Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second YA book I've read this year dealing with the Holocaust and I have to say that I have loved them both.

Bruno is a 9-year old boy living a wonderful life in Berlin in 1942. His father has "the Fury" over for dinner which results in him receiving a Commandant position in the military. The family then moves to "Out-With" which upsets Bruno terribly. From Bruno's window he can see all the people behind the fence wearing striped pajamas. Naive Bruno can't understand why they are there, but he knows he just doesn't feel good inside.

This book is really a kind of fable that gets you thinking about the world we live in, and the part you play as an individual in it. It isn't to be taken as historically accurate or necessarily even plausible.

But it is powerful.

They reviewed it: Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'? and Stephanie at The Written Word
Let me know if you did too so I can add you.

9 comments:

trish said...

I'm glad you liked this book, too. It does make you think, doesn't it?

Andi said...

I really liked this book too... After reading it, I saw that it received very mixed reviews. But, I'm also for a book that pushes the way I think about things!

Lisa R.D. said...

We are going to read this for our book club in a couple of months... I'm looking forward to it!

Corinne said...

I've had this on my list for a while. I think I'm going to recommend it for my in person book club :)

Ladytink_534 said...

The movie coming out next month looks like it will be very good. Can't wait! I'm going to nominate the book for my online reading group.

Anonymous said...

I read this book in January and found it to be a really powerful one. I really hope that the movie opens in the US soon.

Tricia said...

Wikipedia says November 7th, so we might not have to wait too much longer!

Booklogged said...

There's going to be a movie? I better check this book out sooner than later because I want to see it before watching the movie.

I'm glad to hear that you liked it so much. I was afraid that it might not hold its own against Book Thief.

Tasha said...

I struggled a lot with this book, but I agree, it is powerful.