[Book] Holes by Louis Sachar ㅡPast Is Very Good Excuse, But It Will Get You Nowhere.

bree1042 (68)in #books • 7 years ago

People don't want to do anything outside when it's stifling hot. They just want to stay inside air-conditioned building. What if they have to dig holes into the dry, hard ground under the sun all day long? I could die just thinking of it. But apparently, you don't seem to die just because you're digging holes under the hot sun. Because the hero of this book Holes did exactly the same thing and survived.

Middle school student Stanley was wrongly accused of a theft; it's not that surprising. Since his great-great-grandfather had stolen a pig from his neighbor and had gotten cursed, every member in the Stanley family was suffering from lack of luck. Instead of sending him to prison, the judge of the case sent him to a juvenile correction center called Green Lake Camp. Throughout his whole life Stanley thought camp was only for those who had money. So Stanley and his family tried to see the bright side, thinking they could send Stanley to a camp otherwise they couldn't afford to. The Green Lake Camp, however, turned out to be the opposite, without any green, without a drop of water. It was a wide, dried-out ground that used to be a lake maybe 100 years ago. And here Stanley was supposed to dig holes 5 feet deep, 5 feet diameter, every day for 18 whole months. Did I mention that Stanley is living in Texas?

Why does the warden of this correction center think it's good to dig holes under the scorching sun? Does she have ulterior motives?

Burning sun, the garbage they call food, stinking blanket, and those damned holes! Stanley couldn't help but think: It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather! But then, did he really steal a pig from his neighbor? Is there such a thing as curse?

Source: Goodreads

This is a very interesting and well-written story. Holes-digging Stanley and his great-great-grandfather's story alternate, and as you read along the two stories dovetailed each other. When you read the part where his great-great-grandfather's story affects Stanley's story, you almost feel the pleasure as if reading a time-slip novel.

The author Louis Sachar said he wrote this book to give comfort to teenagers who were sure that their lives must have been cursed. We all have this moment, when we're sure that our lives must be cursed. But it's no use to compain about your parents or great-great-grandfather.

"You are here on account of one person. If it wasn't for that person, you wouldn't be here digging holes in the hot sun. You know who that person is?"

"My no-good-dirty-rotton-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather."

...

"No," said Mr. Pendanski. "That person is you, Stanley. You're the reason you're here. You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you."

Past is very good excuse because not only is it not your fault but also you can't change it. All you have to do is complain your unlucky fate and play victim. But it will get you nowhere. If you want to solve the problem, you need to find the clue inside yourself. You need to think what you can do right here, right now to change your situation. Even though it's hard thing to do.