The Reader's Shire - Book Reviews

Book Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Author: John Boyne
Series: -
Genres: Young Adult Historical Fiction, Classics.
Format: Movie Tie-in
Length: 247 pages
Publication Date: 28th October 2008
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.80 out of 5 stars.
My rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars.

"A home is not a building or a street or a city or something as artificial as bricks or mortar. A home is where one's family is".

You see, some books leave you content and satisfied. Some books leave you with no choice but to write a review through a film of tears. Some books leave you shocked and confused. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is all three. It's a simple, yet heartwrenching and simultaneously, heartwarming tale set during the Holocaust about innocence, friendship, war, family life, change and the lives of two different boys with completely different positions in society colliding as they develop a strong bond and extraordinary brotherhood. This is a type of story that I only want to read about in my books but never witness. This is a type of story that I hope no one experiences.

"We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?"

It's told in the perspective of a nine year old boy called Bruno, who is confused and  devastated when he learns that he and his family must leave their home and friends behind in Berlin and live somewhere else - a not-so-busy-and-crowded area divided by a fence - with only people in grey-striped pajamas living on the other side and uniform attired people being the only visitors. Bruno, however, is oblivious to the current situation; the war or the jews living nearby his new home.

"What exactly was the difference? he wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?

Immensely bored and fed up with this new and dull lifestyle - missing his old friends and hoping to meet new ones, tired of History and Geography classes, annoyed with a certain soldier and his older sister who he nicknames, the "Hopeless Case" and constantly wondering who the people in the striped pajamas are, Bruno walks along the fence in hopes of doing something productive. What appears to be a dot turns into a blob which turns into a figure and to his surprise, Bruno finds himself forming a friendship with a boy called, Shmuel wearing those pajamas that he is oh so curious to learn about.

Shmuel is a Jew
Bruno is not a Jew

They should hate each other right?

"In his heart, he knew that there was no reason to be impolite to someone, even if they did work for you. There was such a thing as manners after all."

Just like most kids, Bruno was ignorant of the real, cruel world (and this is how it should have stayed) but catching glimpses of it every other day. Like most children, he was brutally honest. Most of the time, his bluntless caused shame and admiration to squirm inside me as I wondered, "Damn, this kid is half my age but he's way smarter than me!"...which he truly was.

I grew to love him because of his incredible thirst for exploring and adventures, passion for art and drama and incredible sassy nature while just being 9 years old. His innocence was adorable and even a little scary. It's upsetting and terrifying how little kids are forced to understand the atrocities of war when their only worries should be maths homework and broken toys.

Despite being an obnoxious and nosy little brother, his relationship and adorable fights with his sister was a very accurate representation of sibling-relationships. His fear for her dolls and disgust at her schoolgirl crushes was very funny too. I found him very relatable because even I've got a younger brother with similar characteristics.

"Sitting around miserable all day won't make you any happier."

Boyne's characters are brilliantly written - complex, multi-dimensional and believable. Despite their flaws, they seemed very real and intriguing. You had the assholes, the ones pressured into behaving in a certain way because of society, the ones forced to neglect their old roles and responsibilities because of new circumstances and lastly, you had the  victims left with no choice but to deal with these people's crap - all equally affected by war.

"Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go."

And oh my goodness, that conclusion...I literally had to read it a couple of times to let it sink in. It was just so painful, unexpected and heartbreaking. I'm not really the biggest fan of books ending like that but it was very realistic and the characters' reactions to it were powerfully written too.

Call me crazy but although this book had an unresolved ending, I had this odd blissfully, giddy feeling when I finished reading it because the author's conclusion brought justice to the story. I would strongly urge everyone to pick this one,  especially lovers of Historical Fiction. Please don't be hesitant to read this because it's called a "classic". It is a classic but people of all ages can and should read this jewel of a book.

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