Trudi Montag is a Zwerg (dwarf) short, undesirable, different, living in a small town in Germany in this story that spans both World Wars. Her father fought in World War I, and her mother is a mentally disturbed woman who rejects her daughter when she is born. When Trudi is two, her mother embraces her one day, and falls in love with her. The two become inseparable, until her mother kills herself while once again in the insane asylum. Her father, who has always been Trudi's primary caregiver, is a librarian of his own pay library, running the library out of their home and charging patrons to borrow books. Trudi eventually takes over, becoming the town librarian, where she is able to learn secrets while spying on the townfolk.
Trudi is deeply resentful of her physical difference, but learns to use her uniqueness in a variety of ways to her advantage, mostly to discover the secrets of various villagers, but also to enact vengeance toward others.
She discovers various gifts she has, from her own bravery in the face of mass evil to being able to see into people's hearts. During World War II, she shelters Jews in her basement. Through her eyes, readers see the growing impact of Nazism on the ordinary townsfolk of Burgdorf as they are thrust on to a larger moral stage and forced to make choices that will forever mark their lives.
531 pages
