Review: Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi

Synopsis:  Set in Burgdorf, Germany around the time of WWII, we are introduced to the "Zwerg" (dwarf) Trudi Montag.  Besides the obvious difficulties Trudi must face by being smaller in stature than those in her community, she must also grapple with the challenges of a country at war.  Through Trudi and the people of Burgdorf we get a memorable story of how one town survived as the Nazi regime created chaos and evil wherever they went.

Review:  Ursula Hegi's novel Stones from the River was unlike any WWII novel I have ever encountered.  Although we are exposed to some of the injustice Jews encountered during the Nazi regime, the story centers more on the everyday people of Burgdorf and how they responded to the economic hardships Germany faced as well as Hitler's changes to their culture and lifestyles. 

In a pretty interesting sort of way Hegi managed to show a side of the WWII story that we might not have considered, in particular how the everyday citizen in Germany was affected by the evil surrounding them.  Often we think about what people had to know and why they didn't do more to defend the Jews.  Although the story doesn't focus on that, I got a better feel for why people didn't do more than they did.  The fear people felt and the harsh reality of living day to day made the crazy stories they heard about their Jewish neighbors seem like impossibilities.  We watch as the men in the town head off to war, either to never return home again or to never be the same.  Women who remained behind either suffered from providing for children alone, from despair and loneliness, or from the guilt they felt from moving on to new loves.  Also, the tension surrounding Trudi Montag's dwarfism lends the story a new twist; Trudi isn't a Jew, but she knows what it is to be different and sometimes an outsider.

Overall, I felt that the novel did an interesting job of telling a character story, most of all.  The characters felt real and present.  I did find the distance in the story strange at times.  For instance, Trudi tells of what they heard happened to their town's Jews, but not of her own thoughts or opinions.  We understand that she hated Hitler and wished him to be taken out of power, but she was as powerless as everyone else to ever express these opinions.  In short, the novel felt mostly like a retelling, but with an interesting perspective on what the average German did during the war and how they might have felt.  For that, I was glad to have had a book that allowed me to rethink Germany and the impact the war had on everyone there, and not just the Jews.


*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based on a library copy of the novel.

Review: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

I'm happy to say that I'm back to work and in the swing of my normal routine again! All of those repairs and waiting around for appointments and repairmen about drove me batty. I traded repairs though, for a two-day migraine that just wouldn't leave me alone. Ah, the life! Having crazy migraines or a busy mind leads to yet another reason to be a proponent of audio books. Honestly, audio books have saved me on many occasions, such as when I get a headache, have a long drive (as I did to a wedding on Saturday...that kept me from the readathon), or for my daily commute (to keep me from getting insanely angry at ignorant drivers). I can't say that I've ever really listened to audio books on a regular basis until these past several years, and now I don't know what I'd do without a great book to listen to!

With that in mind, there are some audio books that, for me, are more conducive to listening to than others. In the case of The History of Love, I would say that it takes a bit more concentration to follow. It was a great book, just difficult at times to follow.

Synopsis: The premise of this novel is hard to set up without giving things away. Set up with multiple story lines, it seems that the book is a series of short stories; however, the three or so stories eventually start to converge, so it becomes more obvious that they each tie together with the others.

It begins with the life of Leo Gursky, an old man who tells his story of surviving the Holocaust and having lost the love of his life. He tells a story of a girl, who escaped Europe before WWII, whom he loved and never stopped thinking about. After the war, Leo sought her out in New York City, only to find that life circumstances had dramatically changed things between them. You can never quite tell what happened to Leo's life from that point on, but as each of the other stories are introduced, you begin to fill in what might have happened. Each story leads to a wonderful conclusion, which shows how love influences our lives and the directions we each choose to take.

Review: First, I have to say that this was one of the more difficult audio books to follow that I've checked out. A simple distraction in traffic left me tuning back in to the story saying, "Wait...who is that talking now?" Since it is told from multiple perspectives, and they feel different from one another in the beginning, it was often hard to follow the stories. To be honest, I just wanted to hear more of Leo's story. Because it begins with him, and does seem to center on him, I found myself wanting to just go back to him. The writing is beautiful, and the images that are drawn up amazed me. I found myself agonizing over Leo's happiness, hoping and praying that this beautifully complex character found the joy he so desperately deserved, before he died. In a culture where we sometimes side step the story of the aged, I found Leo's experiences to be telling, and to show how the actions and experiences of one's life can influence one's philosophy on aging and dying.

While complex and beautiful, this story took great care to weave the lives of multiple characters together in a very satisfying way. In an effort to not give away the ending, all I can say is that the entire story feels like it's waiting for the ending of the story, when the reader can see all the plot points finally slide together. Altogether, I found the story haunting, revealing, thought-provoking, and beautiful. Difficult at times to follow in audio, the novel was one that needed careful attention. I genuinely appreciated and enjoyed The History of Love, and would readily recommend it to any serious reader.

For more information, see: The History of Love.

*FTC: Review based off of a library audio book.

This novel counts as my 4th in the Audio Book Challenge at Royal Reviews.

Also, don't forget to join in my giveaway for The Secret History of the Pink Carnation! The giveaway ends on 4/18!

Film Review: Schindler's List

Two weeks ago Schindler's List was playing on Direct TV. Since it has literally been since the film released back in 1993 that I'd seen this film, I recorded the movie to watch it again. One of the challenges I'm participating in, the Period Drama Challenge, gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit this iconic film about the Holocaust.

I have very distinct memories surrounding my first viewing of the film, that actually give it a bit more personal twist. Having grown up in a small conservative community, I still remember the "hub-bub" around what was considered a pretty graphic movie coming to town, about the Holocaust. Many of the people in my town chose not to watch R-rated movies, so there was quite a division among people I knew, not only because of the R rating, but also because of the subject matter. After some discussion, my parents decided that it was important to see, and my dad said that we would be going together as a family. Now, I remember that as being a pretty huge deal. My father, who has been deceased now for eleven years, was a huge history buff; he read history books and watched PBS documentaries about war and history almost enough to drive me mad as a teenager. However, his conviction about taking me to see the film so we could discuss it as a family had a huge impact on me.

I still remember entering the old movie theater in Rexburg, Idaho. It was on a Monday night, and my parents were somber as we went in. Honestly, although I'd read Night in high school, and read about the Holocaust in my history classes, I really didn't know what I was about to be exposed to. The film completely gutted me. I wanted to turn away from the screen as Spielberg captured in celluloid the emptying of the ghetto, the shooting of Jews at work, the coldness of the Nazis, the humiliation of the camps, and the horror of each Jew's death. I remember the discomfort and horror I felt, followed by an overwhelming realization of the magnitude of what Oscar Schindler had ultimately done in saving his handful of Jews. The realization Schindler makes at the end of the film, of how even the smallest material wealth (meaningless in the moment & grand scheme of life), could have been used to save a life, tore me to shreds that night.

We walked quietly from the theater that night, and as we returned home in the car, my father asked me a few simple questions about how I felt. At the time, I couldn't put them into words, but I recall telling him and my mother how shocked I was by the feelings of clarity and purpose I felt, feelings of wanting to build and give back to the world I live in. I didn't feel voyeuristic or guilty about what I'd watched, but enlightened, empowered, and eager to do better by serving others.

Fast forward to two weekends ago. I revisited this experience, one that in hindsight made me so appreciate my father for tackling the film together as a family. How my adult self respects him for recognizing a learning opportunity, and for all that taught me. Today in 2009, as I watched the film again, and after taking several college level courses specifically about the Holocaust, my knowledge base had changed. However, that book knowledge did not change the take away message of the film for me. In the closing scenes of the movie, I once again felt the compulsion to do, to act, to be better. I felt that desire to see people as the precious human beings that they are, with potential and choices of their own to make. If one man could bring about the eventual progeny from the group he saved to outnumber the Jews in Poland at the time of the film, then what can our small acts accomplish? The message of the film to me then and today is one of hope in what each individual can do, and the precious nature of life. How could I ever quite see the world the same again, and should I want to?

Rather than rate the film, I felt it important to respond to the impact it had on me. For some, Schindler's List might be too much for those too sensitive to watch the brutality of the scenes depicting violence and cruelty. In that case, there are lighter-handed Holocaust films that get to the heart of the value of one life, such in Life is Beautiful. I do recall feeling, however, that the Oscar winning film glossed over the brutality and used a light hand in depicting the fear and violence faced by Jewish prisoners on a daily basis. The film is still a good one, but with a lighter approach and touch.

The Holocaust remains a topic few of us, if any, can grasp. Regardless of the film, book, or play, genocide and loss of human life leaves scars on all of us. As I try to express to my students today, genocide cannot occur anywhere in the world today, without it touching all of us. For this reason, I have a renewed desire to learn and to do more than I have before.

For more information see: Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition).

***This film counts as the third film for the Period Drama Challenge.

Books By Mail--Always a Pleasure

I returned home from work this evening to find a package waiting for me. I looked at it a little perplexed, thinking maybe it was the Indie book purchase I made on "Indie Book Day," but thought that was a bit fast! By the way, I purchased Harriet Evan's second book Going Home, since I so enjoyed the first one. Anyway, I ripped open the package to find that I'd been sent a couple of ARCs from Sourcebooks. To be quite honest, since I don't generally go seeking out books...mainly because my library book list and TBR pile of books I own or have been given along the way, is just too big..., so I was pretty surprised, but in a very nice way. In hindsight, I did later remember where they had come from (thanks sourcebooks on BookBlogs). The first was Loving Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan. (Pretty regal looking cover eh?)


I'm actually about 120 pages into the first book in this series, Mr. & Mrs. Darcy: Two Shall Become One, and have grown to like the fluidity of the language, descriptions of the house, etc. I won't lie though either, the "honeymoon" phase has really gone on for a lot longer than I would have expected. Maybe it's my own skepticism, since I'm not upset at Lathan for tackling P&P or even having these iconic characters cohabitate, but I found myself a bit disbelieving that people actually swoon over one another like this. So, the part of me that is self-indulgent and still hopes that all my single-girl fantasies will find such "swooning" affection kind of likes the book, and the other half of me is ticked and feeling ripped off because it's not real (right?).

Anyway...(because I know you want me to get off this point), the second book I received was Darcy and Anne by Judith Brocklehurst. This one looks like an interesting take on Anne de Bourgh, cousin and previous intended for Mr. Darcy. It's a pretty small, short book, but with a pretty little cover, so we'll see! I am excited though to include them in my pile of books to ship over to my mom's place for the summer. :) Thanks for these!

On a different note, I did want to comment though on something I'd been thinking about in connection to keeping this book blog. Many of my reviews center on my escapist reads. I realize that I haven't shared much about what I'm reading and teaching at school. As the year starts to wind down, and in doing one last major review with my AP Literature students, I realized what amazing literature there is available for us to read, and how I feel like I barely scratched the surface with my students. Have I exposed them to some really great pieces that will stretch their reading abilities and make them want to explore other reading options? Have I effectively taught these pieces of literature in a way that they now feel they not only understand them, but can also appreciate them? I'm not really sure, but I have great hope that they do.

Having rambled on about that, I have to close with the novel I'm teaching right now, Night, by Elie Wiesel. In his famous, Pulitzer Prize winning novel based on his experiences during the Holocaust, we learn about how far fear and hate of any one person or group can go. We also learn about the human need for survival, even in the face of greater horrors than seem expressible on paper. Today, in class, we read the scene in chapter three where Elie and his father are being marched from selection to processing. As they are walking, they see the pits of burning children and adults, and Elie denounces God and decides to commit suicide when they reach the electric fence. In the end, he doesn't make it to the fence, he doesn't commit suicide, and he doesn't denounce God as he recites the Kaddish (Jewish prayer magnifying God's name and often spoken over the dead). As with most Holocaust literature, I'm reminded of how desperately the human psyche hangs on to the possibility of good, and uses that possibility as a reason for going on with life. Don't we also, day to day, seek for the good that we think we might reach someday? Once again, I'm given much to think about and consider.

The Reader

The day before yesterday I finished reading a book I've eyeballed for awhile, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Admittedly, I've looked at the book many times, but have always been dissuaded by reviews that stated it was sensual. Sensual? But it discusses WWII and the Holocaust! Even though this was always my passing thought as I moved on to my mountainous pile of other books to be read, I finally decided that I had to get it read if I wanted to go see the movie with Kate Winslet that recently came out.

Having just finished it, I have to say that I've been left wishing I had someone to talk to about it. The relationship between the woman and the young boy matures as they both grow older, and you're left with the thoughtful wonderings of the man about what happened in his early life with the woman (who left him long ago). Although their later contact is in a courtroom, discussing Holocaust war crimes, the story transcends all the "surface" sort of life things going on to really hit at the depth to which one person can change us forever.

While this novel is gritty, at best, it's subtle messages about man's strengths and weaknesses as human beings was well thought out and beautifully stated in this amazingly short novel. My only recommendation is that if you are easily offended or don't care for stories that don't have chipper, happy endings, then this book might not be your cup of tea. If it is, then leave me a message or something, because I'm dying to talk about this book with someone!!! Doc is supposed to be reading it, but I still can't wait to discuss this one...I'm still thinking about it!

Mahalo!