Summary

The young adult novel Holes by American author Louis Sachar was published in in 1998. The narrative mainly presents the stay of American teenager and outsider Stanley Yelnats at Camp Green Lake, a reform school for delinquent youth in the Texas desert.

Stanley has been wrongly imprisoned for stealing sneakers and now is serving his sentence at Camp Green Lake: every day he has to dig a hole in the desert together with his fellow inmates. Through his clever and courageous efforts, Stanley manages to establish a friendship with one of the other youngsters. After their dangerous and adventurous escape from the camp, the story offers happy ending for both of them.

The curse of the Yelnats family

Stanley's family has been under a curse for generations. The curse was brought upon them by Stanley’s great-great-grandfather Elya Yelnats. Elya Yelnats grew up in Latvia, where he fell in love with the daughter of a farmer. However, her father did not want wanted his daughter to marry only someone who could provide him with the fattest pig for her. Since Elya came from a humble background, he asked his old friend Madame Zeroni for help.

Madame Zeroni told Elya he had to carry a piglet up the mountain every day for a year, while singing a specific song to it. In return, she demanded that he also carry her up the mountain at the end. If Elya forgot, a curse would be placed on his entire family for all eternity.

When Elya asked again for the farmer's daughter's hand in marriage, he quickly realized that he actually didn't wa...