| The True Story of Hansel and Gretel | 
 enlarge | Author: Louise Murphy
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $4.39
You Save: $9.61 (69%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 42999
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0142003077
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780142003077
ASIN: 0142003077
Publication Date: July 29, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 "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.
Combining classic themes of fairy tales and war literature, this haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children, and tells a resonant, riveting story.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Disappointing November 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this book neither well-written nor well-developed. The characters jumped out of the forest at will and one doesn't ever really get to know them. The wandering story line is confusing and inconsistently engaging. It is undeniable that the book exposes the horrors of of a real war, but one does not need cold details to grasp and identify with the horrors involved. The book's lowest moment, the graphic depiction of a child rape, pops up with almost no warning and then the book simply moves on as though nothing particularly noteworthy had occurred. If the story really required that level of detail for such a deplorable event, then that part should have been the pinnacle around which the story revolved. And it doesn't end there: there's more terrible unpleasantness to come, also casually-delivered, and with inadequate purpose. As with any WWII book that addresses the terrible human suffering of the time, this one left me grieving for the past and grateful for the present, but that wasn't enough to make me glad I had read it: the graphic and unnecessary details, the foul language, and the bizarre and wandering plot left me cold.
 Breaks fairytale stereotypes - Must Read! October 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I chose to read this book because of the interesting title and synopsis. It was difficult to read it at times because of the subject matter, but I absolutely loved it. Louise Murphy did a good job of intertwining the fairytale in the backdrop of WWII. It was really interesting how she broke stereo-types of traditional fairytale roles of the "witch" and "step-mother." I'm having my bookclub read it now!
Unnecessary Violence and Demented Minds September 24, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
How could anyone imaginatively add more grotesque and unspeakable horrors to an already tragic event in world history? Perhaps the deranged mind of Louise Murphy. And then deceptively entitle the book, "The True Story of Hansel and Gretel" when in fact there is nothing TRUE about it, save perhaps the setting of the book.
It's one thing to read true life accounts of this most tragic event in the 20th century but to add fictional and morbid events to this for the pure enjoyment of entertainment is a bit peculiar to me.
I read through about half of the book before deciding that I could no longer stomach the morbid and violent gibberish contrived by the author.
Save your money. DON'T buy this book. Unless of course you are entertained by things like the raping of a young girl, purposeful and violent disfiguring of young innocent children and babies, and twisted accounts of erotic blood transfusions.
Just plain excellent!! July 18, 2008
It was just plain excellent. The author wove in the actual fairy tale very well. It was a page turner, the ending almost made me cry, even though I knew what was going to happen!!
Unforgettable May 14, 2008
This story was amazing. The author was ingenious, taking this fable and using it to tell the story of two children who have to fend for themselves during the Holocaust in Poland. I was intrigued with the setting of this novel since I am part Polish. The author chose The Bialowieza Forest for the setting of this story after seeing a television program about it. Reading about this makes me want to research it myself. Ms. Murphy also wrote a very detailed and disturbing description of the horrors of WWII and the murder of the Jews in gas chambers. This made the story almost like it really happened. This was an unforgettable story. One I highly recommend!!
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