Scribblings

Stones from the River

What a great book! So far I have enjoyed all of Oprah Winfrey's picks.

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi is about Trudi Montag, first a child and then a woman with a good loving heart and a creative flair for stories. The thing is, though, she is also a dwarf and that physical difference sets her apart from nearly everyone--except for her loving father. Trudi also lives through the dangerous Nazi time period when that difference could have cost her life.

Poor Trudi! When her emotionally disturbed mother sees her for the first time, mom has a breakdown and is never the same although she does develop something of a relationship with her daughter. Trudi's early memories of her mother include coaxing her out from under the house with her stories. The mother dies when Trudi is 4 and although her father loves her, Trudi misses her mother. She has "fair weather" friends throughout her life--children who play with her for a time and then move on when they find someone "better" (normal?) to play with. The same thing happens as she grows to a young woman. What man wants to be romantically involved with a dwarf?

There are a lot of painful truths in this book yet it is tempered by the love of warmth of the father and neighbors--some of whom manage to keep their decency during the war and protest the treatment of their Jewish neighbors.

I would definitely recommend this book to others!