The novel is about the son of a Nazi Commandant, nine-year-old Bruno, who knows nothing of the Holocaust or the Final Solution. He is moved from his home in Berlin, by order of “the Fury” (i.e. the Fuhrer), to "Out-With" (i.e. Auschwitz) in Poland. Here he makes a new friend, Shmuel, who lives on the other side of the fence. As he learns of the cruelties that go on beyond the fence, and as his friendship with Shmuel thickens, he is draw into a scary new world that no nine-year-old should be a part of.

     The boy in the striped pyjamas is a beautifully sad story. I can honestly say that this book is one of my favourites. It is so shockingly honest that it drills itself right into your heart.  It encapsulates the innocence of childhood and the joy of friendship, wherever it may be found, while also holding a chilling message. John Boyne writing flows, it draws you in; you are no longer reading a book you are in Poland, you are nine, you are just learning about how merciless the world can be and you are not sure whether your side of the fence is the right one.

 

Jessica Kellow

TRG