Ursula Hegi’s ‘Stones From The River’ Will Be Highlighted On ‘Oprah’ Show

In her distinguished writing career, Nine Mile Falls author Ursula Hegi has never had a New York Times best seller.

That may be about to change.

On Friday, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey announced that she has chosen Hegi’s novel, “Stones From the River,” to be the next selection of her monthly book club.

Just that quickly, Hegi, 50, who teaches creative writing at Eastern Washington University, may find herself in Wally Lamb territory.

Lamb wrote “She’s Come Undone,” the book chosen by Winfrey to be featured on her February “Oprah’s Book Club.” After Winfrey’s Jan. 22 announcement, Pocket Books reissued Lamb’s novel in a million-copy paperback printing and almost immediately it became a New York Times best seller.

In fact, says “Oprah” publicist Audrey Pass, “All the books that Oprah has chosen so far have become best sellers,”

Since Winfrey began holding her “Oprah’s Book Club” last Sept. 17, her choices have ranged from the obscure (Lamb’s 1992 debut novel) to the familiar (1977’s “Song of Solomon” by Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison).

“Toni Morrison is a prize-winning author,” emphasizes Pass, “but the recognition and recommendation from Oprah made her book skyrocket to the top of the best-seller lists. And it’s 20 years old.”

That’s what can happen when the host of a popular television show recommends something. According to Pass, “Oprah” reaches as many as 20 million viewers each day.

The criteria Winfrey uses for making her selections are not exactly complicated.

“There’s no science to it,” Pass says. “It’s based solely on books that she’s read and loved.”

In terms of “Stones From the River,” Winfrey’s tastes mirror the nation’s critics. A gracefully written, 507-page novel that earned raves, it tells the story of a dwarf named Trudi Montag and her coming of age in pre-World War II Germany.

The actual process of “Oprah’s Book Club” is just as streamlined: Winfrey invites the author and four specially chosen viewers to dinner, where the book is discussed. Taped segments of the discussion are later broadcast on a show, Pass says, “and they further discuss the book before a studio audience.”

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