之前介紹了Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes，這次就來介紹一下作者Louis Sachar的成名作Holes吧！
故事主角Stanley Yelnats因為祖先的關係至幼被不幸困擾，因為一次很不幸的巧合而被當作小偷拘捕了。為了不被關進監獄，他選擇了住進Camp Green Lake，一個類似少教所，大概是為了讓犯了罪的孩子改過自新而建立的地方。
但是這個訓練營跟一般的少教所很不同。對營長來說，孩子要建立自己的方法不是教育宣導，而是在營地前的土地上挖洞。他們每天唯一的工作就是在無情的陽光下挖一個指定大小深度的洞，日日如是永無間斷。奇怪的是挖洞聽起來很無聊（其實真的很無聊），但是營長要孩子這樣做似乎另有目的…？乾涸而滿佈坑洞的湖底下面是不是隱藏了些什麼？
這本書寫的不只是＂現在＂的故事還有＂過去＂的故事。劇情中現代跟100年前的事情互相交織穿插，讓讀者看到過去是如何影響現在，主要人物們又如何因為這微妙的命運而連在一起。看這本書其實也很像挖洞，就是把不同迷團的真相一層一層的發掘出來。當然啦，這畢竟不是偵探小說所以劇情說不上很曲折離奇，但是一邊看一邊把蛛絲馬跡串連起來也很有趣的呢！
Since I’ve talked about Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes, I might as well introduce Holes, one of the author’s most iconic works!
Stanley Yelnats was plagued by misfortune due to a curse put on his ancestor, and one case of “being in the wrong place in the wrong time" caused him to be arrested for thievery. As he didn’t want to be jailed, he chose to be sent to Camp Green Lake, a boy’s detention centre said to help them turn a new leaf.
However, this was no ordinary detention centre. In Camp Green Lake, kids build character not by education, but by digging holes. Day after day, the campers had to dig identical holes all over the camping grounds. Even though digging holes sounds boring (alright, it is pretty boring), seems like the warden wanted those holes dug for a reason…? Was there something hidden underneath the bone-dry, hole-ridden lake?
This book isn’t just about the “present" but also about the “past". In the book, events in the present and 100 years ago criss-cross and weave together, showing how the past affects the future and how the main characters are connected with each other by this peculiar thing called “fate". Reading this book is in fact quite like digging a hole, since readers have to dig down layer by layer to unearth the truth about the mysteries surrounding both the characters and Camp Green Lake itself. Of course, this is no detective novel so don’t expect anything too complicated, but it’s still pretty fun to connect the dots as you read!
Quill's Book Corner 