User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I am very sad that I never read this as a young person, because I think that I would have loved it even more than I do now. I think that it probably would have blown my mind. I have to applaud Louis Sachar for being so courageous in a children’s novel.
Effortlessly weaving together the past, present, and ancient history of these characters, Mr. Sachar examines the impact of our history and the nature of hope and human compassion, all while maintaining a light, humorous quality. This is a book for children, but one that never speaks down to children. It is both mature and youthful.
Stanley is tried and convicted for a crime that he didn’t commit, sent to a reform camp for boys, and forced to work day after day in the hot sun digging holes – without any hope of aid. He’s treated callously and unfairly, but he must learn to keep going, get along with the boys around him, and survive.
This is not a book that promises (like so many other children’s books do) success and rewards for good behavior, for choosing all the right paths. That’s not what real living, real maturity is all about. It’s about learning to deal with adversity and tragedy and failure when they come – because they will. It’s about making the right choices even when there are no rewards, no promised successes, simply because they’re right. And more than that – it’s about choosing kindness and compassion, even when everything around you is hard and unfair.
The only part of this novel that I don’t quite like is the ending, which seems to undermine the more realistic quality of the rest of the novel. I wish that Stanley and Hector could survive happily without a fairy tale ending, because after all of that, they know that they don’t need one to be happy. But I think that as a child, I would have enjoyed seeing them win the day.
Perfect Musical PairingBrett Dennen – Darlin’ Do Not Fear
This is a very sweet song about growing up and holding onto hope during the hard times.
Your confidence is faultless your faith etched in stone
and neither could comfort you from the wild unknown
So bury your burning hatred like a hatchet in the snow
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really knowAlso seen on The Readventurer.
Stop by for a comparison of this book to the movie version!
Rating: really liked it
Holes (Holes, #1), Louis Sachar Holes is a 1998 young adult mystery comedy novel written by Louis Sachar and first published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Stanley Yelnats IV is a 14-year-old boy from a hard-working but poor family. Stanley's latest stroke of misfortune occurs when he is wrongfully convicted of stealing a pair of athletic shoes that belonged to the famous baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, who donated the shoes for a charity auction.
He is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility which is located in the middle of a desert; the lake dried up decades ago and is crawling with highly venomous yellow-spotted lizards, whose bites are always lethal.
The inmates are assigned to dig one cylindrical hole each day, five feet wide and five feet deep, which the Warden claims "builds their character". The novel alternates this story with two set in the past, with interrelated but distinct plot lines. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «آخرین گودال»؛ «راز گودالهای دریاچه سبز»؛ «گودالها»؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر (سکر)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال2009میلادی
عنوان: آخرین گودال؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر؛ مترجم: حسن ابراهیمی (الوند)؛ تهران، قدیانی، سال1379؛ در280ص، مصور؛ شابک ایکس-964417335؛ چاپ دوم سال1381؛ چاپ سوم سال1382؛ چاپ چهارم سال1388؛ شابک9789644173356؛ چاپهای ششم و هفتم سال1389؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
عنوان: گودالها؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر (سکر)؛ مترجم: فرزاد فربد؛ تهران، کتاب پنجره؛ سال1383، در186ص، چاپ دیگر تهران، انتشارات پریان، سال1393؛ در227ص؛ شابک9786007058114؛ چاپ دوم سال1396؛
عنوان: راز گودالهای دریاچه سبز؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر؛ مترجم: مهدی باتقوا؛ تهران، رسپینا، سال1392، در248ص؛ شابک9789648559132؛ چاپ دوم سال1392؛
استنلی را برای گناهی که انجام نداده است، به اردوگاه «گرین لیک» میفرستند؛ او همانند دیگر نوجوانان ساکن اردوگاه، وادار میشود تا هر روز زیر آفتاب داغ، گودالی به ژرفا و پهنای یک متر و نیم، بکـَـنـَـد؛ سرپرست اردوگاه باور دارد، که کندن گودال، باعث شکل گرفتن شخصیت نوجوانان بزهکار میشود؛ اما «استنلی» به زودی میفهمد، که موضوع فراتر از «شکل گرفتن شخصیت» نوجوانان بزهکار است؛ او کوشش میکند هر طور شده، از ماجرا سر دربیاورد؛ و ...؛ کتاب برنده ی جوایز «نیوبری سال 1999میلادی»، «ادگار آلن پو سال 1999میلادی»، «نشنال بوک در ادبیات کودک و نوجوان»، «بهترین کتاب سال به انتخاب اسکول لایبرری ژورنال»، «بهترین کتاب نوجوانان به انتخاب انجمن کتابداران آمریکا»، «بهترین کتاب سال به انتخاب پابلیشرز ویکلی»، و «برنده ی پر فروشترین کتاب نوجوانان» است
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 10/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 18/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Rating: really liked it
This book is so much fun! I used to take clippings from magazines with book reviews, found an old clipping about this book cleaning up the house recently and thought... mmm... let's read this one. Timing was impeccable. I went through an explosive challenging period of really hard work and high pressure in the office and this book made me look forward to reading if only a few pages when coming home. A quirky funny story about a boy called Stanley who is sent to 'Green Camp Lake', a boy's detention center after supposedly having stolen a pair of sports shoes from a famous basketball player. Being innocent, he blaims his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather who ran into a curse which affected Stanley's family over years and years. Camp Green Lake is in the middle of the desert, a dried up lake, and every day a scary ward and guards, amongst who a 'Mr Sir', make the boys dig holes there. So, what's going on?....I had so much fun with this book, excellently written and the story... who can make it up? All factors combined, also the timing of this book in my life, right book at the right time, couldn't be better. A sympathetic enjoyable story, really quirky and just pure FUN. Recommended!
ps: Curious about the movie too, never saw it (yet).
Rating: really liked it
Funny story: I'm trying to shelve this book, and can't remember if it had been banned (but I thought it had - google confirmed). At the same time, my friend Allison and I are chatting on Google Chat, and she starts ranting about how ridiculous book banning is (an opinion with which I agree wholeheartedly). Anyway, the conversation went like this:
me: Is Holes a banned book? I can't remember
allison: dunno... the whole concept of banned books is stupid. I mean, you could find a reason to gripe about any book
me: yes, I agree
allison: I think The Replacement should be banned because there is a scene talking about knives in the kitchen
allison: VIOLENCE
me: haha just wait
allison: and he sits on his roof
allison: DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR
allison: RECKLESS
me: He says the F word, and there are BOOBIES!
allison: PORNOGRAPHY
me: IMMORALITY!
allison: lol
allison: or you could go the other way and be totally ridiculous
allison: Holes doesn't directly support a gay lifestyle
allison: BAN IT
me: But it does...
allison: oh well then uh...
me: all those boys are in and out of holes all day longNeedless to say, there was laughter. Sometimes I crack myself up.
Anyway, all witty repartee aside, I really liked this book. I have no idea why it would have been banned unless it was because a kid hits a jerk in the face with a shovel for being a complete ass to him day in and day out? That's probably it. ENCOURAGING VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY! BAN IT!
I loved Stanley, but in all truth, I loved Zero more. He was the star of this show for me. I wanted everything to work out for him, and I was on pins and needles worrying about him when things started to go bad for him. I mean, these kids committed crimes, or at least they were accused of committing crimes, but they weren't BAD or EVIL. Punishment is one thing, but the kind of things that these kids were made to do is nothing short of abuse. And what's sad is that probably isn't a far stretch from what really happens - although probably for different reasons.
I enjoyed how the three different storylines all came together in this one, and seeing the little bits of each one felt like discovering a gem. I'd have this, "OH!" moment each time something was revealed that linked something else... Really fun to read.
I really enjoyed this one, and I look forward to seeing the movie soon, since I hear from Allison that it's fabulous. :)
Rating: really liked it
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I'm doing this project where I reread books I enjoyed when I was younger. I've read and reread HOLES several times over the course of my life and every time I enjoyed it in a different way. It's such a compelling story and I think one of the best things about it is how everything ties into everything else and it all comes full circle.
Stanley Yelnats, whose first name is his last name backwards, is sent to "Camp Green Lake" when he has the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and is accused of theft. The camp isn't actually a camp, but one of those punishment retreats that disciplines kids with back-breaking physical labor. In this case, the boys dig holes in the desert under the hot sun, 5ft wide, 5ft deep. The logic being that if you take a bad boy and make him dig holes all day, it turns him into a good boy. Seems like Republican logic to me.
Stanley meets the other campers, who are pretty ethnically diverse, but the one he ends up closest to is a young Black man named "Zero." Everyone treats Zero like he's stupid because he's quiet and functionally illiterate, but there is actually a lot more to him going on to anyone who actually takes the time to get to know him, as Stanley finds out.
There's a ton of other stuff, too. You get to learn about the history of Green Lake and how it was once a prosperous Western settlement with an actual lake. You get to learn the tragic history of Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. And you even get to learn about the mysterious Warden of the camp and why hole-digging ended up being the de facto punishment for the boys. By the end of the book, everything comes full circle in an incredibly satisfying way.
I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first time I read it, and finished it in a single sitting. The language is not particularly complex but it paints an interesting picture of morality and justice and I liked that no one in the story was really pure good or pure evil (well-- with some exceptions). It ends up being a critique of the justice system and an interesting cautionary tale of how small actions can have large-scale effects. Definitely a must-read for all ages.
5 stars
Rating: really liked it
This will forever be a childhood favorite
Rating: really liked it
I knew of a friend who lost everything when her father started digging holes. You see, her dad was a treasure hunter. And to be a treasure hunter, you are supposed to be well equipped and with good manpower. You must also be in possession of a reliable map and a lot of time. You also need a lot of money to be able to acquire all the above things. Unfortunately, my friend's father only acquired a fake map, swindlers for company and equipment worth nothing when you're digging the wrong hole. Little by little, my friend's dad used up all their savings and even lost his time for their family. My friend and her siblings grew up and away from their dad. All was lost, true. All that was left is a hole in my friend's heart. There was once a treasure there, I am sure but her father dug too deep it failed to see it sparkle.
The Hole I've read however is not my friend's story. It did not have a treasure map but it has a great plot. It did talk of treasures, the more obvious would be the one buried. There's a treasure in the form of friendship, one covered in perseverance and another enclosed with hope. If you add a bit of dust of fate with these treasures, you will get the story of a boy named Stanley Yelnats, the main protagonist in this novel.
I liked the presentation of the story- the interconnectedness of their experiences. It's an application of Newton's 3rd law of motion (which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). Just like how someone else's athlete's foot become the reason for another's sweet riches; how the despair of having been bullied be the same reason for his freedom; or how being the teacher, he actually got the better lesson, more than he has bargained for. Stanley did that and in the end he gained friends and respect. All in all, Holes is not about big excavations, it's about filling the gaps. It talked about racism, crossing beyond borders. It talked about family and camaraderie. It talked about keeping your promises and breaking barriers. It talked about being a better person. And yes, even added the perks of enjoying a big onion bulb.
When someone digs a hole out there in the vast universe, there'd be a lot of soil/dirt displaced. Imagine them as stories unburdened from some remote keeper. So what do we do with these soil/dirt/story? We place them inside our own gaps, enriching us such that our hole becomes full, we come out as a whole person.
PS.
IF you wonder about my friend, last time I've heard, their parents are together again. He quit hunting for treasures and stuck with those that are far more precious, his own family.
Rating: really liked it
I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but it seems I'm no longer absolutely cool in my daughter's eyes. I could understand if her particular issues with me were current fashion or "the" things to do while hanging out with friends, but books? BOOKS?!? Oh, the pain!
I don't say anything about the girly girl preteen drivel she loves to read (after all, I occasionally read girly girl grownup drivel) and I recommend a wide range of books (while keeping in mind she doesn't have the same penchant for sf/fantasy as I do.) She is a voracious reader, will happily read things her teacher recommends, and liked the books that 'Santa' gave her.
So why does she sneer every time I hand her a book? (well, she doesn't sneer *every* time, sometimes it's just a withering look or a "nah, I don't think so")
I'm not sure how I acquired this book, and it was one I hadn't read as a kid. I suggested that Maya and I read it together since we've been enjoying reading aloud at bedtime.
She read the blurb on the cover, handed it back to me and said "Nah."
I said, "Let's give it a shot."
"Oh, it's an award winner, isn't it...uh uh," she replied.
I then said, "Uh huh, we're giving this a shot."
Cue withering look.
The book quickly won her over. The short chapters are perfect for bedtime reading...we never had to stop in the middle of a chapter, and most nights read several chapters.
The author weaves together several plots. Each thread is connected, but he deftly gives us just the bits of information we need at any given point, and it all comes together at the end wonderfully. I loved when Maya would make a connection and exclaim, "Oh - those are Sam's onions!" or gasp, "Oh no! That's what really happened?!"
Final verdict? She loved it, and so did I.
Apparently I am capable of choosing good books.
Not that she'll remember that when I hand her the next book.
Rating: really liked it
Holes is one of my favorite books of all time. The whole thing is just so clever. The writing style is simple, but not boring. Every character is amazingly developed and believable. I like how the story of the present and the story of the past connect to each other perfectly in the end. And the movie version is really good, too! I highly suggest this book to everyone.
Rating: really liked it
One of the best books ever. Gets better every time, too!
Read it aloud to my kids aged 7, 10, & 14, & they couldn't get enough!
Rating: really liked it
"There is no lake at Camp Green Lake." Quick backstory: this is one of my thirteen year old brother's favourite books. He was the one who recommended it to me. And I'm glad he did, because this book is one heck of a gripping, entertaining and intelligent story. This is the book all the cool kids in middle school were reading with their popped collars, Livestrong bands and wannabe-Justin-Bieber hairstyles. This book is just on this whole new level of awesomeness. and, keep in mind that I say this without sarcasm - this book is timeless and, what I'd even consider, a middle-grade classic.
"When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up." The story basically revolves around this kid, called Stanley, who is accused of theft and gets sent to this juvenile camp found in some wasteland desert in the middle of nowhere, called - ironically - Camp Green Lake. Things go a little askew and nothing is as it seems, secrets are revealed, friends and enemies are made, adventures are at stake... lot's of good stuff.
"'Now you be careful in the real world,' said Armpit. 'Not everyone is as nice as us.'" This book is technically "middle-grade" and that is definitely noticeable when reading, but I think anyone, at any age can read it, empathize with the characters, and just simply get totally drawn into their complex stories. The writing is notable, quirky, detailed and "crisp" - if that makes sense; the atmosphere generated is phenomenal - the sun glaring down at you in sweaty films of heat, the dust shading the air, this seemingly endless desolate wasteland. Sachar is the kind of writer that isn't preachy - he won't shove some wisdom or moral code down your throat, but he'll make you think and reflect and enjoy yourself while doing so.
"Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn't have the rattle." This story dives in and out of the present, chipping in stories from Stanley's ancestors, which intertwine with the present. Themes, such as fate, friendship, punishment, and the way history impacts our present are all very prominent in the story - paired with fleshed-out, intriguing characters, yellow spotted lizards, lots (and I mean - LOTS) of holes, sunflower seeds, angry wardens, baseball player shoes and treasure. Highly recommend!
"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs, "The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer."
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo-oo-oon,
"If only, if only."
Rating: really liked it
Thoughtful and studious read. I can't say anything bad about the book since every chapter made perfect sense. It just didn't bring out any emotion in me. Also, I found myself a bit bored throughout the flashbacks. I think the biggest problem is that I'm too old for this book, though I know it sounds a little pretentious.
Stanley's family was cursed by a gypsy because of his great great great Pig-stealing-Grandpa. His dad tries to make a formula to get rid of the smell of old worn-out sneakers. Unfortunately, he's unsuccessful. Their family is poor and they can't afford to hire a good attorney for Stanley when he gets in trouble.
Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake as a punishment for a crime he didn't commit. He meets Zero there and they quickly become friends. Zero runs away from the camp and Stanley goes after him. Before that, the readers see what a cruel place it really is when Stanley annoys a guard. All the boys aligned in the hot sun to get their canteens filled with water and the guard hands Stanley's canteen back empty. Stanley even says "thank you" for it.
The boys at the Camp are coming to terms with accepting their own identities and there is always underdeveloped tension between them. When Stanley makes an arrangement with Zero to teach him how to read in exchange for Zero's help in digging his hole, the others aren't particularly happy about it. What makes the story realistic is that nothing magical was going to help them escape. No adult was going to get Stanley and explain everything was a big mistake.
I would have liked more details on the other boys. Stanley and Zero are given the most thorough characterization, but the other ones we know very little about. Warden is also very lightly shown and arguably she was the most interesting character. Usually, I don’t care whether the book is intended for younger readers or not, but in this case, I can’t help the feeling I’d like the book better if I was at least 7 years younger. The book is about choosing kindness and compassion without ulterior motives, even when everything around you is hard and unfair. It is about doing your best to be happy even when there isn't much to be satisfied with. The story gave me contradicted feelings because of so many latent messages that actually made me think about what society was back then and how exactly it has changed till today.
Stanley is convicted for a crime he didn’t commit and forced to work day after day in the hot sun, pointlessly digging holes without being told what it's for. While losing the sense of empathy and humanity day after day, he has to learn to keep going, get along with the other boys and survive long enough to get out.
I wish I'd been in Zero's head rather than Stanley's. I've got nothing against Stanley, he's an excellent narrator, but Zero was so silent all the time and I wished to know what was he thinking about when he was blankly staring at everyone around him. He had so much potential and I wonder if he could've given the story a fresh angle.
Rating: really liked it
Holes, by Louis Sachar, 5/5. It was really good; I loved it. It's a young adult novel from which a movie was made. I have not seen the movie, but I hope to. The book is a Newberry Award Winner.
Stanley Yelnats is falsely accused of stealing a pair of sneakers and set to Camp Green Lake, for criminal boys. To build character, the boys get up at 4:30 every morning and dig holes--big holes. If they find anything unusual, they are supposed to report it. But the warden isn't looking for fossils or pretty rocks. Something is going on other than character building, and Stanley wonders what they are looking for. The story is at once whimsical and dark, horrifying and funny, heartrending and heart-warming. There are rattlesnakes (one boy was been bitten and rushed to the hospital. He never comes back.) and many highly poisonous eleven-spotted yellow lizards with red eyes, black teeth and white tongues. We also learn about Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great grandfather and the curse put on his family by the gypsy woman who was missing one pig, his grandfather who found refuge on God's thumb after being robbed by Kissing Kate Barlow, Kissing Kate herself and her handyman, Sam the onion man and how history does and doesn't affect the lives of living people. This many generational multiple story-lines slowly merge in unpredictable but delightful ways. We, the readers, meet a famous basketball player and an inventor and, of course, learn that bad boys are human, just like the rest of us, and sometimes even better than those not so confined. And we encounter inspiring courage fortitude and strength. 2/4/08
Rating: really liked it
I was picking up some books at the resale shop and for some reason found myself browsing in the children’s books. It seemed like the usual fare at first, some Dr. Seuss, a mangy copy of a Clifford book, a few ratty Choose Your Own Adventure paperbacks, Hugh Hefner’s autobiography, some smut called “The Very Virile Viking”, and “Pimp” by Iceberg Slim. Tucked amongst all this tawdry trash was something called “Holes”, which seemed to make sense sandwiched between “Pimp” and Hef’s life saga.
I soon realized that there was a movie based on this book made a few years back, which I had never bothered with, but, to my shock and awe, “Holes” was the work of Louis “Sideways-Stories” Sachar. As a long-time fan of the preposterous “Wayside School” stories, I immediately picked this up (along with the other aforementioned books) and decided to bump it up on my to-read list. I had no idea Sachar had even done any other work, and I was interested to see what he’d bring to the table.
I have to admit, I wasn’t nearly as impressed with “Holes” as I thought I might be. This might be due to the unrealistically high expectations I had based on my previous Sachar experience, or the fact that since they took the time and bankroll to make a movie based off this work, it obviously had to be incredible.
The palindromically-named Stanley Yelnats is a good-spirited and festively plump little kid who is shipped off to a boy’s reform program at Camp Green Lake as punishment for stealing a pair of shoes being donated to charity by Clyde “Sweet Feet” Livingston. However, poor Stanley never stole the shoes, he’s been wrongfully accused, which is something he’s accustomed to, since his family is under the influence of a malevolent gypsy curse which began due to an oversight by his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. This evil hex has brought misery and financial ruin to the Yelnats clan since it was first laid, and each male heir to the Yelnats throne vainly hopes to be the one to break this vicious cycle. It isn’t looking too promising for Stanley to be the chosen one, as he’s shipped off to Camp Green Lake, which is the dusty basin of a once-flourishing lake which has since dried up under the scorching desert sun. His duty at the Camp is torturous; each day he must wake up at cock-crow and dig a hole five feet deep by five feet wide, while eluding the venomous yellow-spotted lizards which infest the area. Spitting in each completed hole is optional, and Stanley opts for this luxury at the insistence of his peers.
The narrative of Stanley’s troubles at the camp are intertwined with the background of how this dread gypsy curse came about and also with the story of “Kissing” Katie Barlow, an outlaw that robbed his great-grandfather. While Stanley toils to dig hole after hole under the strict rule of the Warden and her lackeys (Mr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir), the tale of the curse unfolds, in which his great-great-grandfather Elya is vying for the hand of wealthy hottie Myra back in their motherland of Latvia. In order to win her hand, Myra’s father stipulates that the stud who presents the choicest pig as a gift will get the girl (which I hear is still a popular practice back in Riga), which leads Elya into cahoots with the gypsy, Madame Zeroni. Things take a turn for the worse for Elya, and he ends up not only forgetting to perform a favor for the gypsy, but he also gives away the hog as a wedding present to his rival. Even more spectacular is the downfall of the kind-hearted Katie Barlow, a benevolent teacher who begins an interracial relationship with an onionmonger named Sam in the Green Lake area. The ignorant townsfolk don’t cotton to this pairing and end up killing Sam (and his onion-chomping mule, Mary Lou), which leads the once-peaceful teacher to life as an outlaw. Barlow also happened to rob Stanley’s great-grandfather, and before kicking the bucket, she ended up burying all her ill-gotten gains somewhere in the parched and dry bowl of the former lake, a treasure yet to be unearthed that the Warden presumably is trying to locate with all this absurd hole-digging.
The story is pretty enjoyable, for the most part it follows in the silly tradition of the Sachar work I am familiar with, however, the fact that he had to throw a ‘message’ in there pretty much turned me off. Stanley and his fellow detainees at the Camp are a motley bunch, a mixed-race group of transgressors who are coming to terms with their own cultural identities. When Stanley makes an arrangement with black camper Zero to teach him to read in exchange for his labor, the others drop some ‘slave’ references. The saga of Katie Barlow and Sam, however, far eclipses this childish prattle, and firmly beats the reader of the head with the ‘love-your-brother’-stick. At one point, Sachar even states that god himself punished the intolerant populous of Green Lake using the 100 year drought that turned a thriving lake into a dust bowl. The whole race relations bit was generally annoying, and perhaps what might have bothered me most was that in his preaching, Sachar makes it clear how wrong it is to consider someone of color illiterate, stupid, or treacherous, but it’s fully acceptable to include the stereotype of a curse-casting gypsy thrown into the storyline.
Overall, the story comes together predictably and nicely, but the insistence with which Sachar clubbed me over the head with his ‘message’ bothered me.
Rating: really liked it
The kids ended up loving this story. After seeing the movie, we were all late getting to this one. Full review to follow.
