Floating in My Mother's Palm is the compelling and mystical story of Hanna Malter, a young girl growing up in 1950's Burgdorf, the small Ger...
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Dec 16, 2009
Stacy
rated it: 
Reviewers felt that this book could be read as a sequel to "Stones From the River" (which is one of my all-time favorite books). However, it read more like a series of short stories than an actual novel. Because of this, I felt no connection to the main character, Hanna (I even had to check the book jacket to see what her name was, and I just read the book), and I even felt out-of-touch with the character I had loved so much in "Stones" (Trudi Montag), who has cameo appearanc
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Jan 03, 2009
Laurie
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This is a short novel that in many ways reads more like a collection of essays. It's a series of short vignettes about the people who live in a small German town in the 1950s. The narrator is a teenage girl, born just after WWII, and much of the novel deals with the consequences of war for the various townspeople. This is a town populated by a truly eclectic cast of characters. Hegi does an excellent job of delving deep into and developing each of her characters and their relationships to one an
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Oct 01, 2011
Talia
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In the tight community of Burgdorf, a girl observes the foibles of the town's people as they go about their lives. Each neighbor--young or old-- somehow touches Hanna's life, unintentionally parting with a lesson, depositing a memory that makes up a childhood. The events unfold in Hegi's lyrical, mellifluous voice, rich with the texture of the people and smells of the place.
Floating In My Mother's Palm is structured less in a novel format that in the form of interlinking short stori More...
Floating In My Mother's Palm is structured less in a novel format that in the form of interlinking short stori More...
Jul 13, 2011
Christina
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Although I agree with many that this book is not as good as "Stones From the River" I still think it is a great book. The stories take place in the same town with some of the same characters (years apart) but there are some major differences. This is a short read, the story of a young girls life told in a series of vignettes (which could stand as short stories on their own) and flicker back and forth in a nonlinear manner between her childhood and teenage years. "Stones..." i
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May 05, 2011
Linda
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Profoundly insightful, incredibly haunting, both heartbreakingly sad and heartwarmingly charming, lyrical and poetic in dealing with some very difficult life experiences, this book is destined to be one of my top reads of 2011.
In small town post WWII, 1950's Burgdorf Germany, pre-teen Trudy Malter provides insights into colorful characters, rich in history and life experience.
Possessing the soul of her artistic, carefree mother, and the kind, gentleness of her father, T More...
In small town post WWII, 1950's Burgdorf Germany, pre-teen Trudy Malter provides insights into colorful characters, rich in history and life experience.
Possessing the soul of her artistic, carefree mother, and the kind, gentleness of her father, T More...
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Nov 21, 2011
Sue
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I'm not sure why I read Ursula Hegi's "Floating in my Mother's Palm," and in fact actually bought it, since I was lukewarm on her "Stones from the River." And yet when I saw it included a lot of the same characters, I was intrigued enough to purchase it, and then read it in one sitting. Although written prior to Stones, it is actually set in the time period after Stones. Hegi's prose is probably what compels me to read her novels, more so than the stories themselves. This boo
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Nov 22, 2011
Sue
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Ursula Hegi wrote "Floating in My Mother's Palm" before "Stones from the River", although the events in it come afterward. I'm not sure why I picked it up, much less bought it, because I was lukewarm about Stones. Yet, when I saw that Floating might give a different perspective on some of the same characters, I had to get it. It was an easier read that Stones, with chapters more like vignettes, and a main character, Hannah, that I found more likeable than Trudi in Stones. It
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Jan 26, 2010
Hannah Jane
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At first I didn't like her disorganized writing style. I felt like my attention span was being yanked around. But all the skipping grew on me. I am convinced now that my initial perception of disorganization is actually her attempt to paint continuity with words. Like where does a person start with a constant circle? Everywhere! I am still not quite happy with the end. It was not only rushed. It was also unfinished. I feel like I'm in the middle of something. Is she doing this on purpo
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Jul 11, 2010
Gitte
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What a wonderful book! This is my second book by Hegi and I was again overwhelmed by her beautiful writing. I just know that I have to read everything she's ever written.
This one offered tiny glimpses of the people in the protagonist's (a small girl) life - both people close to her and people in her village she only knows by name and rumour.
There's isn't much of a plot - except that you can sense the protagonist's development throughout - and usually I don't like this ki More...
This one offered tiny glimpses of the people in the protagonist's (a small girl) life - both people close to her and people in her village she only knows by name and rumour.
There's isn't much of a plot - except that you can sense the protagonist's development throughout - and usually I don't like this ki More...
Dec 14, 2010
Pamela
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This is a lovely collection of short writings that make an even lovelier whole. Hanna, a young girl in post-war Germany is our guide into her life and the life of her town. The writing is evocative and almost painterly in the way Hegi describes a scene or character. If you enjoy heavily plotted books, this is not one - the plot is secondary to Hanna's growth.
One short piece in Floating in My Mother's Palm introduces the character of Trudi, the dwarf librarian and chief gossip of the to More...
One short piece in Floating in My Mother's Palm introduces the character of Trudi, the dwarf librarian and chief gossip of the to More...
Jul 03, 2011
Louise
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Ursula Heigi, also the author of Stones from the River, does a beautiful job of telling the story of childhood memories through the voice of her main character, Hannah. She gives us a fascinating 360 degree view of the complexity of life in a small German town after the war.
Heigi's depiction of the river as a source of solace, pleasure and danger works as a repeating metaphor to intertwine the lives of the villagers with their stories and each other.
Her language is as lyric More...
Heigi's depiction of the river as a source of solace, pleasure and danger works as a repeating metaphor to intertwine the lives of the villagers with their stories and each other.
Her language is as lyric More...
Jan 24, 2012
Chris
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Absolutely beautiful writing. I actually felt the warmth of the people in the town, and felt their sorrows and pains as well. The relationship Hannah has with her mother is complex and loving. Hegi does an amazing job writing from the perspective of an adolescent girl, and touches on so many cultural post war issues in Germany. I highly recommend this book. The chapters are like small stories about different people in the village, so it's a great bedside book, easy to read a few chapters and put
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Nov 26, 2010
Elizabethesaurus
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My neighbor gave me this to see if I'd like it. She got it at some sale, and gave it a try, but it wasn't her style.
It was involving, and there was some very lovely prose in there, but sometimes she went overboard on the descriptions and my attention wandered.
I did like the scattered, almost short-story nature of the narrative, but then I thought it ended too abruptly.
I liked the story, but I did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters. More...
It was involving, and there was some very lovely prose in there, but sometimes she went overboard on the descriptions and my attention wandered.
I did like the scattered, almost short-story nature of the narrative, but then I thought it ended too abruptly.
I liked the story, but I did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters. More...
Dec 08, 2011
Mary
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AAAAaaaahhhh...I'm scrambling to find good quick reads so I can reach my goal for the year. Decided to revisit Ursula Hegi of 'Stones From the River', one of my most beloved reads from the last ten years. I blew through 'Stones From the River', Hegi is wonderful at creating truly complex, deep, characters. 'Floating In My Mother's Palm' was written prior to 'Stones' but is set in the last pages and following the conclusion of 'Stones'. I'm excited to get started since many of my favorite cha
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Aug 05, 2011
Elizabeth (Alaska)
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This is the first published book in Ursula Hegi's "Burgdorf Cycle". I haven't heard the term "cycle" applied to books before, but it certainly makes more sense in this context than does the term series. The events in this book take place after her more well-known Stones from the River.
I would characterize this as more a collection of stories with the narrator and setting the same throughout. Hanna Malter is a young girl who tells of her life and town following WWII More...
I would characterize this as more a collection of stories with the narrator and setting the same throughout. Hanna Malter is a young girl who tells of her life and town following WWII More...
Jan 03, 2009
bookczuk
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If you have ever read Stones From the River or any of Hegi's subsequent novels, you'll enjoy this early story that takes place in Burgdorf, and involves a number of familiar characters.
Most interesting to me was the note I found tucked inside it, addressed as follows:
<center>Miss Martha Hart Rhodes
soon to be Mrs Bert Glenn Utsey III
or Mrs Martha Utsey (Mrs Bert))</center>
The note inside (yes, I did read it, nosey nelson that I am) said:
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Most interesting to me was the note I found tucked inside it, addressed as follows:
<center>Miss Martha Hart Rhodes
soon to be Mrs Bert Glenn Utsey III
or Mrs Martha Utsey (Mrs Bert))</center>
The note inside (yes, I did read it, nosey nelson that I am) said:
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Aug 23, 2009
Cornelio
rated it:
The best characters make me remember my own stories.
And that's certainly was the case in this short novel. Structured as a short story cycle, the stories center around Hanna who recalls her life growing up in a small town in post-World War 2 Germany, a town full of fascinating yet familiar townsfolk and situations. Each story so touching and so well-crafted on its own, so that together the whole novel exudes a certain power that just lingers, a powerful but good haunting. Every so of More...
And that's certainly was the case in this short novel. Structured as a short story cycle, the stories center around Hanna who recalls her life growing up in a small town in post-World War 2 Germany, a town full of fascinating yet familiar townsfolk and situations. Each story so touching and so well-crafted on its own, so that together the whole novel exudes a certain power that just lingers, a powerful but good haunting. Every so of More...
Jan 07, 2008
Beth
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If you like books with rip roarin' plots, this book is NOT for you. If you enjoy interesting and diverse character development, this novel should please you. Though to characterize it as a novel may be misleading. It's better described as a series of vignettes as seen through the eyes of Hanna, the protagonist.
Hanna is growing up in post-WWII Germany, in the town of Bergdorf. Her story - and that of the townspeople - is revealed through her own interactions with her neighbors and th More...
Hanna is growing up in post-WWII Germany, in the town of Bergdorf. Her story - and that of the townspeople - is revealed through her own interactions with her neighbors and th More...
Sep 27, 2011
Lanea
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This is the second novel of Heigi's I've read, and I'm developing a serious writer-crush. This novel and Stones from the River are both set in the same fictional small town in Germany, and both feature some of the same characters. The main character in this book is a girl named Hanna. Trudi Montag, the focus of Stones from the River, figures again in this novel, but simply as the town gossip and a kind of mentor to Hanna.
But, as is generally the case with books I love, it's not t More...
But, as is generally the case with books I love, it's not t More...
Apr 29, 2009
Amy
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This book involves characters who also appear in Stones from the River. I got the gist that this was a sequel, but it actually was written before Stones in the River, so I DID read them in the right order! These were a bunch of short stories about people who live in a small village in Germany. Most are from the point of view of Hanna. I can relate a lot to Hanna, mainly because she was a stinker and got into a lot of trouble! Wonderful insights into peoples lives in post WWII Germany with very i
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Oct 16, 2011
Anna
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Very glad that I read the 'prequel' to this (actually written after) first. The author teases with incomplete character development (I thought) and not fully told stories. If the reader considers that the voice of the author comes from a little girl for most of the book it's perhaps easier to overlook the plot which jumps around and never back to the same story. I'm extremely grateful that the author took the time to create "Stones from the River." It would have been a shame to hav
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Mar 26, 2010
Marci
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As I finish this book, I find myself grateful to Ursula Hegi for becoming a writer. "Stones from the River" has always stayed with me and haunted me. I love her writing style. She has raw and tragic characters and circumstance set against a backdrop of the lush Geman countryside. Her apraisal of natural beauty contrasts well with the bleak human condition. She parcels out carefully all we need to know about each character and situation; just enough for us to feel the pain of each outco
Jun 25, 2011
Kelly
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Vignettes/ short stories/ essays, I'm not sure what to call the stories in this book. I know they are all interconnected, but am just not a short story gal. I read this after I read Stones From the River (which I really loved)because it was supposed to be a kind of sequel (even though it was written first). Hegi's writing is beautiful and she plumbs the depths of family emotional strife, but I didn't connect to this story the way I wanted to.
May 10, 2010
Tom
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This is a book of short stories about the residents of a small town in Germany, post-WW2. Although fictional, the stories and people sound so authentic that it makes you feel they are auto-biographical. But they tie together so well and so poetically that it can't be the case.
This style of writing or story telling isn't my typical choice, but I quickly fell into the stories, completely entranced. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
This style of writing or story telling isn't my typical choice, but I quickly fell into the stories, completely entranced. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Jun 20, 2009
Shannon
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I read this because I'd loved Stones From the River. Hegi's writing still shines in this book, but I didn't care as much for the vignette form. It does take place in the same town as SFTR and Trudi makes a cameo appearance, but I didn't like her so well in these stories. She's kind of bossy and ill-tempered. Hegi wrote these stories first and I preferred her expanded and more humanized version of Trudi in SFTR.
Aug 15, 2009
Nono
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I am a fan of Hegi's, loved Stones from the River and recently learned of this earlier book that shared some of the same characters. I enjoyed it though not as much as Stones from...
In many ways it was a series of short stories about a community seen through the eyes of a young girl. There wasn't really a cohesive plot line. I think with a stronger plot I would have given it 5 stars
In many ways it was a series of short stories about a community seen through the eyes of a young girl. There wasn't really a cohesive plot line. I think with a stronger plot I would have given it 5 stars
Mar 16, 2009
Petra
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The book focusses on Hanna, a girl growing up in a small German town after the war. It goes beyond Hanna and tells the stories of the townspeople who she grows up with. It's a well written, poignant story. I'd also recommend Ursela's Stones By The River, which is set in the same town but pre-war and is told through the eyes of Trudi the dwarf, who also appears in this book.
Feb 10, 2010
Jenny
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This book is a book which follows the same characters which are developed in the novel Stones in a River, which I enjoyed more than this one. Stones from the River had the background of the war. This one is more like a coming of age novel of a young girl in a small town in Europe (Germany?). Read Stones from the River if you are going to read one of her books.
Aug 29, 2011
Jill
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This book was one of my DI finds so I didn't know anything about it other than that I recognized the author. Apparently she wrote this book before Stones From The River, but this book can be considered the sequel to that book.
Each chapter of this book feels like it's own short story, yet the people in the chapters are all from the same village and it's told from the same girl's perspective. I liked it and am moving on to Stones From The River.
Each chapter of this book feels like it's own short story, yet the people in the chapters are all from the same village and it's told from the same girl's perspective. I liked it and am moving on to Stones From The River.
Jul 19, 2009
Barb
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The writing is spetacular, poetic and unforgettable. Hannah, the narrator, tells stories about the people in her life as she grows up in Germany. Trudi, a character from Stones of the River, is featured in this story also. Every chapter involved another person in Hannah's life, and I was sad each chapter ended. I LOVED this book!
