The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy begins in Poland. It’s 1943 and World War II is drawing to a close. A Jewish family escapes the ghetto and are on the run with the Nazi’s close behind them. The father and stepmother must hurriedly make a decision to save their two children and abandon them in a forest in hopes that they will find a farmer to take them in. They are told to never say their Jewish names and are given new German names, that of Hansel and Gretel. Thus begins this haunting tale that ingeniously parallels the Brother’s Grim fairy tale. They make their way through the forest, leaving bread crumbs along the way and are taken in by Magda, the village “witch.” The story switches back and forth between Hansel and Gretel at the village and between their parents who hope to return to find them. Their only thoughts are how to survive the war amidst so much mistrust, destruction, starvation, and despair.
I believe that this is the first Holocaust book that I’ve read that is completely fictionalized. It didn’t feel the same. It took me some time to read and I didn’t devour it like I normally do with Holocaust books. That’s not to say that the story or writing wasn’t great. It was beautifully written and achingly portrayed a awful period of time. I wouldn’t recommend this one for the younger reader as the book was very crude. It had a lot of bad language, graphic scenes, and sexual references. True it was the Holocaust, but this book seemed much worse for some reason.
I loved how Louise Murphy was able to weave in the story of Hansel and Gretel. I thought it was ingenious. But then I came across this review on Amazon that said this:
The Holocaust was not a fairy tale,
September 9, 2007
By Barbara Lipkin “critic” (Naperville, IL USA) The subject of this novel is all too real, and spinning it into a version of a fairy tale is totally inappropriate. The novel is cleverly written, and the author has contrived the facts of the Holocaust to fit into a fairy tale story. This trivializes the actual events, which destroyed millions of lives. The Holocaust was not a story to be cleverly twisted and “spun” into something else. It really happened, and a novelistic treatment of it still needs to respect the tragedy of it, and not use it for a clever exercise. I don’t know what drew the author to write about this subject. Judging by her name, she isn’t Jewish, Polish, or German. She apparently has no first-hand knowledge of the Holocaust, has never been to Poland, and has no other apparent connection to the events of this novel. So creating this novel was just an outlet for her creative talent, without true emotional content. This subject should not have been used that way.
Hmm . . . interesting. If you click through to the actual review you will see two rebuttals against this review. I agree with the rebuttals but also can see this woman’s point about “contriving the facts of the Holocaust to fit into a fairy tale story.” What do you think?
I haven’t read the book so it is difficult to give an opinion about it. But I can understand how the reviewer must have felt that Holocaust was ‘used’. My dad recently reviewed Animal’s People on my blog and he had similar sentiments about the author’s writing. Since it was inspired by a true event, which resulted in the suffering of generations and many to come in Bhopal-India, he too felt the author trivialized the tragedy.
on May 13th, 2008 at 12:06 amBut then I wonder if Louise Murphy had not set this book with respect to Holocaust but just given it a background of any war, would it have annoyed the reviewer.
Very interesting, Natasha. I almost bought this book up the other day, but ended up setting it back down. I’m kind of wishing I’d gotten it now. Thanks for the review!
on May 13th, 2008 at 5:20 amThat book sounds fascinating. I’ve added it to my wishlist. It is definitely a very different concept, but I’d like to give it a try.
on May 13th, 2008 at 6:50 amYour review makes this book sound fascinating. But I can absolutely see the point of the the amazon reviewer. Food for thought.
on May 13th, 2008 at 7:53 amI can see and understand the reviewer from amazons point of view. I have actually read similar reviews elsewhere. I have not added this book to my TBR list but that doesn’t meant that I won’t read it some day.
on May 13th, 2008 at 8:11 amWow. What an interesting way of handling a holocaust story. Haven’t read it so don’t really want to comment. I can understand each side of this opinion though.
on May 13th, 2008 at 10:04 amso this story is based on the childhood tale or the tale is based on this???
on May 13th, 2008 at 10:59 amhaven’t read it yet
This sounds like a very interesting book. Aaand this would be a perfect post for the 12th Bookworms Carnival *hint hint*
I haven’t read the book, so there’s only so much I can say, but I don’t think I agree with the principle behind what that Amazon reviewer is saying. I don’t think that “spinning the Holocaust into a version of a fairy tale” is at all inappropriate. I don’t think that all Holocaust stories have to be completely faithful to the facts - when a writer uses his or her imagination, they are not trivializing real experiences, but rather creating a story that, regardless of its veracity, will have an emotional impact on the reader. Will cause them to think and question things. And how can that be a bad thing?
Another example of the combination of the Holocaust and a fairy tale that results in a very powerful and moving story is Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose. Have you read that one?
I have to confess that I am a tad suspicious of that reviewer because I have the impression - and I could be wrong - that the reason why they think that what this book does is “inappropriate” is the fact that they believe that fairy tales are trivial and childish and not at all serious, and therefore shouldn’t be used to tell painful and serious stories.
Also, I don’t think it’s fair to accuse people of having no real emotional reaction to the Holocaust if they have no personal connection with it. Does that mean that once all the survivors and their close descendent are gone we should put this period of history behind us and forget all about it? Telling stories - even if wholly fictional ones - helps us remember. And as it’s often said, remember the past is a first step to ensure the same mistakes are not made again.
on May 13th, 2008 at 11:55 amI can see what the reviewer is saying–the idea of “fairy tale” is quite rosy. But I agree with Nymeth–just because the author used a familiar story line (that of a fairy tale) doesn’t mean there is no seriousness to the story. I seem to recall the original “fairy tales” being quite dark. It sounds like a interesting novel, and I’m going to put it on my to be read list right now.
on May 13th, 2008 at 4:54 pmI’m in the same boat as Chica - I haven’t read this but thought I’d add my two cents.
If the Holocaust is dealt with in a sensitive, serious matter, I see nothing wrong with the book.
But…
It also runs the risk of trivalizing something that should never be trivalized. We cannot allow it to become common place with book after book or movie after movie dealing with it in an inappropriate way. It’s too important that it be remembered and remembered seriously. We cannot afford to forget the horror of what happened when the entire world went mad because if we do, it will surely happen again.
cjh
on May 13th, 2008 at 6:16 pmI think Nymeth said it best, but I’ll add my two cents anyway.
I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a FABLE that is based on the Holocaust. I then read a review by someone who thought the books was not an accurate account of the Holocaust…I tried to explain that it’s a FABLE, that parts of the Holocaust were used to teach a lesson. Obviously you don’t use books like The True Story of Hansel and Gretel OR The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to find out historic facts on Hitler and Nazi Germany.
In my opinion, anyone who can’t differentiate between events used to tell a story and a book that actually documents history SHOULD NOT READ. In the book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the little boy called Hitler ‘The Fury’, a play on ‘Fuhrer’. Is the ‘The Fury’ not an accurate name for Hitler? Does it not by its very nature teach a lesson of what kind of a person Hitler was?
Again, though, I defer to Nymeth who said what I feel much more eloquently.
on May 14th, 2008 at 3:42 pmThis is an interesting debate, and given that this book is one of my favorite recent reads, I feel compelled to stand up for it. I’ve read plenty on the Holocaust fiction, non-fiction, and documentary fiction. I think it’s obvious to most people that know anything about the Holocaust that anything resembling a “fairy tale” ending occurred rarely or not at all. That said, I think that Murphy did a fine job of rising to the enormous challenge that writing fiction about the Holocaust must be. I never felt that the events of the Holocaust were trivialized in this book. If anything, I think that if I hadn’t already had a significant interest in reading about the Holocaust both non-fiction and fiction, this book with its quality of writing and efforts to portray harsh realities of the Holocaust albeit without the “usual” ending would entice me to read more of the non-fiction canon of books about the Holocaust. In my opinion, the purpose (or at least an admirable goal) of Holocaust fiction as well as historical fiction in general is not to simply replicate events just as they happened (we have plenty of non-fiction works to do that!) but to spark readers’ interest in knowing more of the actual historical events. I can credit another well-written novel with piquing my interest in the Holocaust in the first place, and think that this book would have the potential to do the same for other readers.
While the first part of this critic’s argument might be valid, the second is a bit ridiculous. Countless respected writers throughout history have written about subjects to which they had no personal connection or first hand knowledge. As such, maybe Murphy should be commended for her in depth research as opposed to derided for her lack of connection to the historical events of the novel. I never felt that Murphy’s handling of the Holocaust was inappropriate or wildly unrealistic in its efforts to “twist” events into her storyline, but I can’t claim a personal connection to the events of the Holocaust either. I just read books. *shrugs*
on May 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pmUgh! I hate people who can’t get over themselves long enough to appreciate something like this. I haven’t personally read the book, but I sincerely doubt that the author sought to “trivialize” the holocaust. Trivializing the holocaust to me would mean acting as though it wasn’t a huge part of history. Instead, I feel a book like this would only shed light on how difficult the holocaust was for Jewish families (at least from the reviews). What a great topic though! Thanks for bringing it up. And I’m totally adding this book to my reading list. I love to read about WW2. It fascinates me like no other time period.
on May 14th, 2008 at 10:09 pmGreat comments everybody! This is exactly the kind of discussion that I was hoping to get. I will respond in depth more tomorrow. I’ve been blog hopping and it’s now two in the morning. Eeek!
on May 15th, 2008 at 12:48 amI’m behind in my blogging, and I see that Nymeth commented, but I don’t know if she mentioned Briar Rose by Yolen–a type of fairy tale holocaust story she recommended to me (which I haven’t read yet). Wow to what the critic wrote–not having read this story, I’m not sure how well it fits with the book, but it definitely piques my curiosity. Thanks for the review, Natasha (oh ya…still not receiving follow up comments). :/
on May 15th, 2008 at 8:25 pmI read this book several years ago and had a mostly positive reaction to it. As I recall, no trivialization going on at all. In fact, I remember portions of it as pretty tough to get through, too real if anything.
One of the best books to tell a story about the holocaust was a comic story about a family of mice. Why not a fairy tale? The fairy tale, like the mice, is just a way in, a means to get at a much deeper truth.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, like Maus I and Maus II, and The Book Thief, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas make it possible to address the horror that was the holocaust.
I’m glad to see more people reading The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
on May 16th, 2008 at 6:33 pmI’m sure I can’t add anything to an already interesting discussion of this book which I have not read, but I just wanted to say thanks for a great, thoughtful review. I used to read a lot of YA and children’s Holocaust literature, and this one sounds like one I’d want to add to my list. Thanks!
on May 17th, 2008 at 6:15 amI have not read this book in particular, but that comment at the end brought to mind the book “Briar Rose” by Jane Yolen, which is a sort of retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it is really a Holocaust novel. I see absolutely nothing wrong with intertwining the two, and if only Holocaust survivors could write Holocaust books, we would run out people to write eventually!
I don’t think we should put limits like that on a writer’s creativity just because the topic at hand happens to be the Holocaust.
on May 20th, 2008 at 6:33 pmI agree with all of the comments made thus far. It was an interesting read, harsh and brutal as all Holocaust books are. I love the discussion and opinions given!
I really want to read Briar Rose. I’ll be pushing that to the top of the pile.
Oh and to Amy, this is not a children’s or YA book. It’s adult all the way. A lot of bad language and a few graphic scenes.
on May 27th, 2008 at 10:10 pmThis one looks interesting. I am wondering how it compares to Briar Rose? Another fictionalized account that combines fairy tale elements with the Holocaust…
on June 15th, 2008 at 12:39 pmThis book looks very interesting. Thanks for the great review!
I’ve read a acouple of books about the Holocaust which were totally fictionalized, and I can’t see why this would mean to “trivialize” real facts and so on.
on June 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pmI absolutely love this book, having read it years ago. I’m glad you posted the review from Amazon. I’ve often wondered why the book didn’t get more ‘buzz,’ and perhaps this is the reason. Maybe reviewers/promoters felt that they might be jumping into a hot seat?
I found absolutely nothing disrespectful about the story. I think some people get so caught up in the absolute horror of the holocaust, they forget there were individual stories playing out. In fact, by adding the misty shadow of fairy tale to the horrors of the holocaust, it created an ethereal world of fright so much more intensified. I, too, have read many holocaust stories and this is certainly one of the very best.
(jumped over from Bookworms Carnival)
on June 15th, 2008 at 7:28 pmLots of interesting things going on here!
Like you I can see where the reviewer is coming from. The Holocaust is indeed real, it happened and it was indeed gruesome (an understatement to say the least). But to say that it was inappropriate for anyone for that matter to write a story, a fairy tale even, out of it is a narrow-minded point of view particularly because stories - be they fairy tale or otherwise - mirror something that’s real and emotionally accessible to the reader.
I haven’t read the book but I could easily understand the setting used. I agree with you that the author was ingenious in using them (although hopefully I get to read the book soon). Hansel and Gretel are apt names, the themes on the original tale are equally applicable on the events during the Holocaust so I could say that it didn’t trivialize in any way what people went through.
As I was browsing through the other comments I felt that a handful already expressed things better than what I’m trying to say
So I’ll stop now and add this book to my wishlist.
on June 16th, 2008 at 11:38 amWow this sounds like some book given the amount of debate it’s generated - I might have to check this one out.
on June 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pmWow. Great review! I’ve read about this book before and really want to read it. I love how you inserted the controversy of this book. I guess when I first read about it I didn’t think it was a disrespectful at all. Although I haven’t read the book I do think that she used the story of Hansel and Gretel because it’s one that many of us are familiar with.
But I disagree with the argument of Barbara Lipkin that only Germans, Jews, or Polish she can’t write about the Holocaust. If only those with first-hand knowledge are able to write about the Holocaust, we will soon forget the atrocity happened as the generations who were there are no longer living. I’ll have to read the book to see how I feel about the book though.
Thank you for posting this interesting review!
on June 17th, 2008 at 2:49 pmI hadn’t heard of this book before but I would still read it despite the comment. Very insightful review:)
on June 17th, 2008 at 6:55 pm[…] contributed post to this months carnival is my book review on The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel is a retelling of the classic tale but set in Poland during the […]
on June 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm