Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Summary (from Goodreads):
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.

Review: This book was good, but not great. I felt that the author tried too hard to make Bruno seem naive. At nine years old, he should be able to say Auschwitz and Fuhrer correctly. I found it even more ridiculous that Bruno was the son of the commandant in charge of Auschwitz, but he didn't know what the Holocaust was and had no knowledge of the Jewish people. This book was fine, but Bruno was a terrible character.

You can find more about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas here

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