People, regardless of who or what they are, will always look for any sense of normality, and that doesn’t exclude people with disabilities.Īcceptance remains the biggest challenge for PWDs because society can be very unforgiving. In my experience, people with disabilities usually want a semblance of normalcy in their lives. These include bullying, rejection, and probably most heartbreaking, society’s acceptance. I loved how Hegi realistically portrayed the challenges faced by people with disabilities (PWDs). When I began reading the book, I became drawn into it. This difference set her out from her peers even at such a young age. Stones from the River is about Trudi’s aspirations, dreams, and frustrations, the biggest of which is her affliction. She was born with dwarfism, hence, the moniker of Zwerg from her peers. Her name was shortened to Trudi to distinguish her from her mother who bore the same name. In this novel, Ursula Hegi chronicled the life of Gertrude Montag.

Just like what Salman Rushdie was able to accomplish with Shalimar the Clown, Ursula Hegi’s Stones from the River was able to transport me to another time period with her powerful narrative. These books are like time machines that are capable of transporting the reader to another period. There’s always a different kind of elation I feel whenever I read a period piece. The book cover is entrancing and seems to transport me to another era. Moreover, I was captivated by the book cover.

Upon reading the synopsis, my imagination was immediately captured. It is one of those impulse purchases that seem to overcome me whenever I pass by a bookstore. So to begin with, I purchased this book in a used bookstore, without any inkling of what it is about. Eventually, she learns that being different is a secret that all humans share – from her mother who flees into madness, to her friend Georg whose parents pretend he’s a girl, to the Jews Trudi harbors in her cellar. Trudi Montag is a Zwerg – a dwarf – short, undesirable, different, the voice of anyone who has ever tried to fit in.

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi