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cdjdhj's review
4.0
In looking for a book to read with my high school remedial reading class, I happened upon this little book, originally copyrighted in 1974. At only 117 pages, it was short and an easy read for the four boys in my class who read well below their grade level. I was leery after reading S. E. Hinton's Rumblefish with the class. I found Rumblefish violent and inappropriate, but this book was quite the opposite. Slakes Limbo is about a young boy, Aremis Slake, who is constantly abused and bullied at home and at school. He escapes his tormentors in the subway system of New York City. He finds a secret hole in the subway wall, well down the track away from the station, and this cave, really an extra room created as the result of a mistake in constructing the foundation of a hotel many years before. In this literal hole in the wall, he finds a refuge of sorts from his life of abuse and torment. He meets kind people who help him, in their way, and eventually, with the aide of others, he gains the strength to leave the subway and live with dignity in the real world. I really liked that while this book portrays the bad and abusive side of humanity, it also has characters who are kind and caring. I really hope that my four remedial reading students like this book as much as I did.
marleah_a's review
5.0
I originally read this when I was probably 8 or 9, and in my memory, it was a story of a boy surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. Makes a sort of sense, given that I lived in a rural area of Kansas and could hardly fathom the idea of a massive city with a subway and pervasive homelessness. This book is sparsely written, almost terse in parts, and follows Slake as he learns about life and humanity in a place where one might least expect it. I was touched by how many good people took an interest in Slake, a boy they saw only in passing as they bought secondhand newspapers.
athenany's review
5.0
A great book for young teens that I read as a kid and re-read with my daughter. Hauntingly written and not at all condescending to its audience.
bick_mcswiney's review
3.0
A tale of a boy finding self-agency within the tunnels of the NYC subway system. It was okay, but nothing special.
uri_a's review
3.0
Un dels primers llibres que vaig llegir a la vida.
One of the first books I ever read.
Oni de la unuaj libroj ol mi legis.
One of the first books I ever read.
Oni de la unuaj libroj ol mi legis.
majber's review
3.0
This was a book I had to read for school. Right after finnishing it, it felt to me sort of pointless, but discussing it in class really made a huge difference. I am now astonished by the thought the author put into this, creating metaphors and symbol's
engpunk77's review
1.0
I disliked the style of narration, couldn't relate to the character, and thought the ending was super cheesy.
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