The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

by Louise Murphy

Book 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142003077
• ISBN13: 9780142003077
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Didn't finish the book

Thought these books would show the survival of people from this era. I will never know. I didn't get past the first page that had profanities. Not sure why authors feel the need to use four letter words in a story. There is no need. I later learned this book is a "novel" which to me sends the message its out of the authors mind, and not all true facts. Could be all fact; I don't know since I didn't finish the book.

Very unique take on a classic tale

The story of Hansel and Gretel is so well know. I love the take of putting it smack in the middle of the holocaust. It was a very emotional story filled with alot of very heavy subjects. Overall one of the best stories I've read in awhile.

The true story of Hansel And Gretal

I loved how the author drew me into the story.

Horrifying...unforgettable

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel is a book to be remembered. It is not for those who cannot look beyond the horrors depicted, however. It is lyrically beautiful, deeply moving, and disturbing. One thought that kept coming into my mind as I read it was that I am deeply thankful I did not live in Poland during the War. I would have been one of the first people shot by the Germans, because I could not have ignored the things that happened. There are good things sprinkled amongst the (very) bad things, and the use of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale as a binder is an excellent literary device. There are a few flaws in the narrative (the "blood transfusion" bit was a bit over the top), but you will find yourself saying..."Oh, noooo..." more offten than not. Read it!! Six Stars!

Dark, Harsh, Haunting

Unlike so many other books about the Holocaust, Louise Murphy chose to set her story in the cold, wintery landscape of occupied Poland. Though we did not read of concentration camps and ghettos (except briefly), Murphy brought to the forefront how horrific conditions were in much of Europe, even in the small villages that one might think were untouched. The interweaving of fairytale motifs with this war story was perplexing. I appreciated the undoing of the usual stereotypes: the stepmother was protective, not evil; the witch was nurturing, not selfish; the oven was a haven, not a weapon; and the forest was a good place to be lost in, not bad. But some of the motifs of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale seemed too contrived and took away from this story. For instance - the oven, and the path of breadcrumbs seemed forced inclusions in THIS story of Hansel and Gretel. A story as haunting as this one would be stronger without taking the reader down the path of a childhood tale. I doubt I will forget this book anytime soon. I may forget some details, but the harsh, cold horror of the war and the effects on this Polish village will remain vivid in my mind.

An extraordinary retelling of an old familiar tale

What a compelling read. In many ways, I found The True Story of Hansel and Gretel to be like encountering a train wreck. So many of the things that happened to the characters were horrific -- yet I couldn't look away. Louise Murphy gives us the Witch as a good woman with Romani heritage and gypsy knowledge -- shadowed by the evil context in which people have always tried to place those whose knowledge and ways are different, therefore, threatening. The innocence of the children -- and how it is peeled away like the rind of Gretel's imaginary oranges -- feels real. I found myself moved by the way in which so many of the characters attempted to protect each other by keeping things from them, then suffered the disasterous results when it became clear that those efforts hardly mattered. I was particularly struk by Telek, whose love for a woman enables him to overcome his dark past and become the hero he could never have been before. The way we see how easily violence could come to him contrasted with his amazing gentleness to those he loves is simply gorgeous. The monstrousness of the Nazi and his "Brown Sister" are both believable and grotesque. Through it all, the shadow of the original fairy tale alternately gives us foreshadowing and double meanings, right down to an ending that feels right without seeming too contrived. Highly recommended.

Great Read

I found this book to be very good. My definition of good is it kept my intrest, I couldn't wait to find out what happens and I felt like I was there. Louise Murphy wrote a dark story, but I think there was elements of unselfishness and understanding that many families, however they are composed face. I fell in love with Magda, the grandmother, maybe because she reminds me of my own, but what she goes though and utimiately gives up for Hansel and Gretel is tremendous. The book also shows the SS as the cowards that they were.