Slaughterboy

by Odo Hirsch

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical

324 pages

First published January 1, 2005

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

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would have recieved 5 stars from me, but I felt that the end it kind of lost it's spark and spazz & I was left a bit confussed and disappointed at the end. Nonetheless i still gave it 4 out of 5.

This book is about the extraordinary journey of a young boy who was found on the streets and then forced to survive by the best of his ability, as well as become involved in the world of murdurers, discrimination, theft and cheats.

This book had the ability to draw me in right from the beginning. It had good description and made me feel like i was apart of the scene, like i was there. The story started good but then it got a bit...i can't think of a word. I think it was the fact that there were too many new characters introduced without warning.

All in all this book was good, but i do not reccommend it for the faint hearted, vegetarians, or animal activits, or people who don't like animal killings in general as there are a few graphic scenes of animals being slaughtered.

[Tama Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slaughterboy tells the story of a child found by a baliff and gravedigger, during the plagues of medieval Germany. After years of living on the streets, Conrad is taken in by a butcher, and learns his trade.

It's very much a book of bleak survival, despite Conrad seeming to fall through a lot of the situations he ends up in. Still, the setting is great and refreshing, and the look at medieval life is especially cool, if not certainly dark, where life revolves around death and money.

With short chapters and a nippy pace, I got through this book rather quickly. A totally enjoyable read. Being a fan of modern urban fiction (of which there isn't much anyway), this is somewhat a historical urban fiction tale, with a boys rise from the streets.

Addendum! I wondered why I had such a hard time tracking down info on this book. The author is Australian, and it only ever got released in NZ and Australia, from my reading. Ah the joys of the internet.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as gruesome as it's title suggest, this tale of a boy's evolution from foundling to independent man takes a number of emotional turns and unusual paths. I enjoyed Hirsch's style and ease of writing; Conrad could easily have been a tragic figure - and in some ways, particularly if you take a moral viewpoint, he may be - but Hirsch manages to make a sympathetic, rather than pathetic, figure.

[Alarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is sad and a bit of a heart-wrench to read, but it’s well-written and interesting, about an urchin who seems to get a chance at a better life only to have superstition bring him down, time and time again.

[Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

An orphan as to make his own way to survive in Medieval England. He is apprenticed to many different trades and in his first 14 years has lived a lifetime. The story is exciting and fast-paced but the sad part: Conrad has no emotional attachments to anyone; unloved and loving nobody.

[Andrew]

A dark and brutal look into the prejudices of medieval society through the life of an orphan child. A gripping and absorbing tale very well written. A very different style to any of the other books I have read by Hirsch, it just increases my respect for this fantastic author.

[spy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book mixed a diverse sense of writing with an excellent storyline which comes across very rarely these days.

I absolutely loved it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book is a mirror, all loose ends are tied up, everything and mostly everyone is connected, it was perfect.

[Shannon Luxford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in year 7. It was such a shock to read it when I was 11 years old.

It was really great, but it used some really modern terms and phrases.

[Centaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read this so many times, could read it 100 more I love it!