشیشی ، سره راهتون قرار گرفت فرار کنید قراره اتفاقات بدی بیافته !!
Profile Image for Federico Kereki.
Author 7 books14 followers
August 31, 2019
Rather a long novella, than a novel - an extended short story about a hessian soldier, accused of a murder he didn't commit.
Profile Image for Parsa.Hs.
20 reviews1 follower
November 5, 2024
200 صفحه تلاش برای اثبات بی گناهی یک مزدور...
جذاب و پرکشش... ترجمه نیاز به تعریف ندارد 👌🏻
Profile Image for Ali.
Author 17 books673 followers
July 17, 2007
خواندن اثار هوارد فاست کمک می کند تا تاریخ آمریکا را به گونه ای دیگر، از درون آینه ی ادبیات بشناسیم. اگرچه نه به آن دقت و جزئیات که تاریخ یک قرن فرانسه را می شود از طریق خواندن آثار بالزاک شناخت، با این همه هوارد فاست یک آمریکایی ست که با همه ی دید انتقادی نسبت به فرهنگ و تاریخ ملتش، هم چنان دلسوز مردم و میهن خود باقی مانده است. مهاجران را باجلان فرخی ترجمه کرده و انتشارات اساطیر در 1371 منتشر کرده است. نسل دوم را به فارسی ندیده ام. با وجودی که در برابر دیگر آثار هوارد فاست آنچنان درخشش ندارد، اما کم اثری نیست و مهر روایت های هوارد فاست را بر خود دارد، با وصف شیرینی از شخصیت ها و شرایط اجتماعی و چگونگی زندگی آمریکاییان ساده دل ... "آخرین مرز" هوارد فاست، وصف شایان ها در جامعه ی آمریکاست؛ “غائله تمام شد" اما به راستی تمام نشده. وقتی 140 سرخپوست گرفتار به اردوگاه برده می شوند، تازه پایان یک آغاز است. آغازی برای از میان بردن یک فرهنگ، قتل هزاران نفر از یک ملیت که در سراسر زمینی پر از خون و اشک، در سرزمین خود هم از حق انتخاب گور محروم اند. (ص( 246 وقتی افسر فرمانده به سه رهبر “شایان" می گوید باید به جنوب بروند، پاسخ می دهند “یک شایان دستگیر شده، یک شایان مرده است. آنها مایل نیستند به جنوب بروند و…” دلم نمی خواست به سطر بعدی بروم، نمی خواستم بدانم چه می شود. می خواستم با این “شایان"های دستگیر شده بمانم. افسر به مترجم می گوید “غلط می کنند بر نمی گردند" مترجم که خود از شایان هاست، مکث می کند، به راستی باید این جمله را ترجمه کند؟ فاست وصف می کند شایان ها چگونه ایستاده بودند. آنها دیگر “گرگ کوچک"، “چاقوی کند "و "ابر راه رونده" نیستند، تنها سه “شایان" دستگیر شده اند، سه موجود شکسته شده با پاره جل هایی بر دوششان در زمستانی که استخوان می ترکاند، در دفتر سروان که از آتش بخاری گرم است، ایستاده اند. سه سایه ی بی نام که گوشه ای از اتاق را پر کرده اند. آنها که قبیله ای داشتند، با مردمانی و سرزمینی از خود که زیر پای “پونی"هاشان تخت سلیمان بود، اینک سه جنبنده ی بی نام اند، سه از دست رفته، سه شکست خورده که همه ی حیثیت و شرافتشان بر باد رفته، و هم چنان از جانب افسران و سربازان متجاوز “وحشی ها" خوانده می شوند. شاید این وحشی ها از خود می پرسند؛ خداوندا، مرز بین تمدن و وحش کجاست؟ مرز میان گرسنه ای آواره در سرزمین خود که زیر سایه ی چتری از آخرین مدل هواپیماهای بمب افکن مبهوت ایستاده است! فاست در ابتدای کتاب از پدرش تشکر می کند که سفارش کرده؛ “آمریکای گذشته و آمریکای فعلی را دوست بدارد". شایان های معاصر، خوب می دانند چرا مراکز گرسنگی، بیماری، درد، فقر، وحشت و تروردر سرزمین آنها مستقر شده. اسلحه ها را متمدین دموکرات می سازند تا “تروریست ها" را روی منابع زیر زمینی شان خفه کنند.
Reading Howard Fast helps to read American history with a reflection from the literature. No matter how critically Fast faces American society, he loves his father land, his culture and his nation, deeply and respectfully.
3 reviews
April 24, 2025
مزدور خیلی دردناک و تلخ بود.
هرگز نمیتونم داستانشو فراموش کنم.
تلخی داستان به حدی واقعی بود که حتی نمیتونم توصیفش کنم.
هیچ وقت یادم نمیره که سائول فقط یه بچه عقب مونده بود و بدون تلاش برای فرار دستیگرش کردن و دارش زدن، که جیکوب فقط یه بچه بود و براش خیلی سخت بود که شاهد به دار اویخته شدن هم شهری خودش توسط مزدوران باشه و بعد رفتنشون بره سراغ جنازه سائول، اون دوتا پسر بچه 14 ساله دوقولو جز افرادی بودن که رفتن برای شکار مزدور ها و از ترس نتونستنن هیچکاری کنن و شاهد اون صحنه وحشتناک و خونین بودن، هانس فقط بین مزدوران طبل میزد، هانس شبیه کسایی بود که شانس اورده و تونسه فرار کنه، تونسه گیر خانواده ایی بیوفته که به خاطر مذهبشون عشق و نیکی براشون مهمه، که دکتر فورشام به موقع تونست برسه بالاسرش و با مراقب سالی و صد البته عشق سالی تونست جون سالم به در بره البته اگر بشه اسم اینکه پدرت جلوت به اون طرز وحشتناک بمیره رو بزاری شانس چون تونستی فرار کنی.
اون بچه پدرش مزدور بود و احتمالا قرار گرفتنش بین اون ها به خاطر پدرش بود اگرنه یه پسر بچه 16 ساله چقدر عقلش میرسه که بخواد برای زندگیش تصمیم بگیره؟
سالی فقط یه دختر بچه بود که عاشق شد، عاشق هانس و این عشق همراه با دلهره و ترس بود و در نهایت تونست فقط برای 15 دقیقه با هانس حرف بزنه قبل اجرای حکم، حکمی که انصافی توش نبود، حکمی که از همون ابتدای کتاب بدون محاکمه ازش حرف میزدن، باید هانس دار زده میشد و هانس دار زده شد.
هانس در هر صورت شانس نیاورده بود، اگر همونجا کنار پدرش یکباره میمرد راحت تر بود تا غم از دست دادن پدرش و حس عذاب وجدان اینکه جناره پدرشو رها کرده بود رو تحمل کنه، که از دست کسایی که دنبالش بودن فرار کنه، که زخمی توی مرداب بره و در نهایت جون سالم از اون گلوله به در ببره که در نهایت بعد اینکه آنقدر قدر دان اون خانواده و دکتر بود به این شکل بمیره؟
فقط در یک صورت میتونیم بگیم شانس اورد اونم اینکه حداقل برای مدت کوتاهی عشق رو تجربه کرد.
هرگز یادم نمیره که وقتی اون 15 دقیقه تموم شد پشتش به سالی بود و گریه میکرد.
وقتی حکمش رو شنید خواست حفظ ظاهر کنه ولی چون فقط یه پسر بچه بود اشک ریخت.
و منم هم اشک ریختم.
نمیتونم فراموش کنم که توی دادگاه گفت من کسی رو نکشتم...
قربانی های این کتاب بچه بودن و همین موضوع درد اتفاقات کتابو چند برابر میکرد.
بعد تموم کردنش دوتا لیوان آب یک نفس خوردم و چندتا نفس عمیق کشیدم و واقعا غمگین بودم.

`` کافی نیست که فقط در عشق باهم سهیم باشیم، در رنج های یکدیگر هم باید سهیم شد. ``

جمعه 20 مهر 1403.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
23 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2008
Brilliant in its simplicity. A surprisingly easy read for a novel about the evils of war, the ambiguities of capital punishment and the hypocrisy of faith. Fast also manages to find room for a moving love story (if that's what you're in to) involving some very memorable characters. Very impressive for a book that is just over 200 pages.
10 reviews
July 14, 2008
This is a short, easy to read book set in New England in Revolutionary War times. I picked this book up at a garage sale awhile back because I've enjoyed other Howard Fast books in the past. It isn't his best, but I enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,063 reviews42 followers
April 26, 2012
I enjoyed this book. Style, word usage, plot, character developement, etc., all good. A moving story about a young Hessian forced to fight in the Revolutionary War. Divergent people worked together without any 'one-up-manship'. That must have been a wonderful way to live.
1 review
August 30, 2013
This book is a decent story if you enjoy not much action and a large amount of dialogue. I enjoyed the book, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people who are looking for an easy read.
302 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2016
Well written with a soulful plot. Sad- but that's the point. I feel like it was written long before 1972.
39 reviews
September 5, 2016
It was well done, just wished it hadn't been so short.
Would have enjoyed more story.
It does certainly make one think about the reasons we have wars and how futile they really are.
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21 reviews3 followers
September 28, 2016
I appreciate historical fiction, and especially that this story centered on a limited time during a rich period of American history. I will be looking for more from Howard Fast.
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