Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi


I haven't heard anything about Ursula Hegi for a very long time, and so I was surprised and excited to see her new book. Hegi's Stones from the River is one of my favorites from back when I read every single Oprah Book Club pick about 15 years ago, and I've read everything I can by her. But it is Hegi's stories about World War II that are so memorable that their characters, like Trudi Montag, will live in your mind forever.

Children and Fire is the story of a school teacher named Thekla Jansen during the early days of Hitler's Third Reich. Thekla has replaced a Jewish teacher who she greatly admires and loves, but she struggles with her own unprejudiced nature and her patriotism and love of Germany during this difficult time. She so wants to impart to her boys what it means to be a good person while having to be very careful about what she says and who she says it to and watching books burn on the city streets. In addition to this struggle, Thekla's family upbringing come into play, an upbringing that in the end could prove dangerous.

I loved this book for it beautiful writing style and realistically flawed characters and the terrible history they cannot escape. I did find the movement of the book's chapters, which alternate from 1934 and Thekla's teaching days to the past and her mother's early life, very distracting at first, but I got used to it. I am always looking for books that teach me something new or allow me into the perspective of people with viewpoints which oppose mine. This book is a wonderful remembrance of what can happen when we trust leaders blindly and think we can allow ourselves to compromise our basic humanity just a little at a time.

I hope you'll pick this one up and then read Hegi's Stones from the River, if you haven't already. You'll never forget it. Also don't forget to post and let me know what you think!

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