I have seen clips of the movie, but the book was a totally different experience.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a rather well-known book by John Boyne. I have heard of this a lot of times in the past but I was a little scared of how heart-wrenching it would be to read. My reading interests lean a lot on historical fiction and I have read a lot of WWII stories but none of them were ever in the point of view of a boy. And I just knew this would hit different.
The Story
Bruno is a German young boy who is constantly annoyed by his older sister and is oblivious of the world around him. He knew his father wore fancy uniform, they always have respectable guests but he could not understand why his grandmother hated his father's job and that they had to move away from the city for a special assignment.
Bored out of his wits in his new home, Bruno took it to himself to explore as what he had always loved to do. In one of his walks, he came across the fence that he usually just saw through his bedroom window. There he met another young boy Shmuel who surprisingly shared birthdays with him.
Shmuel lives on the other side of the fence and also oblivious to what was happening. All he knew was that the soldiers hated them, his grandfather was lost and everyday was a painful day to live.
Bruno and Shmuel found comfort in each other despite the wired fence in between them. They began to share stories and grew closer each day. Bruno realised that he never had a friendship like he had with Shmuel and that was one that he knew he would treasure forever.
One day, Bruno decided he wanted to play with Shmuel on his side of the fence so he tells Shmuel if he could borrow one of their "uniforms", a smelly and dirty striped pajama. Shmuel, also wanting to play with his friend, agreed and that was also the day that they realised the harsh reality of the world that they were living in.
What I think...
To be able to get the full experience of this book, any adult reading this should take a step back and see all of this in the point of view of a child. The dialogues, thoughts and a lot of views are very simple and at times even petty. If you read this in the point of view of an adult, you might see all that as shallow or even annoying.
This book does not go as deep or complex as other historical fictions (because again, this is in a child's point of view) but I think this still has a depth of its own and if you allow it to, it will surely break your heart. There were times when I just really wish I could save both boys but they were just helpless little souls and that's the most painful part of it all.
If you're looking to introduce this part of history to a young child, I think this would be a good start but I would suggest doing a separate reading about the Jewish Holocaust in order to explain it clearly.
Overall, this is not the best historical fiction I have read. However, it's still did not feel to break my heart.
☆☆☆☆ | Kids, Young Adults and Adults | Newbie-Friendly: Yes | Fast Read: Yes
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