Title of Book: The Boy in The Striped Pajamas
Author: John Boyne
Publisher: Ember
Publication Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
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.
The Boy in The Striped Pajamas tells a tale about the horror of holocaust. This book starts simple, a nine years old boy came home to find that his belongings were packed by the house maid. His family has to move to a new place because his father got a promotion. Then, we’ll find out what kind of place his new home really is.
Though this book talks about dark and heavy issue, it’s told from a nine years old boy point of view. The boy, whose name is Bruno, only understands what he’s been told by adults around him. He just want to live his life like another normal boy. He might seem like an ignorant boy, but that’s just how children are.
The author interestingly used puns in this book, such as ‘Out-With’ and ‘Fury’. At first I didn’t really see those puns as a big deal. Bruno is just a child anyway, maybe he just simply mispronounced them or didn’t hear the words right. But after I realized what those words really mean, I was shocked. It’s horrifying to learn that a boy like him didn’t realize how horrible the situation he’s living in. Especially because he couldn’t differentiate what’s good or bad.
Bruno’s father is a nazi officer. He is so proud of his father. Because like other normal nine years old boys, he sees his father as his hero. One time, he even said that he wanted to be a soldier like his father. Some say that this book is about the innocence of children. But it also shows how terrifying genocide is. This book sends a powerful message. The back of this book says ‘Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter one.’ Those sentences show me that the author really cares about the genocide issue and he has a mission to make people more aware of this issue. It’s a great book. One thing that put me off is the pacing. The first half of the book focus on how bored Bruno was. But after the boring part, it’s all good.
This is the kind of book that I think everyone should read at least once. This book makes me concern about social issue more. Who knows what positive impact this book would bring to other people.
