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| Edition: | Simon & Schuster (Hardcover) |
| Author: | Ursula Hegi |
| Published: | March 1997 |
| Pages: | 512 |
| ISBN 10: | 0684844729 |
| New: | $4.99 (14) |
| Used: | $0.01 (140) |
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Stones from the River is the 1994 novel by Ursula Hegi, and was chosen as an Eagles selection in February 1997. It is about a dwarf named Trudi Montag who tries to survive in a small town in Germany during World War II.
Plot summary
Trudi Montag is a Zwerg--a dwarf. Born to a mentally disturbed woman who dies when Trudi is a small child, the girl reaches adulthood under the loving care of her father, a pay-librarian in a small German town. (A pay-librarian is one who runs a library as a business and charges the patrons to borrow books.) Trudi is angry, deeply resentful of her "difference," and she uses her unique status in a variety of ways, both helpful and vengeful toward others.
For example, Trudi tells stories, some of which enchant and comfort frightened children during the war, others of which harm the lives and personal security of the townsfolk whom the story teller doesn't like. World War II comes and goes in Burgdorf; Trudi finds and loses romantic love; her father dies; and she begins, at the end of the tale, to reflect on the ways in which she has contributed to her own suffering and that of the others.
One theme of this novel is alienation. Trudi's mother will not accept her at her birth, and the other children do not associate themselves with her. As World War II begins, more people in Trudi's town are alienated. Many of which are Jewish or look different. An overweight boy went missing and even his own family was happy for him to be gone. Trudi's Jewish neighbours are harassed by Hitler supporters.
