Hegi, Ursula: *1946

Stones from the River, 1994 - Information about the Book

General Information
- The novel chronicles 40 years of the life of Trudi, a woman with dwarfism, as she navigates the silently complicit, violent, and redemptive era of World War I and II Germany.
- Information from Wikipedia
Facts
- Commentary
  This is a story about "otherness," in this case physical characteristics which everyone can see to be different. The dwarf child, who hangs by her arms from door casings to try to stimulate growth, speaks to the reader in her words, thoughts and actions, of the internal turmoil created by being the only "little person" in her town.
  This novel is also a story about a community, a society of ordinary people interacting, loving, or hating one another--all told with annotation created by the keen perceptions of the dwarf. And, this is a work about World War II in Europe, told from the viewpoint of a non-Jewish, non-Nazi supporter, who is at some risk because of her dwarfism.
  Excerpted, with permission, from the Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database at New York University School of Medicine, © New York University.
Articles
- The Secrets of a Small German Town. The New York Times; March 20, 1994