The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Two young boys encounter the best and worst of humanity during the Holocaust in this powerful read that USA Today called "as memorable an introduction to the subject as The Diary of Anne Frank."
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 to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people 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 from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
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 to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people 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 from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
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Community Reviews
Good book. Wanted a longer story, but although it was short, it communicated a lot. Too bad grown-ups are not as blind as children are sometimes.
Wow - what a story!!
I made the mistake by reading the book as a young mum and with the ending, which took me by surprise, I sobbed like a crazy person .
Very emotional and heartbreaking story but it’s a must-read!
I loved it but I couldn’t make myself to read it again - just too sad for me 😢
I read this book at 9 years old.
It was the book that began my love (and dare I say obsession) with reading and literature.
I’m sure there are some faults to this book, weather that accuracy or the story in general, but this book will always have a special place in my heart.
I also think this book is very easy to read, of course it’s a children’s book, but given the topic I feel anyone at any age could read this and get something out of it. And it stands at being under 250 pages, so it may be good for a beginner reader trying to get into historical fiction.
And the last chapter… it’s stuck with me!
Definitely recommend :))
I would rate this book an 9/10 as it was an emotional story about Bruno and Shmuel, who are two 9 year old boys during the holocaust. Bruno, a German boy, experiences the Auschwitz concentration camp as an ignorant child and meets Shmuel, also a 9 year old Jewish boy. Their conversations highlights the horrors of the holocaust but it does have some historical inaccuracies.
Before I say anything else, the ending took me by surprise. It was one of those books where I thought I knew what was coming and I was almost completely wrong.
I don't have much to say, just that I enjoyed reading the book. I like reading light narrative from time to time, I thought that as a book itself it was entertaining and generally alright. However, I haven't read many books about this particular subject. Upon reading other reviews (specifically negative ones because I was a bit overwhelmed by how many there are) some points came up that I have to admit I also noticed and didn't really like, but then there were those other points. Those points where it was compared to other books about this tragidy and called out on issues that I hadn't considered. It isn't enough for me to claim that I didn't enjoy reading it, because that would be a lie plain and simple. It does make me feel a bit icky though to think about those issues and it does make me question the book more than I originally did.
I don't have much to say, just that I enjoyed reading the book. I like reading light narrative from time to time, I thought that as a book itself it was entertaining and generally alright. However, I haven't read many books about this particular subject. Upon reading other reviews (specifically negative ones because I was a bit overwhelmed by how many there are) some points came up that I have to admit I also noticed and didn't really like, but then there were those other points. Those points where it was compared to other books about this tragidy and called out on issues that I hadn't considered. It isn't enough for me to claim that I didn't enjoy reading it, because that would be a lie plain and simple. It does make me feel a bit icky though to think about those issues and it does make me question the book more than I originally did.
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