The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

published	September 12th 2006 by David Fickling Books
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0385751060 (isbn13: 9780385751063)
ebook
pages	224
description	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 pro...more [close] 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 from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see 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 to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences. From School Library Journal Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Boyne has written a sort of historical allegory–a spare, but vividly descriptive tale that clearly elucidates the atmosphere in Nazi Germany during the early 1940s that enabled the persecution of Eastern European Jews. Through the eyes of Bruno, a naive nine-year-old raised in a privileged household by strict parents whose expectations included good manners and unquestioning respect for parental authority, the author describes a visit from the Fury and the familys sudden move from Berlin to a place called Out-With in Poland. There, not 50 feet away, a high wire fence surrounds a huge dirt area of low huts and large square buildings. From his bedroom window, Bruno can see hundreds (maybe thousands) of people wearing striped pajamas and caps, and something made him feel very cold and unsafe. Uncertain of what his father actually does for a living, the boy is eager to discover the secret of the people on the other side. He follows the fence into the distance, where he meets Shmuel, a skinny, sad-looking Jewish resident who, amazingly, has his same birth date. Bruno shares his thoughts and feelings with Shmuel, some of his food, and his final day at Out-With, knowing instinctively that his father must never learn about this friendship. While only hinting at violence, blind hatred, and deplorable conditions, Boyne has included pointed examples of bullying and fearfulness. His combination of strong characterization and simple, honest narrative make this powerful and memorable tale a unique addition to Holocaust literature for those who already have some knowledge of Hitlers Final Solution.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. [close]
date added	01-21-07 edit book

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Brandy rated it:

11/12/07

bookshelves: 2007reads, audiobooks, borrowed-library, historical, teen

Read in November, 2007

I hardly know where to begin bashing this book. Do I start with the 9-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister, who read about 6 and 8, respectively? The imperial measurements (miles, feet) despite the German setting? The German boy, raised in Berlin, who thinks that Der Führer is "The Fury" and Auschwitz is "Out-With," despite being corrected several times and seeing it written down? The other English-language idioms and mis-hearings, despite our being told that he...more I hardly know where to begin bashing this book. Do I start with the 9-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister, who read about 6 and 8, respectively? The imperial measurements (miles, feet) despite the German setting? The German boy, raised in Berlin, who thinks that Der Führer is "The Fury" and Auschwitz is "Out-With," despite being corrected several times and seeing it written down? The other English-language idioms and mis-hearings, despite our being told that he speaks only German? And that he believes that "Heil Hitler!" is a fancy word for hello, because he understands neither "Heil" nor "Hitler"?

So maybe these are fussy issues, and I shouldn't trash the book on these minor linguistic flaws. Instead, I can start with the plot holes big enough to drive a truck through: that Bruno, whose father is a high-ranking official in "The Fury"'s regime, doesn't know what a Jew is, or that he's living next door to a concentration camp. Or that the people wearing the "striped pajamas" are being killed, and THAT's why they don't get up after the soldiers stand close to them and there are sounds "like gunshots." Or that there's a section of fence that is (a) unpatrolled and (b) can be lifted from the ground high enough to pass food and, eventually, a small boy through, AND that nobody would try to get OUT through this hole. Or that Bruno's friend Shmuel, a frail 9-year-old boy, would survive over a year in a Nazi camp. Or even the author's refusal to ever use the word "Auschwitz," in an effort to "make this book about any camp, to add a universality to Bruno's experience."

That last is from an interview with the author that appears at the end of the audio version. I can't speak to most of what he said, because it was a lot of "here are all the places that are hyping my book," but the worst part of it, to me, was where he was addressing criticisms: "there are people who complain that Bruno is too innocent, too naive, and they are trivializing the message of this book." Um, no. I'm not trivializing the message; I'm objecting to his trivializing of the Holocaust. I find his treatment of the Holocaust to be superficial, misleading, and even offensive.

As an audio recording, I'm pretty neutral. The narrator did the best he could with the material and there was some differentiation between the characters' voices, but the music that was added... some chapters ended with appropriately-somber music. Other chapters had no music at all. Sometimes the music appeared in the middle of a chapter.

Two other incidental notes: first, normally you can't say anything negative about a Holocaust-themed book without being an asshole, because the books are so tied in with the Holocaust itself. In this case, though, I feel like, due to the fictionalizing of it, the book is far enough removed from Auschwitz that it's okay to be negative about the book without being insensitive about the Holocaust. Second, this doesn't land on my "run away! Save yourself!" shelf, because that's more for books that are comically bad--books that I can bash with glee and mock with abandon. I can't find anything funny about what makes this book so bad; it's just plain offensive and shallow. ...less

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nisa felicia rated it:

09/22/07

bookshelves: whatsinmywoodenshelves

Read in August, 2007

copied from my friendster's blogs (title: the boy in the striped pyjamas):
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note: i read the indonesian translation one.

Bukan buku yang tebal dan bahasanya pun sederhana sekali. Sehingga tidak perlu berhari-hari untuk menamatkan buku dengan cover yang cukup baik tersebut (terima kasih Gramedia yang menerbitkan edisi Indonesia dengan mementingkan estetika cover buku :)). Isi ceritanya juga bukan sesuatu yang kompleks, walaupun setti...more copied from my friendster's blogs (title: the boy in the striped pyjamas):
-----------------------------------------------------------
note: i read the indonesian translation one.

Bukan buku yang tebal dan bahasanya pun sederhana sekali. Sehingga tidak perlu berhari-hari untuk menamatkan buku dengan cover yang cukup baik tersebut (terima kasih Gramedia yang menerbitkan edisi Indonesia dengan mementingkan estetika cover buku :)). Isi ceritanya juga bukan sesuatu yang kompleks, walaupun setting dan periode kejadian tersebut berada pada kondisi sosial politik yang kompleks (it’s complicated, kalau kata friendster..lengkap dengan TM).
Tentang seorang anak laki-laki normal, Bruno, berumur sembilan tahun yang secara natural bete sama kelakuan kakak perempuannya yang mulai puber, dan cinta dan bangga sekali dengan ayahnya. Kebanggaan pada ayahnya yang seorang komandan penting, yang gagah dengan seragam berlogo swastika (dan tentunya anak ini tidak pernah tahu apa makna logo tersebut). Seorang ayah yang bekerja sepenuh jiwa raga demi puncak karier militernya.
Jiwa petualang Bruno membawanya kepada persahabatan dengan seorang anak lelaki sebayanya, Shmuel, yang lahir pada hari bulan dan tahun yang sama dengannya, mempunyai ukuran tubuh yang sama namun lebih kurus dari Bruno, dan bedanya lagi, anak ini selalu mengenakan ‘piyama’ garis-garis (yang sebenarnya adalah seragam untuk kaum yahudi yang berada di kamp Aucshwitz).
Bab demi bab menceritakan kehidupan keluarga sang komandan dan juga persahabatan dari sudut pandang anak sembilan tahun yang naïf dan … kadang menyebalkan. Misalnya ketika Bruno terus-terusan mengeluh tidak adil karena Shmuel punya banyak kawan yang tinggal bersamanya sementara dirinya harus tinggal bersama kakak perempuannya yang sinis dan menyebalkan. Seandainya Bruno mengerti… saya sendiri tidak yakin, apakah seharusnya anak sembilan tahun seperti mereka mengerti apa yang terjadi di sana saat itu?
Tidak seperti persahabatan Bruno sebelumnya dengan kawan-kawannya di Berlin, selama setahun yang mereka dapat lakukan hanyalah duduk bercakap-cakap di bawah pohon dengan sebaris pagar kawat tinggi memisahkan mereka. Sampai suatu ketika naluri petualangnya membawa Bruno lebih jauh, menerobos pagar yang memisahkan dirinya (yang adalah ras unggulan, menurut Der Fuhrer) dengan kelompok tawanan yahudi. Usaha itu disempurnakan oleh piyama garis-garis yang dibawakan Shmuel untuk dikenakan Bruno demi penyamarannya di ‘balik pagar’. Dan ZAP! Jadilah ia bagian dari kaum ‘terhina’ itu.
“... sulit sekali membedakan mereka berdua. Rasanya seakan … mereka semua sebenarnya sama …” begitu kata Shmuel (Hmm, kenapa semakin dewasa kita justru makin jauh dari kebijaksanaan anak-anak ya?).
Pheew… Saya menghela nafas dalam-dalam ketika Bruno yang berada di barisan ‘piyama garis-garis’, diantara tembakan-tembakan dan teriakan tentara-tentara nazi, berharap agar ayahnya segera datang dan menghalau anak buah-anak buah ayahnya tersebut yang tidak berhenti-berhenti menyakiti mereka. Kabar terakhir yang diceritakan tentang Bruno adalah ia, Shmuel dan ratusan orang berpiyama garis-garis lainnya masuk ke dalam ‘ruangan panjang’ yang gelap dan tak berudara, dan bukan untuk berteduh dari hujan.

Akhir cerita ditutup dengan tangisan sang ayah di tepi pagar ketika ia melihat baju Bruno dan menyadari ada celah di bawah pagar yang bisa diterobos anak sebesar Bruno. Sejak itu ia merasa tidak ada yang penting lagi dengan kariernya…

Saya teringat satu lagunya Cranberries yang berjudul “War Child”. Dalam lagu itu Dolores bilang: selalu anak-anak yang menjadi korban perang, tidak peduli siapa yang menang dan siapa yang kalah, anak-anaklah yang selalu menjadi korban kepentingan politik dan teritori.

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Lorraine rated it:

05/16/08

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Lorraine by: Lesley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I like that this book is written from the perspective of the Commandant’s young son who doesn’t have any idea of the world he’s living in and the role his father has in it. We get to know Bruno as a sweet, well-behaved boy but who also has the self-centred and competitive nature that any child of a young age has.

When he and his family are uprooted from their Berlin home and moved to Poland so his father can oversee a concentration camp, Bruno has to come to terms with the fact that h...more I like that this book is written from the perspective of the Commandant’s young son who doesn’t have any idea of the world he’s living in and the role his father has in it. We get to know Bruno as a sweet, well-behaved boy but who also has the self-centred and competitive nature that any child of a young age has.

When he and his family are uprooted from their Berlin home and moved to Poland so his father can oversee a concentration camp, Bruno has to come to terms with the fact that he is miles away from everything and everybody he knows. On his first day he looks out his bedroom window and is shocked to see so many people on the other side of the fence, all wearing striped pyjamas. There are so many questions for Bruno to ask, but when he does, he never gets a full answer. I don’t think anybody feels they can talk freely about the situation, and how do you explain something so incomprehensible to an 8 year old innocent?

Bruno considers himself to be a bit of an explorer but it is months before he even gets as far as visiting the bench that faces the house in the garden. When he does head further afield and meets Shmuel, he finds a ‘friend for life’ who he has so much in common with… same age, birthday, families who love them, friends at a home which they have been forced to leave behind … the only difference between them is the side of the fence they sit on.

On the face of it, Bruno lives in ignorant bliss of what surrounds him but with all that he’s seen… The Fury’s visit to his house in Berlin, his Grandmother’s argument with his Father, Kotler’s treatment of the people in the striped pyjama’s, Pavel’s admission that he’s not really a waiter and Shmuel’s family going ‘missing’.. I think he begins to realise. Why else did he take so long to go exploring? Also, when Shmuel mutter’s “you don’t know what it’s like here” Bruno is “pretending he hadn’t heard that because then he wouldn’t have to answer”.

This book is an easy and simple book to read, it is heart-warming and very sad. It never details what is happening, always just hinting at it, but you get to know so many characters and how each of them have been affected by the situations they’ve been put in. Bruno’s grandmother can’t forgive her son, Bruno’s father juggles family life with his responsibilities, Bruno’s mother succumbs to alcohol (and a possible affair with a younger man), Bruno’s sister enters her teenage years, Kotler tries to hide his past (was his father jewish?) and further his career, Pavel still holds on to his kindness and humanity in a place where he gets treated so inhumanely, and Shmuel tries to understand what’s going on, just like Bruno.
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Indah Julianti rated it:

05/11/08

bookshelves: terjemahan--fiction

Read in November, 2007

Dalam promosi buku ini dituliskan pembaca akan mengikuti perjalanan seorang anal lelaki berumur sembilan tahun bernama Bruno. Meski bercerita tentang anak berusia 9 tahun, namun buku ini bukan dikonsumsikan untuk anak-anak.

Saya tertarik membaca buku ini, pertama karena banyaknya referensi yang mengatakan buku ini wajib dibaca. Dan itu saya akui. Meski saya sempat kebingungan juga karena tidak mendapat penjelasan mengapa tiba-tiba Shmuel, teman baru Bruno berada dibatas pagar yang memisahkan ...more Dalam promosi buku ini dituliskan pembaca akan mengikuti perjalanan seorang anal lelaki berumur sembilan tahun bernama Bruno. Meski bercerita tentang anak berusia 9 tahun, namun buku ini bukan dikonsumsikan untuk anak-anak.

Saya tertarik membaca buku ini, pertama karena banyaknya referensi yang mengatakan buku ini wajib dibaca. Dan itu saya akui. Meski saya sempat kebingungan juga karena tidak mendapat penjelasan mengapa tiba-tiba Shmuel, teman baru Bruno berada dibatas pagar yang memisahkan dunianya dengan dunia Bruno.

Novel dewasa terjemahan ini merupakan novel pertama John Boyne, penulis kelahiran Dublin, Irlandia, yang bercerita tentang anak-anak. Buku ini merupakan pemenang dua penghargaan buku Irlandia pada tahun 2007 yaitu People's Choice Award Book of the Year dan Children's Book of the Year, serta The CBI Bisto Book of The Year. Selain itu, menjadi nominasi beberapa penghargaan buku seperti British Book Award (Inggris), The Borders Original Voices Award (Amerika Serikat), The Ottakar's Book Prize (Inggris), The Prix Farmiente (Belgia) dan The Paolo Ungari Award (Italia).

Oleh perusahaan film terkenal dari Amerika Serikat, The Miramax, novel ini diadaptasi menjadi film yang untuk sementara diberi judul sama. Film yang sedang menjalani syuting di Budapest, Hungaria, disutradarai oleh Mark Herman (sutradara Little Voice) dan produser David Heyman. Dan rencananya, film tersebut akan dirilis diakhir tahun 2007.

The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas bercerita tentang Bruno, yang tak pernah menyangka bahwa kepindahan keluarganya ke Out With (Auschwitz, situs kamp konsentrasi Nazi terbesar, dimana 4 juta orang Yahudi dan keturunannya dibunuh). Keluarga Bruno pindah sehubungan dengan jabatan baru yang didapat ayahnya, seusai kunjungan The Fury (Plesetan dari Der Fuhrer, sebutan untuk Adolf Hitler).

Bruno sempat tidak menyenangi rumah barunya yang berbeda dengan rumahnya di Berlin. Apalagi ia tidak mempunyai teman, hanya kakaknya Gretel, dan sejauh mata memandang, orang-orang yang berada diseberang pagar tampak hilir mudik dengan menundukkan kepala dan mereka semua menggunakan baju yang sama, piama bergaris-garis.

Ditempat barunya itulah, Bruno berkenalan dengan Shmuel dan langsung akrab dengannya. Bruno dan Shmuel memiliki tanggal dan tahun lahir yang sama : 15 April 1934. Pertemanan antara anak berbangsa Jerman dan bangsa Polandia keturunan Yahudi pada masa Perang Dunia Kedua, adalah sesuatu hal yang tak mungkin. Dan inilah yang menjadi daya tarik dari cerita karya John Boyne ini. Lalu apakah persahabatan yang indah itu akan abadi selamanya ? Bagaimana Bruno menghadapi masalah sehubungan dengan pertemanan dirinya dengan Shmuel ? Sempatkan Anda untuk membacanya hingga halaman terakhir..

(cross posting http://penatinta.blogdrive.com......less

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Kelley rated it:

06/30/08

I realize that I keep changing my rating and comments on this book, but I really can't decide how I feel about it. If you do decide to read this book, I suggest also reading the interview with the author found at the end of the book- it adds some new insight.

I've lost sleep over this book the last few nights, listening to my mind's self battle as it bounces back and forth between thoughts and opinions. (I've obviously found the book to be very thought-provoking if I'm still losing sleep ov...more I realize that I keep changing my rating and comments on this book, but I really can't decide how I feel about it. If you do decide to read this book, I suggest also reading the interview with the author found at the end of the book- it adds some new insight.

I've lost sleep over this book the last few nights, listening to my mind's self battle as it bounces back and forth between thoughts and opinions. (I've obviously found the book to be very thought-provoking if I'm still losing sleep over it.) I've read a lot of historical fiction books about WWII, but never from the viewpoint of the son a gestapo agent. The ending of the book has especially raised questions in my mind.

While the ending of the book was thought-provoking and somewhat startling, I found the these things in the book to be unrealistic:

#1- I struggled to believe that the main character could possibly be as naive as he was portrayed. I have a seven year old who, in every way, would have asked a million and twenty+ questions and seen the situation for what it was if he had grown up right next to "Out-With." Me simply giving him pat answers would not have sufficed.

The author taking the stance he did made a little more sense to me when my friend explained her mom's viewpoint that children who lived during the the 1940's did not ask as many questions as children do now days. For the most part, they accepted what was told to them from the adults they knew. She explained that this is how it was in her generation, and that the WWII era was even another generation back. This makes sense to me and I tell myself that there is a possibility that a child could be that naive, esp if his parents were trying to shield him from the war. So now I try not to compare all characters I read about with my own 7 year old.

However, that being said, I still have the following questions in my mind:

#2- Did Bruno's father loathe himself or know what he was doing is wrong and try to shield it from his son? I know that Bruno's grandmother didn't agree with what the Nazi Regime was doing and suspect that his mother wasn't a whole-hearted supporter either.

From what I have read about the indoctrination that was so prevalent in Germany at the time of WWII, I had to question the validity of a little boy whose father not only works for the Gestapo but is the head of Auschwitz, not knowing anything about what Hitler and his followers cunningly indoctrinated many of the German people with. Because of his father's job, it would have make more sense to me if Bruno had grown up in an environment where he was taught to hate Jews, where he was prepared to enter into the Hitler Youth Program, etc. even if his family was moved to Poland for a short time.

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yQt7supergirl rated it:

05/21/08

bookshelves: fiction_indonesia-punya

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

Kisah tentang Anak Laki-laki bernama Bruno, yang oleh karena tugas ayahnya yang sangat penting bagi negara, ia harus pindah ke suatu tempat yang sangat berbeda dengan Kota Berlin, tempat tinggalnya sebelumnya.
Kisah ini terjadi di Auschwitz, situs kamp konsentrasi Nazi terbesar, pada tahun 1940an ketika Adolf Hitler berkuasa. Ayah Bruno adalah seorang komandan kepercayaan Hitler dan ditugaskan untuk mengamankan Auschwitz.

Bruno adalah anak laki-laki berumur sembilan tahun yang hobi menjelaj...more Kisah tentang Anak Laki-laki bernama Bruno, yang oleh karena tugas ayahnya yang sangat penting bagi negara, ia harus pindah ke suatu tempat yang sangat berbeda dengan Kota Berlin, tempat tinggalnya sebelumnya.
Kisah ini terjadi di Auschwitz, situs kamp konsentrasi Nazi terbesar, pada tahun 1940an ketika Adolf Hitler berkuasa. Ayah Bruno adalah seorang komandan kepercayaan Hitler dan ditugaskan untuk mengamankan Auschwitz.

Bruno adalah anak laki-laki berumur sembilan tahun yang hobi menjelajah tempat-tempat asing. Seperti halnya penjelajah yang sesungguhnya, Bruno mendapatkan sesuatu yang sangat berharga dari penjelajahannya itu.

Di kamarnya yang baru di Auschwitz, Bruno yang merasa kesepian di tempat tinggalnya yang baru, sering menatap jauh keluar jendela dan memandang kehidupan di sana. Kehidupan lain yang ia lihat sangat berbeda dengan kehidupannya. Di sana banyak anak-anak seumurannya berkumpul bersama-sama. Sedangkan dia tidak memiliki seorang pun teman sebaya.

Orang-orang yang sering ia pandangi dari jendela menggunakan pakaian yang sama yaitu Piama Garis-Garis, bertubuh sama : kurus, berwajah lesu dan sedih yang sama. Mereka hidup dibalik pagar kawat tinggi yang berduri.

Jiwa penjelajah dan keinginan memiliki teman sebaya- Bruno tertantang untuk mendekati pagar itu, melihat dari dekat kehidupan orang-orang berpiama garis-garis.

Kemudian Bruno mengenal Shmuel, bocah laki-laki seumurannya yang tinggal dibalik pagar kawat tinggi berduri dan juga memakai piama begaris-garis. Setahun Bruno mengenal Shmuel. Setiap pertemuan mereka hanya diisi dengan duduk bercakap-cakap dipisahkan oleh pagar kawat tinggi berduri. Mereka tidak bisa bermain bersama. Keberadaan Shmuel membuat Bruno betah tinggal di Auschwitz. Bruno sudah lupa kehidupan lamanya di Berlin. Ia sudah lupa nama dan wajah teman-temannya dulu di Berlin.

Suatu hari Ayah menyampaikan padanya bahwa Bruno, Gretel (kakak perempuannya), dan Ibu harus kembali ke Berlin karena kehidupan di Auschwitz tidak baik bagi perkembangan jiwa dan pendidikan mereka. Bruno merasa sangat sedih karna akhirnya harus meninggalkan Auschwitz apalagi Shmuel.

Bruno menyampaikan kepindahannya kepada Shmuel. Di saat-saat terakhir pertemuan mereka, Bruno merayakannya dengan penjelajahan terbesar. Penjelajahan yang sangat besar di mana ia harus memakai kostum piama bergaris-garis seperti Shmuel dan memasuki lingkungan di balik pagar kawat tinggi berduri di mana Shmuel tinggal.

Cerita ini tentang keluguan, rasa ingin tahuan serta kebodohan sekaligus.
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Ferina rated it:

(review of isbn 9792229825)

07/22/07

bookshelves: myfavorite, youngreaders

Read in July, 2007

Bruno, langsung memutuskan untuk tidak menyukai tempat tinggalnya yang baru. Berbeda dengan rumah lamanya di Berlin, yang bertingkat 5, keadaan sekeliling yang ramai dan juga dengan tiga orang sahabatnya. Di rumah barunya ini, tidak ada tetanga di kiri-kanannya, bahkan seolah tanpa penghuni, satu-satunya rumah yang terlihat adalah rumah di seberang yang sepi dan tandus. Hampir tidak ada orang di sekitarnya. Benar-benar membosankan, karena tidak ada teman yang bisa diajaknya bermain.

Ibu Bruno...more Bruno, langsung memutuskan untuk tidak menyukai tempat tinggalnya yang baru. Berbeda dengan rumah lamanya di Berlin, yang bertingkat 5, keadaan sekeliling yang ramai dan juga dengan tiga orang sahabatnya. Di rumah barunya ini, tidak ada tetanga di kiri-kanannya, bahkan seolah tanpa penghuni, satu-satunya rumah yang terlihat adalah rumah di seberang yang sepi dan tandus. Hampir tidak ada orang di sekitarnya. Benar-benar membosankan, karena tidak ada teman yang bisa diajaknya bermain.

Ibu Bruno tidak mau berkata apa-apa soal kepindahan mereka. Yang pasti, kata Ibu Bruno, mereka harus ikut ke tempat tugas ayah Bruno yang baru.

Bruno adalah anak yang senang menjelajah, bahkan ia punya cita-cita jadi penjelajah, ia menemukan sebuah jendela di mana dari sana ia bisa melihat keadaan di rumah satunya. Ia melihat ada begitu banyak orang yang berada di balik pagar. Hanya ada laki-laki dan anak-anak. Ke mana para perempuan? Dan mereka mengenakan baju yang sama yaitu piama bergaris-garis. Menurut Bruno, tentu menyenangkan bisa memakai piama seharian.

Bruno semakin tidak menyukai rumah barunya. Bruno tidak punya teman. Bruno malas mengajak Greta, kakaknya yang Benar-Benar Payah itu bermain. Belum lagi, ia tidak pergi ke sekolah. Orang tuanya malah memanggil guru untuk belajar di rumah.

Bruno memutuskan untuk melakukan penjelahan ke sekeliling rumahnya. Ia pun menyusuri pagar. Sampai akhirnya ia menemukan sebuah titik yang akhirnya menjadi seorang anak laki-laki yang sedang merenung di balik pagar.

Mereka pun berkenalan. Anak laki-laki itu bernama Shmuel, yang ternyata berulang tahun di hari yang sama dengan Bruno. Tentu saja Bruno senang mendapatkan teman yang sebaya dengannya.

Tapi, berbeda dengan Bruno, Shmuel selalu tampak sedih, kurus dan murung. Mereka berdua berusaha memahami dunia mereka masing-masing. Bruno ingin sekali mengundang teman barunya itu ke rumah, atau bahkan Bruno ingin mengunjungi teman barunya itu di balik pagar. Bruno menganggap Shmuel lebih beruntung karena di balik pagar ada banyak anak laki-laki yang bisa jadi teman bermain, sementara dirinya sendiri hanya bersama kakak perempuannya yang Benar-Benar Payah.

Buku ini sebenarnya bikin sedih banget. Menggambarkan suasana di Kamp Auschwitz atau yang disebut Bruno, Out-With. Gimana kejamnya The Fury dan para tentaranya. Tapi, semakin menyedihkan karena digambarkan dari pandangan polos dua orang anak yang gak tau apa-apa. Yang ada pikiran mereka hanyalah mencari pertemanan dan persahabatan.
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J-Lynn rated it:

02/11/08

bookshelves: childrens-lit-chapter-books, historical-fiction, jewish-kid-and-ya-lit, nyra-2009-books, young-adult-and-adolescent-lit

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: I'm not sure

I finished this book yesterday and I am still having trouble forming an opinion--but here it goes. I have thought about it a lot which is generally a sign of good writing, but in this case, maybe I am thinking about it because the book disturbed me.

If I look at the Holocaust historical fiction genre as a whole, I am not sure what this book adds to the group. It does show another point of view, from the child of the Commandant of Auschwitz, but Bruno is so terrifically dense--naive well bey...more I finished this book yesterday and I am still having trouble forming an opinion--but here it goes. I have thought about it a lot which is generally a sign of good writing, but in this case, maybe I am thinking about it because the book disturbed me.

If I look at the Holocaust historical fiction genre as a whole, I am not sure what this book adds to the group. It does show another point of view, from the child of the Commandant of Auschwitz, but Bruno is so terrifically dense--naive well beyond his nine years--that I am not sure what the point is. Bruno talks to his Jewish friend on the other side of the fence for over a year--he lives in his house which also serves as the headquarters of Auschwitz for over a year--and I am supposed to believe that he doesn't have any clue what is going on in the camp? I know children are narcissistic and self involved, but this book takes that idea to a whole other level. Bruno's tunnel vision is so great that I keep wondering if maybe that it was some sort of message that the author was trying to get across. Maybe that kids can create and live in an alternate reality as long as they need to? Was that the point?

If not, what was the point? Surely it wasn't the shocking ending that served little in adding to the greater story of the Holocaust. The ending served no purpose. It didn't make the father see what was wrong, it didn't make the guards question what they were doing, it didn't make the Jews who died in the camp any less tragic, what was the ending's purpose? My guess is just shock value.

I do think the book makes an excellent argument for being honest with children in even the worst circumstances. By trying to protect kids and shield kids, adults put them in greater danger!

I will say one positive thing, I thought the non-traditional book jacket was a good marketing ploy. By not giving away any of the plot points, it makes the reader intrigued. But, overall, I am flummoxed. The book is an enigma which, possibly, is better left unsolved....less

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Jodysegal rated it:

07/22/08

bookshelves: historical-fiction, holocaust-literature, literature-of-war, realistic-fiction, young-adult

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: grades 7 and Up

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I started The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas knowing nothing about the novel, which is probably the right way to experience it. Told through the naive, uncomprehending voice of nine-year-old Bruno, the reader must figure out that the story represents Auschwitz as seen through the myopic lens of a Nazi officer's son. The book ultimately condemns the Holocaust- its senseless violence, totalitarianism, cruelty, hatred, bigotry...., but for me it was a painful read, because nine-year-old Bruno's blindn...more I started The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas knowing nothing about the novel, which is probably the right way to experience it. Told through the naive, uncomprehending voice of nine-year-old Bruno, the reader must figure out that the story represents Auschwitz as seen through the myopic lens of a Nazi officer's son. The book ultimately condemns the Holocaust- its senseless violence, totalitarianism, cruelty, hatred, bigotry...., but for me it was a painful read, because nine-year-old Bruno's blindness is so complete and not entirely credibly so. If we read the novel as a parable, it works as a denunciation of the dehumanizing face of Nazism. At the same time, though, Bruno's constant reference to Hitler as the Fury and Auschwitz as Out-With don't quite ring true, nor are those names we want to forget or treat lightly. I agree with an SLJ review which recommends this book for those who already know something about the Holocaust.

CIP: Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind the wire fence.

PW: The protagonist's naïf perspective is both a strength and weakness of this simple, thought-provoking story. What occurs next door is, in fact, unimaginable. But though Bruno aspires to be an explorer when he grows up, his passivity and failure to question or puzzle out what's going on in what he calls "Out-With" diminishes him as a character. It strains credulity to believe that an officer's son would have absolute ignorance about the political realities of the day. But that is the point. How could the world outside the fence not have known, or have known and failed to act on, what was happening inside it?

Kirkus: The tragic story's point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyle's narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice. Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point....less

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Milan/zzz rated it:

(review of isbn 0099487829)

06/06/08

bookshelves: 2008

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 irritate...more

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Margaret rated it:

08/11/08

Read in January, 2007

Haunting, unusual novella by Irish writer John Boyne about an innocent, sheltered 9 year old German boy named Bruno and what happens to him when his family is transferred by his father's terrifying boss, The Fury, from their comfortable home in Berlin to a bleak village in Poland called Out-With. Out-With offers very few opportunities for adventure and exploration, until Bruno discovers a mysterious colony of people on the other side of the house's fence who only ever wear striped pajamas. Alt...more

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Khaya rated it:

03/01/08

bookshelves: holocaust

At my friend's urging (I was her guest for Shabbos and wanted to be polite), I read this book despite my preconceived notions about it. Having finished it, it's hard for me to tell the extent to which these preconceived notions colored my opinion of the book -- would I had liked it better had I been able to approach it unbiased? I'm not sure.

I found the concept gimmicky, and a contrived effort to play on the marketability of the Holocaust by finding a new angle from which to write about it. ...more

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LFPL Teen Services rated it:

11/16/07

bookshelves: books-for-boys, death, historical_fiction

Nine year old Bruno leads an ideal childhood in Nazi Germany. After a recent visit from the "Fury" Bruno’s father, an "important man" is reassigned to "Out-With." Bruno thinks his father must have done something to make the Fury mad for him to send the family to such a dreadful place. From Bruno’s bedroom window, he can see many people living on the other side of a tall fence that seems to stretch on forever. The people don’t seem very happy, and they certainl...more

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Hollie rated it:

10/21/07

bookshelves: one-of-my-favorite-books

Read in November, 2006

recommends it for: EVERYONE ON THE PLANET

This story is a difficult one to read. I finished the book in shock and although it has filled my thoughts for many days, I believe it is a book that everyone should experience. I highly recommend this book and applaud the author for how his story reaches in and captures the hearts and minds of his readers.

The Synopsis:
Bruno comes home from school one day to find his mother and the housekeeper packing the house for a move. Bruno does not want to go to the new house, nor does understand wh...more

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Jennifer rated it:

05/03/08

bookshelves: gold-star-award, trt-reviews

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

What an incredible story! John Boyne has created innocent, naïve Bruno and given him a powerful story to tell. This moving book should be required reading for everyone.

Set in the 1940's in Berlin, Germany, the story centers around a nine-year-old German boy named Bruno. His family leaves Berlin to move to the country because his father has been reassigned by the "Fury." Bruno's youth and innocence has ...more

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Chrissie rated it:

02/19/08

bookshelves: children-s-books

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: Lovers of children's literature, teachers who are doing WWII as a project

I've just finished reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and although I think there were some flaws in the story, I think it's important to remember that this novel is essentially for children. Flaws include Bruno's incredible naivety about things going on around him...what a Jew was, who the Fuhrer was or the meaning of German words (being from Nazi Germany one would think he would have known these things at 9 years old). I personally could never understand either why Shmuel didn't escape un...more

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Minh rated it:

(review of isbn 0099487829)

08/21/07

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2007

This book has been on my To Read list for at least a year now. I settled down with the novel in a random bookstore somewhere in Europe. It was a hardcover version, unlike the copy shown here and the cover was simply a series of light blue stripes. After hearing all the acclaim for the novel, surprisingly I still had no idea what the book was.

The narrative starts you off slowly, the publishers of the hard cover version were clever enough to provide no blurb so as not to spoil the twist. Dani...more

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Cissy rated it:

06/21/08

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: all who want to learn more about themselves

I think this is a wonderful book. The naivety and simplicity of the protagonist which affects the story as well is a narrative gimmick... and it works well, throwing the horrors of the holocaust into stark contrast. It's a dark adult fable, and I dare say that an adult reader will get more of it than an adolescent. At times, the narrative is almost like poetry, with the many ellipses and phrases that are repeated over and over again.

I also believe that this is an important book for the Ger...more