Street Boys

"We do many things we shouldn't do in the course of a life," Maldini said. "It doesn't make them right or wrong, just a part of who we are. In times like these, it becomes too much of a chore to judge others."

There are moments when we are reading that the author touches our soul with simple words that have a profound meaning to the story and the essence of the meaning of life. The quote above is only one example spoken by the character of Maldini, a grandfather.

Lorenzo Carcaterra has created a gripping, page-turning novel based on an actual 4-day period of history in the city of Naples during WWII.

My father was a WWII Army veteran who served as one of the many Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theater, advancing from North show more Africa to Sicily to Rome. This novel provides another insight into why my father never spoke about the war unless in the company of his two closest Army buddies. If wives and/or children entered the room, the conversation turned again to the present and future, never forgetting the past as it was a part of them.

The novel is simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming and speaks to the horrors of war and resilience in action. show less

If you're looking for a good crime fiction read, do pick up Lorenzo Carcaterra's books. Street Boys is another gripping plot with non-stop action. But a group of street boys outsmarting the horrible and intelligent Germans at every turn is definitely quite stretched. Nevertheless, I am still awed by his storytelling abilities.

Sleepers is one of my favourite books, and so I was expecting a lot more from this one. There doesn't seem to be any development, either in plot or character, through the book. If you are going to drag a story on for that long, you need to have at least one or the other, in my view.

Fictionalised account of Milano street boys who fend off Nazi attempt to raze city near end of WWII. Pretty shlocky and unbelievable.

Dit boek beschrijft de heldhaftige weerstand van een paar honderd kinderen in Napels eind september 1943. De meeste volwassenen hebben de stad reeds verlaten, alleen een enkele oudere is achtergebleven met de honderden wees- en straatkinderen. De Nazi's, onder kolonel Von Klaus, hebben opdracht de stad plat te bombarderen, wat een eenvoudige klus lijkt. Maar de kinderen bieden vier dagen lang ongelooflijke weerstand onder leiding van de bij toeval in de stad terechtgekomen Amerikaanse korporaal Steve Connors. De andere helden zijn de 16-jarige Vincenzo Scolari, de 14-jarige Franco, de 56-jarige Carlo Maldini en zijn 20-jarige dochter Nunzia. De met veel vaart geschreven zoveelste geromantiseerde weergave van deze waargebeurde show more geschiedenis, die boeiend vertelt van de immense slimheid van de jongeren, die dwars door alle ellende heen volharden, en samen met Connors buitengewoon vindingrijk blijken te zijn. show less