Stones From the River, a novel set in Germany from 1915 until after World War
II, is about a Zwerg who discovers that being different is something all human
beings share. Trudi Montag, the Zwerg, learns from several people and
circumstances that even though not all differences are visual, everyone is
Hegi lets the reader experience Trudi's struggle to try to fit into society by
creating several circumstances in which Trudi often gets betrayed. The first act
of betrayal occurrs when her friend, Eva, talks to her at the pay-library but
ignores her at school. Trudi gets betrayed by another friend, Georg, when he
does not stop some boys from molesting her in a barn. In her teen years, Klaus
Malter kisses Trudi but then acts like it never happened. It takes Trudi awhile,
but she eventually gets over her infatuation with Klaus, just as she got over her
obsession with growing, and even fitting in because she realizes it will never
happen. Years later, Trudi actually falls in love with a man, Max Rudnick, who
falls in love with her, too. They keep their love a secret for fear of what people
might think. When Max leaves for a trip to another town, and never returns,
Trudi is obviously devastated. It is a very emotional part of the novel because
the reader expects Max to come back, but he never does... another act of
The entire novel is about Trudi trying to fit in, but the fact that everyone is
different and there is really no place to "fit in." The viewpoint is original, the
events tragic and familiar, the characters an interesting mixture of good and bad
combined into ordinary people in an ordinary town during a not-so-ordinary time.
Although there are some very tragic points in the novel, the emotional
rollercoaster Hegi takes the reader on is what makes Stones From the River
...