Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

By John Boyne

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Average Rating: (See all 4 reviews) Format: Paperback, 224 pages, New edition Edition Published In: United Kingdom, 01 February 2007 Quantity Available: 4 24 hour shipping Nine year old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. About the Author John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971 and is the author of four previous novels, The Thief of Time, The Congress of Rough Riders, Crippen and Next of Kin. His work has been translated into fourteen languages. He lives with his partner in Dublin. Prizes What happens when innocence is confronted by monstrous evil? Publisher: Black Swan ISBN: 0552773808 EAN: 9780552773805

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book. So many people had given rave reviews on it. A quarter of the way through it I was still deciding where I stood with it but then I found I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know where the story was headed and how it was going to end. The ending is very unexpected!!
The story has a different feel as it is written through the eyes of a young boy. Definately worth reading...

This is a story told through the eyes of a young German boy, Bruno and portrays his innocence of what is happening in the world around him in Berlin in the second world war.
The story has a poignant and tragic end that wasn't apparent until nearly the last chapter.
Many stories have been told over the years. Usually from the victims side. Bruno's story makes you think of the other children that were caught up in this horrible war, the other innocents who through only being born where they did are caught up in this tragic event in history.
Every generation needs to read Ann Frank and this book, Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
More need to be told of Bruno's story.

As an educator with a particular interest in the humanities, I recommend this book for ages 14+. Told simply, from a child's perspective, we are led towards the horror our adult minds know as the Holocaust. For a young person, reading this without any previous real understanding of the event, it is a shocking introduction that will leave them thinking - something we wish our young people to learn to do. This book could be used as a basis for a subject study on the evils of warfare.

A thought provoking and horrifyingly predictable story, will stay in your mind for a while. Also good for older children combined with some extra history on the holocaust.