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Jan 04, 2012

Emily rated it:

This was an excellent book. I was astounded by Hegi's ability to capture both the everyday life of Germans over the 20-year span leading up to the end of WWII and the experience of a woman with dwarfism. Not once does she dramatize for the sake of Hollywood-like entertainment. Considering the standard treatments for both the topics of dwarfism and WWII, this is indeed a rare accomplishment.

I myself have dwarfism and am usually sick of the average portrayal of dwarfs in the media More...

1 comment like (21 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Noce rated it:

Sul come la recensionista sbarazzina si lasci andare a rivelazioni autobiografiche che vanno ben oltre i suoi dati anagrafici

Quando andai a Trieste per l'Università, non so se per la legge degli opposti, o per la tendenza bislacca della vita a scherzare coi pardossi, mi ritrovai a frequentare assiduamente due bellezze indigene.
La Betta e La Claudia erano due valchirie alte 1,80 ciascuna, bionde, fascinose, giunoniche e con proporzioni da manuale.
Il primo anno eravamo inse More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jessica rated it:

I found this book at a library sale, and ended up buying it because I like the way the first page read. Unlike many of the people who have reviewed this book I loved it from the beginning. Trudi's insight into the world is amazing, and while very mature for her age, with a slight mental leap, completely believable.

Ultimately this is a book about differences. When we begin the story, Trudi and her friend Georg are the outcasts, but as the plot progresses-- as the Nazi's gain more More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2008

Carey rated it:

This was the first book I read with my new book club and I feel I need to rationalize the four- instead of five-star rating. The story is so important, and so deftly told, and the author does a great job of capturing the lives of citizens in a small German town from post-WWI through post-WWII. I felt like I came to know many of the characters personally. I cried several times. I had to really rethink what I know about history. And there were moments in the book where I literally had to stop read More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2007

misha rated it:

I loved this book from the beginning. The anger and passion of Trudi captivated me from beginning to end, and I had a hard time putting this book down.

I found that I had to concentrate harder on this book due to the number of characters, and with all of the german names. This made it much harder to rush through the book, which ultimately should be cherished anyway.

I loved Trudi's strengths as a story teller, and her understanding of her surroundings that bordered on mag More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2008

Deb rated it:

This book brought home what it was like to live in World War II era Germany and gave me new understanding of the Nazi takeover and what it meant for German residents. It was also somewhat spooky in that regard, that some people were so wholeheartedly caught up in the militaristic regime, and that it was not safe for others to speak out. It made me think of that line from poetry, what we at first abhor we first come to tolerate, and then embrace. Excellent book.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

THis is a book about world war II and about being different. It is frighteningly honest. It is just brilliant and unlike anything else I have read. It is about a little person!

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 08, 2008

Leah rated it:

great book...interesting main charater

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2011

Red rated it:

Intro

Although I often read history, especially books regarding World War II and Germany, memoirs, collected memories, analysis into the various horrors and sheer arrogant stupidity of what the Nazis and others did, I seldom, if ever, read fiction books about those times.

This book, however, caught my eye because the central character was a Zwerg, or dwarf, one of the many groups considered “unfit to live” which were summarily done away with under the Nazi regime. Secondly, thi More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2008

Tifnie rated it:

This is a book that I would not have picked out for myself to read if it weren't for my mother in-law.

The story, set in German in the early 1900's, is about a courageous blond, blue eyed girl named Trudi Montag who just happens to be a dwarf. Over the course of 4 decades, Trudi, tells you the story of her town, her friends, her physical limitations, her jealousy, and most importantly the Hitler reign that sweeps through her town exterminating all Jews and anyone who tries to help th More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2008

Chrissie rated it:

OK, yesterday I finished the book....... and I am having a very hard time choosing the stars and knowing what to say! Yes it is a very, very good book, BUT STILL it only received 4 rather then 5 stars. The positive first! The book is speckled with marvelous lines that get you thinking. For example - "by getting closer to a smaller world, she had found a larger world." Think about that and how true it is! Trudi, the main character's father has died. She says, "What she missed most More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 03, 2008

Mara rated it:

Some books disappoint on a second reading, but not this one. When it came time for my book club to read this book I was very excited, because I remembered that I really liked it the first time I read it. And I was not disappointed. I think I liked this book at least as much the second time around as the first.

This is a story with two contrasting themes. One is difference. Told mostly from the perspective of Trudi, a dwarf, who feels how different she is from the members of her commun More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2007

Johnna rated it:

I am lucky that I was trapped on a train for six hours going to Hartford and back, or I think I would have had a hard time getting into this one. Ultimately, it was a lovely and rewarding book-- but the first couple of hundred pages are all setup and a bit difficult to sludge through.

The book is about Trudi Montag, a young dwarf in rural Germany born to a WWI soldier and a crazy woman who grows up to defy the Nazis during WWII in her small town. The WWII portion of the book is fasci More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

This book is amazing. It gives you a new perspective on what hardships are and how we live our lives. I found it to be a tough read but in a good way. It really made me think and feel.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2008

Cindy rated it:

This book was long, and in parts tedious, and when I started it I was doubtful that I could relate to the primary character a dwarf with a chip on her shoulder. While her thirst for revenge was understandable, it was also difficult to read. Much of the novel was difficult due to the subject and the times. We expect heroism and compassion from the lead characters often, as we expect the same in life from those we know.Great writing, excellent character development, didn't give it more stars due t More...

7 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 14, 2011

Judith.garza rated it:

Although I've read (and seen) many pieces on living during the Nazi regime, this is actually the first time I got to read it from a German perspective. The main character, a "zwerg" (dwarf) named Trudi Montag is a wonderful person to center the novel around -- as the hub of her community, we're introduced to a variety of characters. Sometimes, Hegi tends to characterize to extremes -- I feel as though everyone in the book is either all good or all evil -- I would have appreciated some More...

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Mar 19, 2009

Lcbogota rated it:

Trudi Montag, a manipulative, resentful, nosy dwarf uses the secrets she gathers to extract her revenge on the townspeople who consider themselves superior and shun her, during the period from the First to Second World Wars in Burgdorf, Germany. As far as synopses go, that would be pretty accurate but it wouldn't make you want to read the book. The main character may be less than sympathetic, but she is sharp and observant, and paints finely tuned, sensitive, and insightful pictures of her fello More...

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Dec 15, 2008

Juanita rated it:

Stones from the River is a book to set beside Diane Ackerman's The Zookeeper's Wife</> although it is perhaps more fictionalized and thus less dependable for a sense of history than the Ackerman non-fiction. They are united in dealing with women non-combatants and
resisters in Europe during WWII. Of course there is also Corrie Ten Boom's Hiding Place</>(exact title?).

Hegi's book is also of interest in that the woman narrator is a dwarf, who rather amazingly is n More...

0 comments like

Feb 10, 2012

Judith rated it:

What was fascinating about this book was seeing the world from the perspective of someone who is culturally invisible - people look away from Trudy Montag because of her difference. As a dwarf in a town where there are no others, she is utterly alone.
The book perhaps focuses on this a bit too much early on - had my book group not chosen this for its selection, I am not sure I would have kept reading.
But, had I stopped reading, I would have missed a remarkable experience. In 500 pages, More...

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Jan 19, 2012

Lynn rated it:

The cover blurb said this was an epic, which I thought would be an exaggeration. It wasn't. This was a very moving, troubling novel set during the rise and fall of the Third Reich. This is seen from the perspective of a young girl and her father who observe the others in their town getting caught up, first in the excitement of something new happening, then in the fear of falling afoul of the Nazis. It's an interesting examination of how really bad things can happen "when good people do noth More...

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Jan 23, 2011

CynthiaA rated it:

I LOVED this book. The imagery and metaphors are excuisite. The character of Trudi is so wonderfully complex and human (damaged yet lovable -- even admirable at times). The other characters are beautifully crafted and incredibly believable.The setting -- of Germany post WWI and during/post WWII -- incredibly done. It gave the reader a real comprehension of how the political situation took root and became what it ultmately was.

The story was both compassionate and yet judgemental. Ho More...

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Dec 12, 2010

Marina rated it:

A thoughtful, insightful book of real characters and real lives in extraordinary times. Don't read it if you're looking for a plot full of suspense with Hollywood characters and a dramatic ending.

The main strength of the book is its ability to build real characters, rather than caricatures. The main character, Trudi, is a dwarf. Her struggle to come to terms with her condition which makes her so different and consequently the target of discrimination, in the form of taunts, pity or fe More...

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Mar 05, 2010

Mimi rated it:

This tale follows the life of Trudi Montag, a Zwerg (dwarf) who we know spent at least the first 33 years of her life in pre- and post- WWII Germany. The changes in her town resulting from the horrors inflicted by war and time are all viewed through Trudi's eyes and the stories seem to be told from the perspective of a young woman whose differences set her apart from the other townsfolk from the moment of her birth.

As we are reminded of the atrocities committed in Nazi Germany to Jew More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Annabelle rated it:

This is a fascinating, dense and captivating narrative of a Trudi, a young girl who is a dwarf and growing up in a picturesque German village near Dresden, between World War I and II. Hegi is gifted at creating sensuous, three dimensional, delicate in its scale. This book follows Trudi’s life from her birth the moment her mother rejects her as a freak, to a woman in her mid twenties finding some normalcy in life after WW II. There are many, many characters, and much of the book is about Trudi’s More...

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Feb 20, 2011

Deb rated it:

Trudi Montag's story begins just before her birth in the small town of Burgdorf, Germany in 1915. She is a dwarf, a Zwerg, born to Leo Montag, who runs a pay library, and his wife Gertrud, who is mentally ill. Trudi knows what it is like to be different, and she recognizes differences in others, even those who are "normal" Through her story we come to know the townspeople and their lives from post World War I though World War II and beyond. Trudi survives the early death of her mot More...

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May 03, 2009

Capitu rated it:

It has been a while since a book has enthralled me the way this book has, and yet I am struggling to give it anything more than 3 stars. Ursula Hegi strength is her power to transport us into this German community during the years from the end of WWI until the years just after WWII. The small village inhabitants – their rivalry, small and big conflicts, acts of bravery or cowardice, etc... – are poignantly described by Hegi. But, I felt at the end that the background had taken priority over t More...

2 comments like

Jan 22, 2009

Julie rated it:

What I appreciated most about this novel was the protagonist, Trudi, a "zwerg" (dwarf)growing up in a small town in Germany before, during and after WWII. She's a good choice to carry the novel because of the discrimination and brutality she experiences due to being "different." I thought the author did a good job in showing her intense longing to be like other children, her quest for love and acceptance, as well as her very "normal" feelings of anger and vindictive More...

1 comment like

May 14, 2009

David rated it:

Trudi Montag is a Zwerg - a dwarf - living in Germany in the years leading up to and during World War II. We see the world through her eyes, and I appreciated the frank and sometimes poignant look at what it means to be so physically different from others. She was rejected by her mother, but joins her beloved father to operate a library, which becomes the context for their interaction with the residents of their fictional city. Trudi becomes a collector and dispenser of personal stories and secr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Denise rated it:

The story that I came away with was the story of Germany during the time period before, during and after WWII. The author portrayed a small town and it's people and how they dealt with the changes in their lives during this period. There were many characters to keep track of and sometimes this caused the book to bog down for me. The book gives a personal insight into life in Germany during Hitler's takeover that most have not been exposed to. The other theme of the book was the fact that the More...

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Jan 10, 2011

Chana rated it:

This is a very dense book, with many characters and spanning many years. I had a hard time reading it because it is set in Germany between 1915 and 1952. There is a strong emotional impact, enough that I had to put the book down at one point and read something light-hearted before I could come back to it.
The story starts in 1915 when Trudi, a dwarf, is born to Mr. and Mrs. Montag. Mrs. Montag is mentally unbalanced but her husband is very patient and loving, both with his wife who dies when More...

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