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A review by trilobiter
Holes by Louis Sachar
4.0
This is about as charming as a story about child labor in the prison-industrial complex can be. The multigenerational structure and fantasy elements are satisfyingly tied together, and the world feels lived in and livable, even when it's kind of screwed up. It really speaks to any one who has been called upon by impersonal forces to toil pointlessly.
The ending is a little pat, and while I admired the overall tones of its racial politics, I was a little troubled by some of the exoticized mysticism. The old "gypsy woman lays a curse on your family" business is something that really needs to be reevaluated as a standard story element. Though Holes otherwise avoids explicit anti-Roma tropes, it seemed worth remarking upon.
The ending is a little pat, and while I admired the overall tones of its racial politics, I was a little troubled by some of the exoticized mysticism. The old "gypsy woman lays a curse on your family" business is something that really needs to be reevaluated as a standard story element. Though Holes otherwise avoids explicit anti-Roma tropes, it seemed worth remarking upon.