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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
A powerful story - not a history lesson
When I first started reading, I didn't find the simplistic writing style appealing and thought I would be glad to finish the book so I could move on to another more challenging. It wasn't long before I became engrossed in viewing the situation through the eyes and voice of the 9 yr old boy, Bruno. I did not critique what I was reading from the perspective of what a 'real'...
Published 19 months ago by A Reader
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Mixed feelings
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is presented as a fable by the author, and if taken at face value, then it works. It tells the story of Bruno, the son of a high-ranking SS officer who is promoted to be the Camp Commandant of Out-with [Auschwitz] and moves his entire family, consisting of his wife, his 12-year-old daughter Gretel and 9-year-old son, Bruno from Berlin to...
Published 19 months ago by z hayes
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
A powerful story - not a history lesson, December 28, 2008
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
When I first started reading, I didn't find the simplistic writing style appealing and thought I would be glad to finish the book so I could move on to another more challenging. It wasn't long before I became engrossed in viewing the situation through the eyes and voice of the 9 yr old boy, Bruno. I did not critique what I was reading from the perspective of what a 'real' 9 yr old living in that era should or should not have known about Nazi Germany.
I decided to write this because I was disappointed by the comments of a couple of the other reviewers who were upset that the book did not include historical accuracy. I never thought I was purchasing a history book, and therefore did not expect to receive a history lesson. To me the message of the story is broader than the era it is set in. This is the tale of an unlikely friendship between two 9 yr old boys. That friendship is allowed to grow because of their innocence, and because they do not judge one another by their stations in life. It's a very powerful, moving fable. I loved it for exactly what it is.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Mixed feelings, December 12, 2008
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is presented as a fable by the author, and if taken at face value, then it works. It tells the story of Bruno, the son of a high-ranking SS officer who is promoted to be the Camp Commandant of Out-with [Auschwitz] and moves his entire family, consisting of his wife, his 12-year-old daughter Gretel and 9-year-old son, Bruno from Berlin to the Polish camp. Once there, young Bruno finds his living conditions 'intolerable' compared to the luxurious life they led back in Berlin and misses his three best friends. Bruno yearns to return to the comfort and familiarity of Berlin, but then an afternoon exploration makes him feel better. He meets the boy on the other side of the fence, Schmuel, who is the same age as Bruno, who has the luxury of wearing striped 'pajamas' all day long, and who has many 'companions' to play with. Bruno appears to be very naive and does not seem to realise that his friend is actually a prisoner in a death camp, one who is constantly hungry and starving, and who is engulfed in despair. The boys form a friendship that develops into a deep bond and ends in one of the most heart-rending climaxes I've read in a book.
Taken as a fable, the book is an excellent launching pad for discussions about the Holocaust, particularly as seen through the eyes of children. Though the protagonist in this book is nine years old, I would not recommend it for young readers due to the very sensitive nature of the topic. Instead, I think it is apt for older readers [perhaps ages 12 and up] who already have some understanding of what the Holocaust is about.
That being said, the book is not without its problems. Having been a former History teacher with a keen interest in the Holocaust, I found quite a few historical inaccuracies that was jarring to read. Another reviewer has also elaborated on this.
Firstly, young Bruno, being almost nine years old, and the son of a high-ranking Nazi, would in all probability have been a member of the Hitler Youth, and thus quite familiar with the anti-Jewish propaganda drummed into young members of the Reich. His naivete when it comes to the Jews [portrayed in the book as being unfamiliar with the race] is hard to believe. Secondly, children, especially those around Schmuel's age, would most certainly have been earmarked for extinction [gas chambers] as soon as they arrived. Schmuel's existence in the camp [for over a year in the book] seems miraculous [and perhaps not imposssible] but once again, quite implausible. Also, Schmuel and Bruno seem to meet almost every afternoon for a period as long as a year. Avoiding detection all that time seems to be another implausible plot point. There are some other parts that I found to be quite innacurate in terms of actual historical portrayal, but the ones I listed are my main grouses.
Conclusion - this is a book that I'd recommend reading, if only because it does have a unique approach to the Holocaust [through the eyes of a young Aryan child] and the simple writing style will engage young readers [ages 12 and up]. Getting young readers interested in the topic and launching discussions on the Holocaust makes this a worthwhile read, but at the same time, caution needs to be exercised, as the book does give an almost simplistic [and at some points, inaccurate] views of the Holocaust.
Note: this edition comes with an author interview and reading guide.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing, December 8, 2008
A Kid's Review
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
As a twelve year old I found this book to be amazing , very breathtaking , and is a must read for all children interested in these terrible time . I found my self stuck to this book and could not put it down , I will with out a doubt recommend this for anybody who is thinking about reading this book !! I LOVE IT !!!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderfully commercial idea - poor book, August 26, 2009
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
The genius in this book is in the idea:- set a book at a concentration camp told through the eyes of an absurdly naiive German boy who meets up with a Jewish (prisoner) boy every day.
Yet the actual book itself is really dull for the first 130 pages or so (out of about 190). The reason we keep reading is because we know our history and we know something terrible must happen in the end and can't help ourselves. Almost all the 'child-like' touches (such as 9-year old Bruno thinking that the Fuhrer is called the Fury) ring untrue and are clearly devices used by the author to manipulate the reader. Luckily for the author, readers love to be manipulated. What adds to the dullness is that we never get close to any character (not even Bruno, who is merely a cipher for the author's 'child-like' voice). The only real and potentially interesting character is the old Jewish man who plays waiter in Bruno's household. There is an unspoken menace when he is attacked by the young German soldier and a touching tenderness when he tends to Bruno's injury.
It must be said that the ending is a real page-turner and the book, like anything to do with the holocaust, really makes you think and wonder at the cruelty humans are capable of.
But even so, this book is hugely over-rated.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Stunning piece of fiction, March 10, 2009
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
By now you probably know the premise of this book: set in WWII Germany, a nine year old boy whose father is a commandant in the Nazi party moves with his family to Auschwitz, where his father has been put in charge of the infamous concentration camp.
There aren't too many new ways to tell this story, but author John Boyne found a unique perspective here. Everything about this story is from the viewpoint of Bruno, the nine year old German boy. While it is fairly easy for you, the reader, to put together the puzzle pieces, we have the advantage of knowing history and knowing what atrocities occured at Auschwitz. Bruno, of course, does not fully understand and this is his story.
This novel is simply stunning in it's simplicity and power. I never saw the ending coming and it just blew me away. After I turned the last page, I set the book down in my lap and just sat there amazed for a good fifteen minutes. Two weeks later, I'm still thinking about this book. I can't get over how powerful it is and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.
It's not necessarily a child's book, despite the youthful narrator. I'd say it might qualify as a young adult's book since they are certainly old enough to understand the powerful ending.
Certainly, all adults should read this one. Then it's up to you to decide what age is appropriate for your children to read it.
Do NOT miss this book!
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Stripped Pyjamas, June 4, 2008
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
Well this is book for Young Adults and therefore I must admit that the style was a little bit problematic for me. I guess because I'm only an "adult". It's very simple, very on the level of the main character but after a while I get used to it and I might say that this naiveness was even charming. Big part of the book is like as if we are waiting something (big) to happens, the main thing but I wouldn't say the book is boring; again it was charming.
I usually find myself very irritated with the child character who is completely (and impossibly) ignorant about the things around them since it's usually not convincing at all. But I think he is one nice exception. Bruno is lovely constructed character and his views are very convincing. Occasional sparks from the world of adults are giving reader nice background picture and contrast with readers understandings and Bruno's ignorance (or misunderstandings) are really lovely. So, indeed Bruno is very likable "young man".
I will not tell anything about plot but instead will type what it says on the back cover,probably the best book blurb I saw:
"The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the bookon the cover, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.
If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to cross such a fence."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Ending Is What Makes This Book Unforgettable, August 16, 2009
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
The ending is what makes this book unforgettable. Some have billed this as a children's/YA book, I think that this book is anything but. Told through the eyes of 9 year old Bruno the son of a Nazi Commandant, we see his burgeoning friendship with another child a Polish Jew. The only thing that separates them is a fence.
Bruno's naivety is quite startling when you, the adult reader, can see what is around the corner. Bruno is just a kid, thinking kid thought, living in a kids world that has always kept him sheltered. But one day, reality will hit and with it a lesson is learned - an no one will ever be the same.
I highly recommend this book to any adult and even to a middle schooler who is studying the Holocaust. This book gives quite a startling look at this time in history from a child's perspective. Though criticized for factual inaccuracies, that is not the point the book is trying to make. Whether it was Auschwitz or Bergen Belsen, it really doesn't matter. This is a story told though the eyes of little boys living in a grown up world.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Reads Like a Folk Tale, March 1, 2009
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
Much is missing in this story told from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy whose father is the Kommandant of Auschwitz. I was not even sure if my high or middle school students would recognize what it was about. They do recognize the setting and they do find the cheery voice of the child wending his way through unmistakably dark times a compelling read. The missing specifics make this story read like a folk tale, without time and place, with an edge of unreality, and with completely familiar human truths.
A boy's world consists of his imagination, his friendships, his ongoing struggle to make sense of the adult world that swirls around him. This boy, Bruno, appears at first glance to be unduly naive. But he is not naive; the belief that comfort can exist alongside absolute cruelty is naive. That perspective is like a knife cutting through the twisted intentions of the severely misguided adults, laying bare the only truth: no safe haven exists unless it exists for all.
Even with its lack of factual detail, this book is clearly about a terrible time in history, the Holocaust. While strong readers as young as eight could read this book, parents may want to decide when their child is ready for this information and might want to read it together. Middle and high school kids should be fine with it. In fact, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is one of those books that can be read and appreciated by all ages of readers.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderful book/movie; Mr. Maurice's comments on book, May 5, 2009
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
I am a high school English teacher who was thinking of having my juniors and seniors read this book next year. What I wanted to show them was that what the author did by having Bruno die at the end was brilliant...even genious. One's first reaction is to identify with the innocense of Bruno and then to feel so bad for him that he died a death he wasn't supposed to die. Then, and this is where the genious is, one is moved to see that while Bruno's death was unjust, so was the death of the Jews who were with him. We never got to see into the mind of any character like we did Bruno, so we naturally initially identify with him more - but then to come to the point where you realize that you mourn his loss more than the Jews actually helps us to move into a real deep mourning for the Jews and to see our own inhumanity...or at least I did. In the book the Jews are mere characters rather than as people with an incredible depth and who suffered and died terribly, but through this, we come to realize that they were more than mere characters in a story. They were real and their deaths were real. This helps us to us to truely mourn the loss of the Jews...all the Jews...who died there. This is what I think the author's purpose was - it is not just a fable to teach us something - it is a fable to move us to understand the horible suffering of the Jews and to show us that our initial reaction to the story shows our own insensitivity to the suffering of the Jews. The author does this wonderfully.
Thus said, I think that Mr. Maurice's comments are also extremely important to understanding the reality of fact and fiction. I will include a copy of your comments to my students as well. Your comments, Mr. Maurice, are an excellent essay which I can bring out many things as I teach my students about writing and critical thinking. However, I do think that you need to understand that the book never claims to be non-fiction. We have many stories that are considered wonderful literature that are set in real events, which is how I see this book. But, I respect and value Mr. Maurice's comments and thoughts. They are wonderful and I so appreciate them. Thanks for taking the time to post your comments. They will serve my students well and have served me well too.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent story for kids, December 30, 2008
This review is from: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Reader (Paperback)
I just read this book after my 13 year old daughter finished it. It was a well told, very readable story. While it doesn't go into great detail about the Holocaust(which made it more readable for children), I think it is very thought provoking for them. It was a book that neither my daughter nor I could put down. You definitely go on this "journey" with the 2 main characters, and become emotionally involved with them. It is absolutely worth reading, but it does leave out all the details of what actually did go on in the concentration camps.
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