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HeavyReader
May 27, 2015 marked it as did-not-read-it-all
Shelves: fiction
Warning: This book contains at least one rape scene.

The rape (which involves four boys and one girl) is foreshadowed early in the book, but I thought it might be referred to and not actually described. It was described, in several paragraphs, which I merely skimmed until I found the end of the scene.

I actually read well past the rape scene before I gave up on this book. I made it to page 214, after Hitler made it to power and Jewish people began having their property stolen and getting beat up i
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Cheryl
Sep 20, 2009 rated it it was amazing
This is a wonderful book - - -one that I know I will come back to at some point in the future. Told from the perspective of Trudi Montag, a young woman who also happens to be a dwarf, we see Germany as it stumbles out of World War I into the clutches of the Nazi party. Trudi is already an outsider, "different" from others, and we see the town and its people through Trudi's eyes. Her story, and her struggle with the injustice of being categorized as different, soon becomes an allegory for what wi ...more
Marigold
Loved it. Very timely and concerning for that reason. Set during the lead up to World War II, during and immediately after, it concerns Trudi and the people of Burgdorf, a small town in Germany. Trudi is a Little Person and much of the novel deals with her life and how it's shaped by her differences and by her mother's death when Trudi was very young. Beyond that, the people of Burgdorf can't escape the war and what it means. Most families in the town are Catholic but some are Jewish. They all l ...more
Chrissie
Jul 07, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Bought this for fifty cents at a used bookstore that was closing (don't get me started). Wasn't expecting much.

For once, I was pleasantly surprised. Very well written, interesting characters, and I really like how Hegi weaved WWII and ordinary, day-to-day life together.
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Megan
May 01, 2007 rated it it was amazing
My mom told me to read this about 2 years ago ... and I'm sad that it took me so long to take it off my shelf. I'd put this up there with "The Power of One." Highly under-rated, relativly unknown. Beautiful. The story follows Truid, a dwarf girl from her childhood in post-WWI suburban Germany to the end of the Nazi regime. It is the story of the German struggle with obedience, and the fear of speaking up in protest--which was something I honestly never really thought much about before. But here ...more
Becky Marietta
Oct 17, 2007 rated it it was ok
This book was intriguing, to say the least -- about a dwarf woman in Nazi Germany. Now THAT'S a new subject! I liked the portrayal of the characters -- it was very rich, very detailed. My biggest complaint was concerning the ending, though -- it seemed almost as if Ms. Hegi just got tired of writing this story and quit! Which ALWAYS sticks in my craw -- if I am going to invest that much time (not to mention, emotion) on a story, it better darn-well have a coherent ending.

Hence the low starage..
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Misha
Jul 19, 2007 rated it it was amazing
Tasha Corcoran
Jul 22, 2007 rated it really liked it
Recynd
Aug 05, 2007 rated it it was amazing
Tory
Aug 22, 2007 marked it as own-but-havent-read-yet
Celeste
Oct 02, 2007 rated it really liked it
Lisa Vegan
Mar 19, 2008 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: novel, fiction
junia
Jul 19, 2008 rated it really liked it
Tiffany
Mar 28, 2009 rated it liked it
Zack
Oct 15, 2009 marked it as to-read
Lola
Oct 19, 2009 rated it really liked it
Lara
Jul 26, 2010 marked it as own-unread
Shelves: own
Kathe
Sep 09, 2010 rated it it was ok
Terri FL
Oct 31, 2010 marked it as to-read
Selah
Apr 05, 2011 marked it as to-read
Christy
Sep 16, 2011 rated it it was ok
Jenny Fosket
Nov 28, 2011 rated it really liked it
Meg
Mar 20, 2012 rated it really liked it
Sarah
Jul 20, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Tiffany
Sep 14, 2015 marked it as to-read
Julia
Jul 25, 2018 rated it it was ok
Chrissy
Apr 21, 2020 marked it as to-read
Brandie
Nov 27, 2021 marked it as to-read
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