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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

by Louise Murphy

Published: 2003-07-29
Paperback : 297 pages

4 members reading this now
14 clubs reading this now
5 members have read this book

Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 2 members

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Introduction

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.

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Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 2 members.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:

by Elisa J. (see profile) 07/04/20

by Cathy G. (see profile) 04/21/17

New interpretation of a classic fairy tale. Beautifully written and will thought out. Horrific time period but bI looked the story.

by Jane A. (see profile) 12/18/15

"A Tale of Horror"by Donna D. (see profile) 10/08/08

Everyone in our group found this disturbing to read, and some even skipped over parts or stopped reading entirely, but most agreed that the book was cleverly written to parallel the fairy tale and that... (read more)

"historical fiction that may have more truth than we know"by Melanie S. (see profile) 10/07/08

A real pager turner that gives a different insight into the horrors the Jews experienced during their hiding in the Holocaust. This book makes you feel as though you are enduring their hardships and triumphs.... (read more)

"A Grim Fairy Tale Fraught with Peril"by Joy P. (see profile) 03/31/08

** spoiler alert ** So, I opened the book to a random page and was immediately immersed in the most brutal horrifying child mutilation I could stomach. This was for book club or would have p... (read more)

"A wonderful tale of survival during the nazi occupation - Truly Spellbinding"by Wendy G. (see profile) 09/26/07

Louise Murphy does a wonderful job of depicting a journey of survival for two children during the nazi occupation of Poland.

With good and evil on either end of the spectrum, you are rive

... (read more)

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