The allure of glorious lost causes inspires a tale set in 1242 amid the doomed heresy-fueled Occitan resistance to the French monarchy and the Church. Cathar commoner Raimon and Catholic noble Yolanda, rapt in their budding romance, care little for politics and religion. They share a devotion to their homeland, its songs, dances and legends, most especially the stories of the holy Blue Flame, destined to protect Languedoc. But the times plunge them headlong into a tightening net of intrigue, inquisition and betrayal, and both will have to decide whether their loyalty belongs to their people or to each other. The impeccably researched details reveal a deep appreciation for the region and its culture. Indeed, the narrator is the countryside itself, a stylistic choice that casts an oddly distancing effect upon the unfolding drama. The main characters bear the burden of representing their respective “sides,” leaving enlivening personality quirks to the various secondary personages. Even if too many improbable coincidences drive the plot, and the conclusion is an obvious setup for the sequel, it is unlikely that fans of medieval adventure will mind. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9694-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A delightfully captivating swatch of autobiography from the author of Kiss. Kiss, Switch Bitch and many others. Schoolboy Dahl wanted adventure. Classes bored him, there was work to be had in Africa, and war clouds loomed on the world's horizons. He finds himself with a trainee's job with Shell Oil of East Africa and winds up in what is now Tanzania. Then war comes in 1939 and Dahl's adventures truly begin. At the war's outbreak, Dahl volunteers for the RAF, signing on to be a fighter pilot. Wounded in the Libyan desert, he spends six months recuperating in a military hospital, then rejoins his unit in Greece, only to be driven back by the advancing Germans. On April 20, 1941, he goes head on against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Athens. On-target bio installment with, one hopes, lots more of this engrossing life to come.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0142413836
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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