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bahoulie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very good book. I'd like to give it 4.5.
I'm continually amazed at how people can find new and different ways to get good stories (and lessons) out of Hitler's rise to power. This book thoughtfully and elegantly speaks of our ideal selves when confronted with our actual actions and what they say about who we really are.
I'm continually amazed at how people can find new and different ways to get good stories (and lessons) out of Hitler's rise to power. This book thoughtfully and elegantly speaks of our ideal selves when confronted with our actual actions and what they say about who we really are.
halfcentreader's review against another edition
5.0
Very powerful. Excellent short novel exploring early nazi Germany. Hegi is a master at storytelling and bringing all the pieces together. I especially enjoyed the hints of character development from her earlier novels. I think I need to revist them.
pepper1133's review against another edition
4.0
So, as the book jacket tells us, it has been 15 years since "Stones From the River" was published (and actually several years longer since the very first book in the series, the short story collection "Floating in My Mother's Palm" technically started the Burgdorf cycle). Fifteen plus years is a long time to have lived with the same set of characters, those who, by the nature of the time period you chosen to focus on, have a definite life span. Hence Hegi makes an interesting turn by choosing to focus on one of the more heartbreaking moments from "Stones From the River" and recounting the story from the perspective of characters who were at the very margins, if not completely unheard of before. The result is something that feels somewhere between a cross of a short story and a novella. This then is my one critique of the book--this would have worked so much better as a short story, something in the vein of the stories from the original connection. Thekla Jansen's story just isn't that interesting on its own (other than the final twist) to warrant a story of this length. The same thing could have been achieved in a much more tightly constructed short story. Perhaps my final rating of this book would be a 3.5. Overall, though, I think it's time for Hegi to let Burgdorf and its inhabitants rest.
booknerd67's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like it more. It's an interesting premise about a teacher and the very early part of Hitler coming to power. It just got boring for me.
amysbrittain's review against another edition
3.0
Fast read, love Hegi's writing. This one focused on pre-WWII days in Germany and how one's morality can slip and slip and slip until you can imagine how others could become willing to put up with what would once have been unthinkable in order to preserve their own safety. Only, the actual book felt less dramatic than that description. For me, this wasn't nearly as gripping as "Stones from the River" or "Floating in my Mother's Palm."
yarnylibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
This is one of Hegi's Burgdorf cycle novels - Stones from the River was the first one, and there are four in all. I adored Stones from the River, so I grabbed this when I saw it at the library. But alas, it was disappointing. I thought that the narrative was too fragmented by the flashback structure. I also felt that too many characters were introduced. With scant detail about them and their relationship to the major characters, they were easily forgotten or worse, confused. There were moments of striking imagery (Bruno in the cupboard, for example), but my main impression is one of blurred haste.
jdianm's review against another edition
4.0
"A haze shivered around the flames and smoke, like a second breath, and Thekla wondered if standing here meant she was one of these people...Until now, she had taken for granted that she had moral courage, but suddenly she didn't know if it was possible to defer moral courage, conserve it, and if it would still be there for her, or if each moment like this would take her into another silent agreement, and another yet, until she'd find herself agreeing to what she'd never imagined, and she would have to adjust what she believed about herself.
On the grief of mothers:
"A grown son--half grown, really--lost to the Great War. Some women held still for ceremonies that honored them for being mothers of heroes, rewarded them for not raging publicly at their sons' deaths but waiting with that rage till they could crawl back into the barren of their lives. Other women took comfort from the ceremonies because it was tempting to believe their sons had been felled by the enemy while protecting the homeland. These women carried the weight of that glory, rather than the weight of their sorrow. Still, always, always, there were those mothers who would not submit to the ceremonies; who carried their sorrow and rage in the blaze of their faces, their bodies; who'd rather spurn honor than pretend it replaced their sons."
On the grief of mothers:
"A grown son--half grown, really--lost to the Great War. Some women held still for ceremonies that honored them for being mothers of heroes, rewarded them for not raging publicly at their sons' deaths but waiting with that rage till they could crawl back into the barren of their lives. Other women took comfort from the ceremonies because it was tempting to believe their sons had been felled by the enemy while protecting the homeland. These women carried the weight of that glory, rather than the weight of their sorrow. Still, always, always, there were those mothers who would not submit to the ceremonies; who carried their sorrow and rage in the blaze of their faces, their bodies; who'd rather spurn honor than pretend it replaced their sons."
ashleysbooknook's review against another edition
1.0
This book was a chore to get through. I do not like the way she write and I was bored. I love stories of this time period, but found nothing of interest in this one.
infosifter's review against another edition
4.0
Thekla Jansen is a gifted teacher who thinks that Hitler and his Nazis are boorish and not well brought up. At the same time, she wants to believe in Hitler's promises, and hopes that her students can gain advantage from the system he is creating. She tells herself that she is setting her moral courage aside only temporarily, and that it will be there waiting when all the Nazi hysteria inevitably dies down. This naïve hope is completely destroyed, however, when shallowly buried family secrets threaten to surface. This novel explores the process by which seemingly decent people either accommodate themselves to evil or resist it.
poindextrix's review against another edition
4.0
I read Stones from the River a few years ago and saw this at the library. Since I enjoyed Hegi's storytelling and they way she brought all the happenings of the little town of Burgdorf to life, I decided to give this book a shot.
Then, lo and behold, this book is also set in Burgdorf. Had I done my research, I'd have learned that there is actually Burgdorf Cycle. I've clearly been reading out of order, but since each book appears to follow different characters (possibly focusing on different time periods) with the other townsfolk popping in and out, I don't think it's that big of an issue.
Hegi manages to incorporate just enough mystery, but she doesn't leave her readers in the dark for too long.
As some reviewers have mentioned, Hegi's writing is not as fast-paced as some of her peers, but it is definitely worth the time to delve into the world of the community she presents.
Then, lo and behold, this book is also set in Burgdorf. Had I done my research, I'd have learned that there is actually Burgdorf Cycle. I've clearly been reading out of order, but since each book appears to follow different characters (possibly focusing on different time periods) with the other townsfolk popping in and out, I don't think it's that big of an issue.
Hegi manages to incorporate just enough mystery, but she doesn't leave her readers in the dark for too long.
As some reviewers have mentioned, Hegi's writing is not as fast-paced as some of her peers, but it is definitely worth the time to delve into the world of the community she presents.