The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

by Murphy, Louise
ISBN: 9780142003077
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Used - Trade Paperback - 9780142003077

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Overview

A poignant and suspenseful retelling of a classic fairy tale set in a war-torn world, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones, and Lilac Girls

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called a "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children. Louise Murphy's haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children.

  • Format: TradePaperback
  • Author: Murphy, Louise
  • ISBN: 9780142003077
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.70 x 0.70
  • Number Of Pages: 320
  • Publication Year: 2003

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  • An evocative re-imagination of a classic fairy-tale, set during WWII

    Alicia S. - 6 years 7 months ago

    This couldn't end well: a novel about World War II with guiding elements from one of the most terrifying fairy-tales ever written. I knew it would be vicious, and that even the best ending would be unfavorable. But I was nonetheless curious and I hoped to find glimmers of resilience and beauty in the pages of such a sad story-I was not disappointed. In Nazi-occupied Poland, two Jewish children are abandoned by their father and stepmother in a deep forest as a final effort to save their lives. Given new German names, Hansel and Gretel, find shelter with the village "witch", but this is just a brief reprieve from the starvation and desertion they are to endure. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel is not for the faint of heart: it's a violent, haunting story about the Holocaust. But it is also a powerful and exposing narrative; an enchanting tale of strength and love.

    HPB Staff Review