The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne
215 pages
David Fickling Books, 2006
historical/post modern
Read in 1 day
My Rating: ★★★★
"One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was surprised to find Maria, the family's maid - who always kept her head bowed and never looked up from the carpet - standing in his bedroom, pulling all his belongings out of the wardrobe and packing them in four large wooden crates, even the things he'd hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else's business."
Review: Meet Bruno, a 9 year old boy who is precious, to say the least. He is opinionated, nosey, but most importantly, he is smarter than he seems. We see the world around him through his eyes and if you didn't read the synopsis of this book or take the time to learn anything about it you'd wonder, for a moment, where this story was headed exactly. I'll even admit that I believed the name of the house this German family moved to was actually called "Out-With" as Bruno constantly called it and heard others around him calling it. I forgot we were seeing as well as hearing and experiencing his surroundings through his eyes. Even when it becomes obvious to the reader that this is a time when Nazism is on the rise and his father is clearly a highly ranked official since the "Fury" as Bruno calls him actually visits their home! That is something I would imagine Adolf Hitler did not do very often during that time period?
In any event, Bruno's world comes crashing down around him and his older sister, when they are told they'll be moving to "Out-With." The place is much smaller than the house he's lived in all his life and both children instantly take a disliking to it. They leave their close friends behind and are then homeschooled. Upon looking out his window Bruno discovers a fence that stretches as far as his eyes can see. And on the other side of that fence he sees a lot of men as well as boys his age all wearing what he describes as "striped pajamas." Of course his curiosity takes over and his constant need to explore.
The story is all about Bruno's understanding of who exactly his father is, learning to respect him, as well as understanding who those people on the other side of the fence in the striped pajamas are and why they are being treated the way they are. At first he envies those people because he sees all those male children and longs to go have fun with them on the other side of the fence. Even when his older (and supposedly wiser, but just as immature) sister tries to explain to him that Jews are an inferior race and they, Germans, are the superior race, therefore they need to be kept separated for the sake of their superiority, he does not understand. In a way, his child-like view on a simple matter of questioning why their should be this separation, could easily be applied to the days of segregation here in the US or any other oppressed minority at any given time. It made me wonder just how the children understood what was going on around them. Because, for some headstrong children like Bruno, no matter how hard and how often you might tell them one thing, they will believe what they want and think outside the box. While all this questioning goes on inside Bruno's head he makes an unlikely friend who resides on the other side of the fence. They quickly become best friends for the better part of a year even though their friendship, at the age of 9, revolves around nothing but conversation! Is it plausible to think these two boys can talk and talk and talk without feeling the need to play? You decide.
This is a book for young people and I suppose it can be taken in two ways: One, that questioning and curiosity isn't always a bad thing. And two, that questioning coupled with curiosity CAN lead to a bad thing. A lesson all children will learn in time.
I won't divulge any spoilers here because this is a book that can be read in a couple hours in one day and should be read by people of all ages. You might learn something about yourself.
Summary: Berlin 1942
When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.
But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
To learn more about John Boyne, visit his site here.
