The Acorn Eaters [Hardcover]

Els Pelgrom (Author), Johanna Henrica Prins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Curro, an Andalusian peasant, describes growing up in the harsh conditions following the Spanish Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9. In the hills of Andalusia at the close of the Spanish civil war, the peasants know work and hunger. Curro is no stranger to either. He knows the persistent cold of winter, the scorching heat of summer, and the backbreaking ache of a long day's labor. But he also knows the kinship of family: his gentle mother, her belly taut with child year after year; his hardworking father, dreaming of a better future as he pans for gold on a holiday; and his grandmother, complaining of life as she waits for death. Spanning eight years of the boy's life, the novel traces his struggle to survive from the young age of 8 to the loss of his innocence at 16. The finely wrought characters take precedence over the plot, and discerning readers may well remember the young man's overriding sense of hope in the face of his bleak situation.?Leigh Ann Jones, Carroll Middle School, Southlake, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A sensitive and evocative novel from Pelgrom (Little Sophie and Lanky Flop, 1988, etc.), who recounts the story of a young peasant boy growing up in Andalusia immediately following the Spanish Civil War. Santiago--nicknamed Curro--has grown up in nearly unimaginable poverty; he recalls how, at age eight, he often risked being burned alive by the Guardia Civil, the oppressive and ruthless police force, for stealing twigs for a fire to warm the small dirt cave where he and his extended family live (where the scent of the fire mingles with those of wet diapers, the animal's dung, and the family's toilet, a pail). Curro cannot relieve his chronic hunger with watery garlic soup or bellotas, the large acorn nuts he devours. But there is always the abundant love and support of his parents, who find the strength to go on, and whose resourcefulness is passed on to their children. The unflinching narrative follows Curro as he leaves elementary school at an early age to work and eventually up to his first sexual experience. An atmosphere of obscene poverty informs most of the book, but it is the novel's final image, of the boy in his home, brimming with love for his family, that resonates. (glossary) (Fiction. 12-15) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J) (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374300291
• ISBN-13: 978-0374300296
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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