At the suggestion of my adult son, I picked up this book for research; I am debating writing in the MG genre, and it’s been a minute since my kiddos and I read these (MG) types of books. I was at first concerned how such a subject matter could be conveyed with any strength in MG, without language, violence or sex (Not that sex is needed in this regard, but it is a no-no for MG writing). JOHN BOYNE did a remarkable job of bringing the travesty of the subject into full and clear view without the use of any language or violence (sex wasn’t even on the table for the book). Really great story, it’s been a few days and I’m still thinking about it. ( )

Haunting, harrowing and thought-provoking.

I reread The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas before starting All the Broken Places and it had an even greater impact on me second time round.

The stark contrast between Auschwitz seen through the eyes of a naïve, 9-year-old forced to leave the luxury of his 5-storey home in Berlin when his father is promoted to the rank of camp commandant and the vivid images stamped on my mind from newsreels showing the liberation of the camps and the horrors of the atrocities committed there, from documentaries about the holocaust and the final solution and from interviews with survivors made this book a chilling and compelling read.

When Bruno innocently ponders why the hordes of passengers being forced to board an already packed train on the opposite platform can’t just cross over and join him on his empty train going in the same direction, I pictured the grim reality with a sick feeling in my stomach.

The characters are all really well drawn: the repetition of phrases, mispronunciation of key words and gripes over the lack of playmates, lessons and The Hopeless Case perfectly portray Bruno as a self-preoccupied and privileged young boy while the depiction of his new friend Schmuel on the other side of the fence is simply heart-breaking. The coldness and cruelty emanating from Lieutenant Kurt Kotler send shivers down the spine while Mother’s medicinal sherry and Father’s iron fist create a real impression of home life.

For a relatively short book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas packs a powerful punch and poses many questions for adult and younger readers alike. A harrowing and haunting work of fiction, a tense and atmospheric read and a unique perspective on this unforgettable period in history.

“You wear the right outfit and you feel like the person you’re pretending to be.” ( )

Ӕ

I first discovered this story when I came across the movie by accident while browsing through an online movie streaming channel. I really enjoyed the movie for what it was to me, a fictitious tale of a lonely innocent boy taking place in a tragic historical setting. A few years later I came across the book while perusing a bookshop in Ireland and decided this might be good for my daughter to read in a few years when she is older. Subsequently, I read the book with the movie in the back of my mind and no expectations of historical accuracy, but as a tale of fiction told through the eyes of, or written by, a nine year old. That said, I was quite taken aback by some of the negative reviews here. I get it that the book is full of implausible events and historical inaccuracies, but I don’t expect much more when I read a “fable”. In that regard, I thought the author did a good job, although given the context of the time period and plot, I think it would have been more believable if Bruno was two or three years younger. Granted, the author picked one of the worst instances of man’s cruelty against humanity as the backdrop, but that makes the impact of Bruno’s naiveté even more profound, in my opinion.

If you are looking for a moving story told through the eyes of a child, you might enjoy this book. If you are looking for a factual holocaust story, then read an account from a reputable historian or someone who was there. ( )

Sadly, I only "discovered" John Boyne in 2017 when "The Heart's Invisible Furies" was published. Now I have begun to delve into his back catalog and I just read this wonderful book, which tells a tragic story about the effects of the Nazi regime through the eyes of a child of a high-ranking SS official. I believe it was written as a book for middle school age children, and it has some flaws in the story-telling, in my view (e.g., the main character, Bruno, is nine-years-old, and despite being corrected on more than one occasion, he calls the Fuhrer "the Fury" and Auschwitz "Out-With" and he also comes up with phrases that seem too adult). Children that age might not understand some of the subtleties of the story or its moral lesson. ( )

Restricted Viewpoint, a sub-set of Unreliable Narrator, is the device John Boyne uses very effectively to tell the story of Auschwitz in an original way. It will take all the self-control you can muster not to sob uncontrollably at the ending.

Bruno, the young son of a high-ranking Nazi officer during World War II, is unhappy when his family has to leave their comfortable Berlin home and move to much more Spartan accommodations at a place his untrained ear perceives as “Out-With.” But the move was ordered by “the Fury,” the German leader, so off they go. At Out-With, there are no friends for Bruno to play with, so when he sees a boy in pajamas sitting on the other side of a fence, he approaches and befriends him. Bruno misunderstands or misconstrues the few bits of information he gleans from his new friend. Ignored by his parents, harassed by his big sister, Bruno comes to live for his furtive meetings with the boy at the fence. But to say anything more would be to enter Spoiler Alert territory.

Easily read at a sitting, this simple tale has knockout power. Even if you’ve seen the excellent film, the book is well worth reading. ( )

Had to read this book for my middle school English class. I knew the story wouldn't end well but it just broke my heart on how it ended. It's sickening that people did this to other people, broke my heart that the boys never stood a chance. ( )

El niño con el pijama de rayas
John Boyne
Publicado: 2006 | 127 páginas
Novela Drama

Aunque el uso habitual de un texto como éste es describir las características de la obra, por una vez nos tomaremos la libertad de hacer una excepción a la norma establecida. No sólo porque el libro que tienes en tus manos es muy difícil de definir, sino porque estamos convencidos de que explicar su contenido estropearía la experiencia de la lectura. Creemos que es importante empezar esta novela sin saber de qué trata. No obstante, si decides embarcarte en la aventura, debes saber que acompañarás a Bruno, un niño de nueve años, cuando se muda con su familia a una casa junto a una cerca. Cercas como ésa existen en muchos sitios del mundo, sólo deseamos que no te encuentres nunca con una. Por último, cabe aclarar que este libro no es sólo para adultos; también lo pueden leer, y sería recomendable que lo hicieran, niños a partir de los trece años de edad.

Sobbing howling shitting my pants ( )

L'arte ha già raccontato l'olocausto innumerevoli volte e secondo le prospettive più diverse. Costruire un'altra opera di finzione incentrata su questo argomento potrebbe sembrare un atto sconsiderato più che una prova di coraggio, sopratutto se l'autore non ha conosciuto di persona la realtà dei campi di sterminio. Eppure John Boyne si è assunto questo rischio ed è riuscito a scrivere una storia originale e toccante, pur nella semplicità dell'idea di fondo.

La chiave sta tutta nell'elaborazione di un narratore in terza persona che rispecchia il punto di vista di un bambino. Il tono colloquiale e la storpiatura di nomi e appellativi tipica del parlato infantile ("Auschwitz" diventa "Auscit", il "Fuhrer" diventa il "Furio", ecc.) costringono il lettore a fare appello direttamente alle proprie conoscenze storiche pregresse per riuscire a decodificare pienamente lo sviluppo delle vicende. L'autore si limita quindi a disseminare nella pagina indizi e segni che trovano la loro cassa di risonanza naturale nella sensibilità del lettore stesso. Bruno non comprende quanto sta succedendo e niente di ciò che vede potrebbe fargli neanche lontanamente immaginare quale terribile realtà si celi dentro quelle baracche. In questo modo l'orrore non viene narrato ma evocato direttamente nell'animo di chi legge.

Grazie a questo escamotage, man mano che la storia procede viene a generarsi una forte tensione di matrice hitchcockiana perché il lettore, ben piú informato del piccolo protagonista, va accumulando un timore e un angoscia sempre crescente per il modo in cui il bambino potrebbe scoprire le aberrazioni che si consumano in quel campo. Grazie al cielo l'autore non nasconde la mano e ci regala un finale drammaticamente impietoso.

Al di là della linea narrativa principale, una nota di speciale plauso va riservata alla descrizione della visita di Hitler ed Eva Braun a casa di Bruno, episodio in cui si trova un'inusuale rapresentazione di quella strana coppia di amanti. Altrettanto apprezzabile è la ricostruzione della rigida atmosfera patriarcale che si respirava nelle famiglie dell'epoca e che contribuisce a render conto anche ai ragazzi d'oggi delle notevoli trasformazioni sociali occorse da allora.

Più che un vero e proprio romanzo, Il bambino con il pigiama a righe è una lunga fiaba nera che poggia in precario equilibrio su una fitta rete di sottintesi e fraintendimenti, in mezzo ai quali la delicata e istintiva amicizia tra i due bambini acquista fin da subito il dolce sapore dell'autenticità.

Un'ultima annotazione. Spesso questo libro viene consigliato come lettura ai ragazzi piú giovani perché affronta il tema dell'olocausto da un prospettiva "ingenua" e con un tono dimesso. Attenzione però perché un lettore privo del background storico di cui si è parlato potrebbe trovarlo terribilmente noioso a causa del mancato innesco di quel meccanismo di suspance che invece funziona alla perfezione con un adulto.

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Precedente: [b:Un albero cresce a Brooklyn|3927372|Un albero cresce a Brooklyn|Betty Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424087119l/3927372._SY75_.jpg|833257]
Successivo: [b:L'ultima equazione|6509567|L'ultima equazione|Mark Alpert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487016991l/6509567._SX50_.jpg|2307621] ( )

Wow. Parts of this book made me feel ill. It was pretty obvious what was coming at various stages of the book, but I was still fascinated to watch it unfold. Even though I caught on to what was going to happen pretty quickly, I missed a couple of the obvious word-plays at first. ( )

I doubt I would have ever read this if the sequel All the Broken Places hadn't come out. Sometimes John Boyne's writing falls flat for me and I thought there was a good chance that would be the case here. To me, there's nothing worse than a book about a serious subject that treats it in a contrived and predictable manner - for example, as I felt his A History of Loneliness did. If this were a stand-alone I probably would have felt that way about it but as an introduction to another book it will depend on where he takes the story. ( )

Ah yes, let's follow a frustratingly naive nazi boy who never has to reckon with his beliefs before being killed off... You know what, let's put in just enough trauma for our Jewish character for the audience to feel bad for, but not enough to significantly impact their life... Let it never shake them from their god-like, perfect, aryan best friend *chefs kiss*

This read like a fetishized Holocaust-guilt trip. Bad. Entertaining, but bad. I feel so icky. ( )

I am not sure what to make of this book. It is supposed to be for young adults but if you have no knowledge of the Holocaust, you wouldn't be able to make sense of it. And Bruno must be the most naive boy in literature. Can a 9-year-old be so naive? But I get what Boyne is trying to say here, that one's actions have consequences and friendship is pure. It just lacks credibility. ( )

made me cry. Read after seeing the movie, which also made me cry. ( )

I will be really interested to share this book with students and listen to their responses about it. I feel struck by how incredibly cruel humanity can be, and how important even the smallest kindness can be. The repercussions of our actions are so much larger than we will ever understand. This is such an important book for raising discussion about the world we live in and our small yet important roles in it. ( )

Tác giả coi thường trẻ em và cả người đọc. Tiếp cận với sự thật qua lăng kính ngây thơ trong sáng đầy màu hồng kiểu này chẳng hề mang lại tác dụng gì hết. Chẳng thấy cảm động mà chỉ thấy bực mình. ( )

This story is about Bruno, a young German, boy living in Berlin with his family. When his father becomes commandant of the concentration camp, Auschwitz, they move from Berlin to live close to the camp. Bored with everyday life, and having no friends, he ventures out, meets and befriends Schmuel, a young boy his age living in the camp. Tired of continuing their friendship through the barbed wire fence, Bruno sneaks into the camp. He eventually loses his life in the gas chamber alongside Schmuel.
This book demonstrates how war affects people of all ages and backgrounds. Not only did those who the Nazis considered enemies lose their lives, but families of Nazis did as well. ( )

This is a heavier story surrounding main character Bruno, whose dad works for Auschwitz. He is an innocent kid who eventually makes friends with another boy on the other side of the fence. Since the reader knows the damages of what happened, Bruno’s story being from his perspective creates tension for the middle school readers and keeps them interested. This story is powerful and impactful for the student groups that can handle it. ( )

An innocent nine-year-old German boy travels with his family from Germany to Poland during WWII, where his father is the commandant of a concentration camp. Their new home is nearby, and he befriends one of the incarcerated children. It is ultimately a fable of good and evil, and a heart-rending tragedy.

It points to the innate ability of children to love, trust and care for each other. It shows the ability of adults to calmly engage in mass murder. Due to the way it is written, parents could use it as a starting point in communicating with their children (age 10 and up) about the Holocaust.

I listened to the audio book, brilliantly read by Michael Maloney.
( )

I read five chapters and quit. You do children no favors by presenting them a fictional account of the Holocaust that's been sanitized and scrubbed of anything uncomfortable. ( )

Oferecido pelo Gil aos 14 anos

This book is impressive. How the story is told to us is brilliant. Bruno, the main character, is a wonderful kid, with an adventurous and dreaming mind. The way he talks about his sister is hilarious: he calls her a goner, but I think they love each other, like any brother. The backstory is very well built and the fact that Bruno has little knowledge about what is happening helps to thicken the atmosphere. ( )

Should be a MUST READ for all 5th grade and up students. Loved this book and the movie. ( )

Sensiblero ( )