Review: Stumbling Stones by Bonnie Suchman
Today, I'm thrilled to welcome US author, Bonnie Suchman, to Ruins & Reading. I'm sharing my review of her moving novel, Stumbling Stones. Based on research of her husband's family's fate in Nazi Germany, Stumbling Stones is a remarkable story you won't forget.
Stumbling Stones is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find fascinating guest posts, excerpts, and interviews with Bonnie HERE!
Stumbling Stones
Bonnie Suchman
Where to begin? I'm still lost for words after finishing this novel, but here goes.
First, a little bit of background, though. For those who don't know, Stumbling Stones ('Stolpersteine' in German) is a project that commemorates the victims of Nazi Germany's reign of terror. I'm using that expression, usually reserved for the French Revolution, intentionally, as that is what it was. Victims recognised by Stolpersteine included opponents of the regime, 'undesirables' (homosexuals, Sinti & Roma, members of the resistance, mentally ill, ...) – but most of all, they cover the large Jewish population in Germany who were forced into the death camps. It is a worthy project that Bonnie Suchman discovered by chance on a stopover in Frankfurt a few years ago, and one that led to her researching her husband's family history.
The Heppenheimers were a well-off family based in Frankfurt, with a branch in Mannheim. Their metal scrap business did well for decades, but things changed during the recession of the early 1920s, and then the restrictions, bit by bit, imposed over the coming years.
Stumbling Stones is the fictionalised account of Alice Heppenheimer's life, and what a fascinating life she must have led. Based on intensive research, including personal letters and official records, Ms Suchman has brought this ambitious young woman to life. Not content with merely becoming a wife, Alice moved to Nürnberg in 1917, to study at an arts and crafts college. It was a most unusual move, but it showed her dream – to become a fashion designer. She must have been very gifted, as she did very well.
Alice then married Ludwig, who, unfortunately, kept losing his jobs during the volatile days of the late 1910s and early 1920s. His obsession with the growing rise of the right-wing annoyed her, as she wanted to focus on her career. Setting up an arts studio, selling items, and creating her own designs, Alice kept busy as the shadows over Germany began to lengthen.
When her marriage failed a few years later, she returned to Frankfurt to re-start her business there, but already some restrictions had come to pass, making things more difficult for her. Her flourishing enterprise floundered as customers began to avoid her for being Jewish. The media nurtured this fear and hatred, but still, Alice held on to her dream.
Her second husband, Alfred, was supportive of her, but when his own work as a salesman became restricted, they begin to struggle. In the meantime, several family members managed to emigrate, to avoid the growing anti-Jewish developments across the country.
Alice and Alfred applied for visas to the US, but delay after delay, often on spurious grounds, show up the volatile nature of the application system. This was very well outlined in the book.
Alice is a fascinating woman, modern, forward-thinking, well ahead of her time. Independent, with a strong sense of her own business dream and her much-respected talent as a designer, she should have succeeded with her plans. Had not the country changed into something truly sinister...
Stumbling Stones is told from Alice's point of view, and we see her interactions with her extensive family, officials, and her view on life in general, which adds a personal touch. Not until later in the 30s did she fully realise the danger they found themselves in. They were ordinary Germans, after all. Were they not?
Alice's story is an intimate viewpoint for showing us how Germany changed between the late 1910s and the early 1940s. Many fictional novels I've read, set during World War II, appear sanitised, compared – stripped of the strong sense of realism of the day-to-day dangers German Jews had to cope with. Stumbling Stones shows the true reality of the times, and it's not a pretty sight. But it makes for utterly compelling reading.
Unfortunately, the one thing that lets the novel down is the rather haphazard editing. There are many repetitions, which could have been avoided with the help of a good editor. These slowed the otherwise good pace, and made me skip some sections. This is not the author's fault, but the publisher's. Lastly, it would also have helped to have a German speaker at hand, for the German words used, as I found a few minor errors. These issues should be resolved in future editions of this otherwise enthralling novel.
Stumbling Stones is the story of an amazing woman, who could have become one of the foremost fashion designers of her times, in her country of birth. But with the rise of the Nazis, and the insidious harassment she and her family faced over the years, this was not to be.
Ms Suchman's research is remarkable, and I'm glad she managed to find out so much about this unusual great-aunt of her husband's. Alice and Alfred deserve their own stumbling stones, and I hope they'll receive them soon. Other members of their family already have theirs in place.
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| Author's photo |
Perhaps, when you visit Germany, look out for these stones on the pavements in front of residential buildings where these people once lived and loved. I have spotted some in my home town of Heidelberg, and I will keep looking out for them on future trips.
Stumbling Stones is a remarkable account of one fascinating woman, who, with a strong sense of independence and great talent, could have been a highly successful businesswoman, well ahead of her time. I'm glad Ms Suchman told us about her. I, for one, will remember Alice's story...
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Blurb:
*Finalist for the Hawthorne Prize 2024*
"Alice knew that Selma sometimes felt judged by their mother and didn't always like it when Alice was praised and Selma was not. Alice glanced over at her sister, but Selma was smiling at Alice. In what Alice understood might be Selma's last act of generosity towards her sister, Selma was going to let Alice bask in the glow of Emma's pride toward her elder daughter. Then the three shared a hug, a hug that seemed to last forever."
Alice Heppenheimer, born into a prosperous German Jewish family around the turn of the twentieth century, comes of age at a time of growing opportunities for women.
So, when she turns 21 years old, she convinces her strict family to allow her to attend art school, and then pursues a career in women's fashion. Alice prospers in her career and settles into married life, but she could not anticipate a Nazi Germany, where simply being Jewish has become an existential threat. Stumbling Stones is a novel based on the true story of a woman driven to achieve at a time of persecution and hatred, and who is reluctant to leave the only home she has ever known.
But as strong and resilient as Alice is, she now faces the ultimate challenge - will she and her husband be able to escape Nazi Germany or have they waited too long to leave?
Stumbling Stones is based on the true story of Bonnie Suchman's husband’s great Aunt Alice, a woman born into a prosperous German Jewish family around the turn of the twentieth century. Alice was a woman ahead of her time, pursuing a fashion career and ignoring the growing Nazi threat to Jews. She could not imagine a Germany where simply being Jewish was an existential threat. But when she could no longer look away, she faced the horrifying realization that it might be too late to escape?
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link
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About the Author:
Bonnie Suchman
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