I am re-reading Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi. It was an uncomfortable book to read when it first came out and I wondered if now, a few years later, I’d still have that reaction. So I decided to try again. Once I finish the book, I’ll talk more about that.
But for now, this paragraph captured me. Trudi is the protagonist.
‘It was like that with stories: she could see beneath their surface, know the undercurrents, the whirlpools that could take you down, the hidden clusters of rocks. Stories could blind you, rise around you in a myriad of colors. Every time Trudi took a story and let it stream through her mind from beginning to end, it grew fuller, richer, feeding on her visions of those people the story belonged to until it left its bed like the river she loved. And it was then that she’d have to tell the story to someone.’
Lisa Stowe - The Story River Blog 
I have that book. It’s been a long time since reading it, but I remember I found it uncomfortable, too. But I love her writing. It’s the strength of the writing that makes uncomfortable stories readable, isn’t it?
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Yes, it is. There’s a lot of honesty in this book, especially about human nature. It also makes me uncomfortable about how little things change in human nature.
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I looked it up and it sounds like an interesting story. What is it that makes it uncomfortable?
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So many things that I think I’ll do a blog post on it! But briefly, a protagonist that I don’t always like, the way society hasn’t changed, how people treat each other, etc.
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Oh how I love Ursula Hegi because of her stripping down of the human condition, the human habit of being utterly foolish over and over again…..ah, the human race, such an interesting experiment in kindness and decency. Her latest book is also fantastic….Children and Fire. I wish you great insights as you read her story, Lisa. I consider her one of the greats.
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Thanks, Kathryn. I’ll look for her latest, too.
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