Customer Reviews

Nobody's Boy

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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This is a book in my father's collection. I read it when I was 8 or 9 and just read it again recently. In Vietnamese, it is translated as: "Khong Gia Dinh" or "Vo Gia Dinh", meaning "No Family". It is a masterpiece in literature, and it is still in print in Vietnam. It makes a wonderful children book and a deeply moving and meaningful story for the adults as well.

It is a story about an orphan boy, abandoned by his family. He was raised by his kind adopted mother, and was sold by his adopted father in hardship to a traveling man who eventually, became his teacher and a father-figure. With his teacher, he learned to play music and perform on the street with 3 intelligent dogs and a monkey. He traveled through the towns of France, and through life twist and turn, eventually, lead to the ultimate search for his real family.

The book provides insightful description of life on the street and heart warming relationship through life struggles and survival.

NOBODY'S BOY was introduced to me in elementary school while growing up in Holland. It was one of the best books I had ever read and my parents gave it to me for 'Sinterklaas', which is a day on which we exchanged presents. The translated Dutch title is "Alone in the world". It's a story about a boy without a family, his ups and downs and his remarkable character.For some reason the book got lost while we moved to the U.S.A., but I never forgot the story.
Not too long ago (I'm 74 years old now) I realized I would never be able to read the book again, because I did not remember the author. "Never mind" said the librarian, "just type in the Dutch title and we might be able to find it". Sure enough, there it was on the computer screen :"Nobody's Boy", by Hector Malot.

The librarian ordered it for me and we (my husband and I) enjoyed it even more than in our youth. Our two sons and their children have also read it and it's on their list of favorite books.

We will now buy it and add this wonderful book to our library at home.

I have been looking for this book since grade school, which makes about 30 years! I wasn't sure of the name of the author but took a chance and ordered anyway. I was delighted to find it was the same book I had loved so many years ago. A poignant and touching story about a boy looking for his family, it was a book I couldn't put down. Vivid and stirring, well written, touching ... all describe this wonderful book. I highly recommend it for any age.

I read this book when I was a little kid and and read it again 5 years ago. It's a wonferful book and very sentimental. No doubt it's a masterpiece. I strongly recommend this book on your book collections.

This was my mother's favorite book when she was a little girl. I searched left and right for this book for many years, as she always talked about this book with a smile on her face. My husband finally got it for me (over the internet) at a "rare" bookstore. What a wonderful book, and I'll never, never let it leave my home. P.S. The author wrote another book, "Nobody's Girl" which I also recently found in a used bookstore. I was so excited to find that one, that I STILL haven't read it. I will soon read it slowly and savor it slowly.

I was in third grade. It was the first library book I had ever read. I cried and cried it so emotionally touched me. I read it 3 times. It still is the best book I have ever read. Thank you Amazon for giving me the opportunity to read it again....

I read this book many years ago in Russian. It is still widely printed there, while virtually impossible to find in English in Canada. It is a beautiful story about a young orphan, Remi. The story begins with Remi finding out that he is in fact not his mother's son, but was found by her husband years ago on the streets of Paris. Now her husband has been crippled in an accident and money has became tight. So to get rid of the boy he secretly (from the mother) sells him to a travelling stranger he met at a tavern.

The book reads very fast and is incredibly emotionally touching. I reread it recently as an adult, and still found it as magical as I did when I was a child.

The first time I read "Nobody's Boy" was 40 yrs ago in Holland. It was written in Dutch and literally translated is called "Alone in the World". The story takes place in 19th century France and H. Malot does an incredible job in describing the scenery and all the events that take place in a young boys life. I was intrigued with it then and just recently read it again (in Dutch) and found out that it was translated in a lot of languages, including English, with the title Nobody's Boy.

I read this book when i was less than 10 years old in Vietnamese and it took me almost 30 years to find it in English here. It's one of the most influential books in my life. It's a story of self sufficient, hamonious rapport, and integrity, imho. I would recommend this book and "Nobody's Girl" by the same author to all, especially parents for their children.

My sixth grade teacher read this book to our class back in the early '50s. For years I remembered it but didn't know the title or author. At a high-school reunion, I mentioned it to a classmate. She agreed that it was wonderful and gave me the information about how to obtain it. It's a book she read to her children when they were young. Now that I have a copy, it will be read to my grandkids.