The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

By

John Boyne

Bruno, a nine-year-old boy who is living a happy and protected life in Berlin, comes home from school one day and learns that the family has to move…

Despite his protests the family moves from the five-storied house in the city centre to a smaller one with only three stories in the middle of nowhere. There are no other houses around like in Berlin, nobody to play with, no cafés or fruit stands. At first Bruno is sad and angry and rebels against the move, he even argues with his father but has to resign eventually. Out of boredom Bruno finally goes out to play his favourite game – “searching”.

On his quests Bruno finally meets someone he never was supposed to meet…

“A timeless story of innocence lost and humanity found.”

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914798/

« Well, what’s the book about? » that’s what I asked my best friend as he lent “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” to me. « I won’t tell you, it gives the plot away. Just read it, it’s really good!»

So, I started reading it and was soon unable to stop… The plotline is just captivating. The story is told through the eyes of Bruno who describes the events around him from the innocent perspective, not always knowing or understanding what’s going on… It is a fictional story, of course, and couldn’t have happened this way but it shows in a great way that kids can be much wiser than adults in some ways…

I was amazed by the story of Bruno and felt with him all the time. It was so easy to understand his situation, his wants and desires and the reason why he acted like he did.

When I finished reading the last pages of the books I couldn’t think of another way to describe it than “wow”. It was just breathtaking, full of emotion, thrilling and very touching. In my opinion no one can read this book and go unaffected by it. It is a story you can only learn from, and should… I am still at a loss for words and can only say one thing:

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT!

I promise you won’t regret it…

PS: I now completely understand why there’s no summary on the back… and my best friend wouldn’t tell me about the plot… it is completely justified…

-Julie