The Write Reads Blog Tour: Where David Threw Stones by Elyse Hoffman

Click on the Cover to buy the book!

Ok, so technically my day was Saturday for this tour but having not finished the book and then contending with some personal stuff over the weekend I didn’t manage to get my post up, however, I have now finished this fabulous book so I’m here to tell you all about it finally!

Where David Threw Stones is a 442 page masterpiece about a ten year old boy living in West Germany in 1968. Following the death of his parents, he moves in with his Grandfather, Ernst Buch who he’d never met or even heard of previously plunging him into the adventure of a lifetime.

The book broaches some very serious subjects such as death, suicide, the war and most uncomfortable for many readers; WWII and the Nazi Occupation. The book spends a fair bit of time on the Nazis and what happened with the Jews who fell to their regime. I have quite an interest personally in that war so I’ve read a lot of books by and about Jewish survivors which I’ve found most interesting, but with this being fictional it brings another layer to that world for me.

I absolutely adored Hoffman’s ‘The Book of Uriel’ so the moment I saw this tour advertised I was signing up to it and let me tell you, this does not disappoint.

I find that Hoffman doesn’t dumb down the events of the war and the anti-Semitism that occurred, despite her work being Fiction, she doesn’t dress it up for the reader. It’s dark, it’s gritty and it’s real. That’s what I love about these books. As uncomfortable as parts of them are, they are supposed to be. If you’re reading a book and looking at Nazi Germany with a warm glow then the book isn’t doing it’s job.

That being said, she somehow manages to create some really likable characters in her stories even when they’re meant to be the bad guy. Which is truly the work of a talented author. Just because someone is on the wrong side of history, that doesn’t mean you can’t give them a few qualities that keep them human in some regard.

I was about to write out my favourite characters in the story but I think I have too many! They’re all so nicely written, obviously a big favourite was David but even he wouldn’t have the qualities he does without the others in the book. I really liked Opa Ernst and his story, and of course little Maria the fiery German child. If I tell you too much more I’ll spoil the story for you.

This story is definitely softer than ‘The Book of Uriel’, but don’t take that as it’s an easy read, it’s still littered with anti-Semitism and violence, it’s still set in a difficult time in history and it doesn’t pull punches but it’s not quite as bloody. There’s a reason for everything that’s in both books though, none of it feels gratuitous, but I’m also not from either of the communities that this is centred around so if you’re close to this subject then I’d advise caution.

It is a beautifully told story, one that I found I was thinking about when I wasn’t reading and that’s all I can really ask for from a book. All books should make you think. I’ve already picked out my next read by this author so stay tuned for more of her work!