Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi (1994)
This is a novel about a small town in Germany in the years leading up to World War II, the war and its aftermath. We follow Trudi Montag who has dwarfism, who feels left out and longs to be tall. She has a talent for eliciting peoples' secrets and of knowing what will happen to people in the future.
Her mother was mentally ill and died when she was four. Leo, her father, raises her. He runs a pay library and Trudi works there with him. From her position in the library, she gets to know all about the other townspeople.
As events lead up to the War, she sees how people react to Hitler. Some immediately become followers, others are silently supporters and there are those in the opposition, or who are just silent.
Things change after Kristallnacht. The townspeople become fearful and watch as their neighbors, for the Jews, then those who protest, are taken away. Trudi is aware that her dwarfism could trigger her disappearance. She and her father, however, opt to hide Jews who are trying to escape.
What is interesting about this book is the fact that the author ties in the aftermath of the war and people's reaction. This is the first novel that I have read where this subject matter was addressed.
I read this book because it was on my mother's reading list. I thought of her all the time I was reading this book.
Read: December 5, 2017
5 Stars
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