The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Wow! This is how I’d describe this book about a 9-year-old boy named Bruno. Bruno comes home one day to find the maid packing his clothes and things. He discovers that they have to move to a place he calls ‘Out-With’. It’s actually Auschwitz but Bruno’s too young and ignorant to know the real name of the place.
Anyway, the whole family, that is, Father, Mother, Gretel or The Hopeless Case, and Bruno have to move because Father has been given an important job by The Fury (Führer). Bruno is reluctant to leave his home in Berlin and also his 3 best friends for life, Karl, Daniel and Martin. He just doesn’t like the idea of moving to a whole new place at all.
When they arrive at their new 3-storey lifeless-looking house, Bruno feels that the place is devoid of any real joy and laughter. Then, in his own room, through his window, Bruno sees the concentration camp and its inhabitants. He sees only grown-up men and young boys but no women. He’s curious as to why they were all wearing the same grey striped pyjamas and were looking gloomy. Bruno’s only 9 and nobody will want to tell him who he’s really looking at. Even Gretel, his older sister, can’t think of anything suitable to explain the people they saw through the window.
Bruno wants to be an explorer when he grows up. He has always enjoyed exploring at his old 5-storey Berlin house and since the new house is not even worth exploring, he decides to take his exploration outdoors. Without anyone knowing, he walks towards the concentration camp and at a fence, he accidentally meets a small Jewish boy. Bruno’s pleasantly surprised to find out that both of them share the same birthday. The boy, who calls himself Shmuel, is just happy to sit and talk to Bruno. Bruno is delighted to have made a new friend.
Each day, they’ll sit and exchange stories about their different lives. Shmuel will tell Bruno about how he came to his ‘new home’ and how his mother had been taken away. Bruno listens but doesn’t really understand that his new friend is suffering. He assumes that there are vegetable and fruit stalls in the camp. He’s also jealous that Shmuel seems to have many friends to play with while he has nobody but Gretel and she was a Hopeless Case.
The friendship between the two lonely boys is endearing and it reminds me of the two boys from The Kite Runner. I finished this book in one day as it’s quite easy to read. It’s written like a book for children but I think that only older children should read it. Younger children might not really understand and also to handle the ‘heaviness’ of the story although it’s written in a light way! Parents may need to explain things to them though.
There’s no doubt that it’s an utterly good book which everyone should read. In a way, it’s about history but history only takes up a small portion of the book. It’s more about Bruno’s young life and his chance encounter with his new friend. Moreover, it’s a relatively sad story and I won’t be able to forget it for a long time.
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Marg, nylusmilk, Papercuts, Steven, Carol, KittyCat, Natasha, Alice, Trish, Melody, Alessandra
Buy The Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Random House Movie Tie-In Books)
June 12th, 2008 at 10:27 am
This was definitely a very moving read. I have heard that there is going to be a movie of it, but I am not sure how true this is.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
i reviewed this book too, and like you i loved it! it’s a really sad book but i love how the author managed to keep the suspense and secret right until the end… i was totally shocked.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Marg: Yes, the movie is coming out this year on September 12, 2008 in the UK, 26 Sept in Spain and Oct 03 in Finland. I got this information from IMDb!
nylusmilk: I’ll check out your review! Yes, Boyne did an excellent job writing the book. Actually, I kind of knew how it’s going to end, so I was eager to read on to see how in the world it happened! This is definitely one of the best books with powerful storylines.
June 12th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
What an interesting perspective to bring to the Holocaust. It seems like Bruno’s mispronunciation will bring a different level of understanding and sadness to that era.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Hello
Followed the link in your comment to your blog and I’m looking forward to reading more of your reviews!
June 13th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Thanks for the comments on my review found here. In answer to some of your other comments it is to be a film released this fall.
Steven
June 13th, 2008 at 6:12 am
thenovelworld: Yeah, Boyne certainly managed to write a very serious story in a light-hearted way. And Bruno’s probably too ignorant to find out the real name of Out-With. :/
Papercuts: Hi, thanks for stopping by!
Steven R. McEvoy: I can’t wait to catch the movie, too! It should be pretty interesting. I’m curious as to how the book will be portrayed.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Josette,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciated reading your review–isn’t it interesting to see how others review a book? I like how you had a “Similar Posts” listing. Interesting. So, how did you stumble onto my blog? I also have to look into a RSS feed. Not sure how that works. SO much to learn in the digital world! Carol Baldwin
June 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am
I’ve just reviewed the book too although I read it more than a month ago. It’s interesting to see how differently you see it. My review’s at http://rightreads.com/2008/06/14/the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas/
June 14th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Thanks for reading my review. Wasn’t this book excellent? I’m curious as to how the movie will turn out. So much of what happens goes on in Bruno’s head, it will be interesting.
June 15th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Hi Josette, I’ve read this some time ago and I loved it. That’s a great review!
June 16th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Carol: It’s definitely interesting reading up other people’s reviews…another thing to love about reading books! It’d be boring if I were the only one to read something.
You can put ‘Similar Posts’ on your blog too but you have to find the widget for Blogspot blogs. I came to your blog through the wonderful Google search!
As for RSS feeds, why not start with Feedburner.com? That’s really useful! Oh yeah, I’m learning more about blogging and the Internet everyday…there’s so much to know!
Good luck to you!
KittyCat: Hello…I’ll hop over your blog to read your review!
Natasha: I can’t wait for the movie to come out too! It’ll be worth a watch.
Alice: Hi, I like this book too and thanks!
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:22 am
Nice summary! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Trish: Oh yes, I liked the book!
September 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I really want to know what happens in this book I hate reading books but this one looks a bitt interesting can anyone tell me story in a short passage?
pplllzzzzz
thank you
September 21st, 2008 at 11:17 pm
[...] visiting!Another book on the Holocaust. The last book I read which was set during the same time was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Such books are always sad and get the readers all worked up with all its horror and [...]
September 28th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Amy: Hi Amy, well this book is about a young German boy (Bruno) who befriends a Jewish boy (Shmuel) during Nazi Germany. You can read more about the story from my review above or in Wikipedia.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:30 am
this book was predictable and lacking i give it a thumbs down
April 20th, 2009 at 7:32 am
i knew what was going to happen and the little boy bruno was a idiot for going in the fence in the 1st place he should have known that people in a fence and looking beaten didnt want to live their lives that way. And dont say he was only 9 he can use common sense
April 21st, 2009 at 7:37 pm
miranda: Thanks for your point of view! Hmm, I’m not really sure how 9-year-old boys think but yeah, they should be able to think rationally. But then, Bruno was a lonely kid and when the opportunity came to spend time with another kid, he jumped on it.