- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (Aug 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345410963
- ISBN-13: 978-0345410962
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,583,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Naples, Italy, during four fateful days in the fall of 1943. The only people left in the shattered, bombed-out city are the lost, abandoned children whose only goal is to survive another day. None could imagine that they would become fearless fighters and the unlikeliest heroes of World War II. They are the warriors immortalized in Street Boys, Lorenzo Carcaterra’s exhilarating new novel, a book that exceeds even his bestselling Sleepers as a riveting reading experience.
It’s late September. The war in Europe is almost won. Italy is leaderless, Mussolini already arrested by anti-Fascists. The German army has evacuated the city of Naples. Adults, even entire families, have been marched off to work camps or simply sent off to their deaths. Now, the German army is moving toward Naples to finish the job. Their chilling instructions are: If the city can’t belong to Hitler, it will belong to no one.
No one but children. Children who have been orphaned or hidden by parents in a last, defiant gesture against the Nazis. Children, some as young as ten years old, armed with just a handful of guns, unexploded bombs, and their own ingenuity. Children who are determined to take on the advancing enemy and save the city—or die trying.
There is Vincenzo Soldari, a sixteen-year-old history buff who is determined to make history by leading others with courage and self-confidence; Carlo Maldini, a middle-aged drunkard desperate to redeem himself by adding his experience to the raw exuberance of the young fighters; Nunzia Maldini, his nineteen-year-old daughter, who helps her father regain his self-respect— and loses her heart to an American G.I.; Corporal Steve Connors, a soldier sent out on reconnaissance, then cut off from his comrades—with no choice but to aid the street boys; Colonel Rudolph Van Klaus, the proud Nazi commander shamed by his own sadistic mission; and, of course, the dozens of young boys who use their few skills and great heart to try to save their city, their country, and themselves.
In its compassionate portrait of the rootless young, and its pitiless portrayal of the violence that is at once their world and their way out, Street Boys continues and deepens Lorenzo Carcaterra’s trademark themes. In its awesome scope and pure page-turning excitement, it stands as a stirring tribute to the underdog in us all—and as a singular addition to the novels about World War II.
It’s late September. The war in Europe is almost won. Italy is leaderless, Mussolini already arrested by anti-Fascists. The German army has evacuated the city of Naples. Adults, even entire families, have been marched off to work camps or simply sent off to their deaths. Now, the German army is moving toward Naples to finish the job. Their chilling instructions are: If the city can’t belong to Hitler, it will belong to no one.
No one but children. Children who have been orphaned or hidden by parents in a last, defiant gesture against the Nazis. Children, some as young as ten years old, armed with just a handful of guns, unexploded bombs, and their own ingenuity. Children who are determined to take on the advancing enemy and save the city—or die trying.
There is Vincenzo Soldari, a sixteen-year-old history buff who is determined to make history by leading others with courage and self-confidence; Carlo Maldini, a middle-aged drunkard desperate to redeem himself by adding his experience to the raw exuberance of the young fighters; Nunzia Maldini, his nineteen-year-old daughter, who helps her father regain his self-respect— and loses her heart to an American G.I.; Corporal Steve Connors, a soldier sent out on reconnaissance, then cut off from his comrades—with no choice but to aid the street boys; Colonel Rudolph Van Klaus, the proud Nazi commander shamed by his own sadistic mission; and, of course, the dozens of young boys who use their few skills and great heart to try to save their city, their country, and themselves.
In its compassionate portrait of the rootless young, and its pitiless portrayal of the violence that is at once their world and their way out, Street Boys continues and deepens Lorenzo Carcaterra’s trademark themes. In its awesome scope and pure page-turning excitement, it stands as a stirring tribute to the underdog in us all—and as a singular addition to the novels about World War II.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating story,
By
This review is from: Street Boys (Paperback)
This book was incredibly difficult to put down. I knew it was a work of fiction, but the fact that it was based on real events made it all seem more real to me and even though I wanted all the children to survive, I knew that they wouldn't.The story is fast paced and Lorenzo Carcaterra's language makes the war torn city of Naples come alive inside the reader's mind. Most characters in the book seem very real. They all have their faults and fears, but still manage a heroic feat. The reason I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is the language issue. In Mr Carcaterra's world all these young street kids in 1940's Naples all of a sudden speak fluent English and are also able to understand what German soldiers are saying to each other. The German soldiers speak broken Italian, but all seem to speak English. This is just taking fiction a bit too far. It wouldn't have done the story any harm to have the characters of various nationalities have problems understanding each other. Finally, if you have any knowledge of Italian you need to temporarily forget it when you read this book. I wish the editors had taken time to have the Italian language bits (a few sentences here and there) corrected. Even allowing for the Neapolitan dialect being different from Italian, it's painful to read if you speak Italian and it wouldn't have taken long to have it corrected. It almost made me rate the book as a 3, but then I realised that most people who read it won't notice the difference.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Street Boys (Paperback)
Set in the city of Naples in the second world war 'Street boys' follows a group of orphaned street children who resist against a Nazi panza division sent to destroy their city. A MUST READ. This was the second Carceterra book ive read and i wasn't disapointed. Carceterra uses a structure to the book wich aborbs you and makes it very difficult to put down. the book also bleeds emotion and is not for the faint hearted.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended,
By Nicko (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Street Boys (Paperback)
This is the second of this authors books I have read after the now legendary 'Sleepers'.I loved this book, and all the main characters. There is no black and white here, with both sides of the War having to do what they can in circumstances they would not have chosen. Sometimes their humanity and kindness shows through, sometimes cruelty, sometimes pure animalistic survival instinct. You are really taken on a journey with this story, and I felt like I learned something not just about the War but about myself too.
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