Yoss

by Odo Hirsch

From a village high up in the mountains, a young man sets out to encounter the world. On the plain below, a town sweats with schemes and deceptions. Merchant, mistress, trickster, thief - many are drawn to this innocent newcomer. But all who seek to possess him will pay a price.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Odo Hirsch was born and grew up in Melbourne, where he trained to be a doctor. He now lives in London and writes excellent books that are published not only in Australia but also in the US, UK, Netherlands, Korea, Germany, and Italy.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/odo-hirsch

Reviews

[Ruby Noise · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful innocent soul is Yoss. A tale of adventure, greed, the journey to manhood and how to keep your values intact. I loved this story, I'm surprised I haven't come across Odo Hirsch before but now that I have, I'm happy.

[Annette Heslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale of a young boy who leaves the village and goes out in the World seeking adventure.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have a run of bad luck - being robbed, taken advantage of, ending up in jail, and sold to a Merchant to be his Slave.

Trying to escape to go back to his village was near impossible. He learned many lessons and was keen to share them all.

A tale with a difference.

[Anna Krjatian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darker tale written by one of my favourite authors. Highly recommend reading.

[Autumn Uhrig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly darker than I anticipated, but it was not in vain. Overall I found Yoss to be an exciting and entertaining read, though there were a few slow parts and ultimately the ending left me wanting a bit more. Still, a satisfying story of growth, anger, and what it is that motivates us all.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprisingly lacklustre. As Odo Hirsch was one of my favourite YA fiction authors from childhood, perhaps it was merely my high expectations that made this book flop. Hirsch used twenty different moments to define each character when one would have sufficed, twenty different examples to prove each point he had to make when, again, one could have sufficed. Whoever was responsible for editing this piece of work seems to be as efficient as the bumbling blue doctor. Yoss was able to heal himself independently despite the doctor's feeble guesswork. I wish I could say as much for 'Yoss', the novel. Too much time was spent leaning on tired cliches and over-explaining, and not enough spent on propelling the plot forward. The first three-quarters of the book was its beginning, and the last quarter tried desperately to move the (still) underdeveloped plot all the way through to the 'end'. The last page was a convenient little wrap up of how changed and reminiscent the protagonist felt upon return home from his journey. It left me feeling, frankly, patronised. Yes, Odo, I understand that the 'journey' was both literal and metaphorical. I understood that after reading the first three lines of the novel, yet it was needlessly and tirelessly re-iterated with every turn of the page. The grand portion of readers are more than intelligent enough to figure out things in novels that are neither shown nor told, at times. I wish Hirsch would have used a little subtlety, and at least given me room to try!

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I learned something very important from reading this book, yet I have no idea what it is. I guess that's much like Yoss himself. An innocent in a sea of corruption and greed pretty much sums up Yoss's character. He was compelling because everyone surrounding him said he was. In actuality, there wasn't much intrigue about him, except for the fact that he was an honest boy living in a dishonest world. Hmm, I guess that would make an interesting plot. Yoss is an interesting book because there wasn't much happening, yet it still engaged me as a reader. I don't usually like books like that, but like the other characters in the book, I became increasingly curious about Yoss and what would be become of him. 3 stars.

[Andrew]

I don't know what it was about this bok, but there were certain things (character names, settings, themes etc) that seemed very familiar, while a lot of the action seemed new. Maybe there are a lot of similarities to Slaughterboy (which I know was written more recently, but I read it first). This is a great book about the loss of innocence and a youth coming of age. The world is well realised, the era a little vague, the messages strong.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

At times whimsical, at times disturbing, Yoss goes down as yet another example of fine writing by the underrated Odo Hirsch. Peppered with universal lessons and truths, Yoss is a sprawling medieval masterpiece worth looking into, especially if your were a fan of Hirsh's Slaughterboy, and Tracy Chevalier's The Lady and the Unicorn.

[Mecala · Rating 1 out of 5]

No thank you.

This book is all about blood, gory, and a man's struggle away from his village. It was a book that kept on dragging with no apparent end in sight. Possibly I wasn't the reader that Hirsch was trying to reach but none the less I was not impressed.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what I should have been expecting but I must say I found this book disappointing - not bad, just not something that gripped or thrilled, or moved me. I didn't regret reading it, but didn't feel my life would have suffered it I hadn't.