Book Review - English Assignment

The book which I've chosen to do for my book review is a favourite of mine - 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' written by John Boyne set during World War II.
The story is told through the eyes of nine year old Bruno, who lives in a quiet area of Berlin with his father, mother and sister Gretal. This viewpoint allows the reader to experience what living during World War II must of been like for a child such as Bruno, who is unaware of the on-goings of the war and is an innocent victim in the story. Bruno sometimes doesn't understand what goes on in his home and often mis hears things, allowing the reader to gradually piece together what is actually going on.
At the beginning of the novel, Bruno discovers his maid Maria packing away his things and learns that he will have to leave his home in Berlin as well as what he calls his 'three Best Friends for life' to move away to a new home named 'Out-With' due to his fathers work. This is the first example of Bruno's mis understanding of the circumstance and his incorrect pronunciation of the word 'Ausch-witz' which the reader will recognise as being the concentration camp in Poland. Bruno doesn't like his new home and describes it as being smaller, full with soldiers and having no one to play with.
The novel becomes interesting when Bruno looks out his bedroom window and sees people in the distance dressed in striped pyjamas, separated from him by a wired fence. When Bruno asks his father who those people are, he is told that they are 'not really people at all'. Bruno's window is soon boarded up and he spends his days inside, with only his sister to contend with, who he refers to as 'the Hopeless Case'. Bruno is told by his father that certain places are 'Out Of Bounds At All Times and No Exceptions' such as his office, making him curious and tempted to explore his new environment. One day Bruno decides that he has had enough of staying inside and decides to venture in to the unknown to go 'exploring'.
Bruno comes upon the same fence which he had seen out of his bedroom window where he meets a boy named Shmuel, a boy living on the other side of the fence who is also Bruno's age. Bruno notices how thin and pale Shmuel is and wonders why he is trapped behind the fence and is so sad looking, showing Bruno's complete obliviousness to the circumstance. He even tells Shmuel that he wishes he could also be on his side of the fence as he would love to have the company. The pair develop a loving friendship and Bruno begins visiting Shmuel at the fence of the concentration camp everyday, sometimes bringing him some food as he is always hungry.
The rest of the story revolves around the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel, which develops in to a strong bond, despite the fact that they both live on different sides of the fence and live in completely different worlds to each other. The story has a bitter end, which I found extremely powerful yet upsetting to read.
Boyne's choice of characters added to my enjoyment of the novel, as they were interesting, non-ordinary and contrasting. The fact that Bruno's mother was unaware of what happened to the people at the concentration camp showed that women in that time were kept in the dark about things, even though she was the wife of an officer who worked there. I sympathised with her character as she seemed too afraid to speak out against what was going on in her own back garden and was in a deep depression by the end of the novel, with Bruno describing her as having her 'medicinal drink' every day. The character of the Jew, Pavel, who was working in the family's home was a kind, loving man who didn't deserve what he got. The character of Bruno's father, Ralf, in my opinion was a loving father but yet a terrible one at the same time. He brought his family to live right outside a concentration camp and got them involved in the terrible on-goings of World War II. He seemed to care more about his job than he did them, which made the ending of the novel even more ironic.
The fact that the story was told through Bruno's open and non judgemental eyes made the story more moving and realistic. It showed how clueless Bruno was to the fact that he was living beside a concentration camp where people were murdered everyday because of their race, yet he secretly became friends with one of those people, Shmuel. His perception of his surroundings and the other characters showed how innocent and young his character was and how he didn't see a difference between himself and Shmuel. Boynes use of simple language and Bruno's mis pronunciation of words such as the Fury (Fuhrer) was extremely effective, it was almost like reading extracts of Bruno's diary.
I enjoyed this book so much because of its simpleness yet effectiveness. It is a story of two boys who become friends whilst living on different sides of a wired fence, which I think represents racism. The fact that the boys bonded so well and didn't care about each others backgrounds or race shows how all of the hatred and violence associated with World War II has nothing to do with the youth, but old perceptions and judgements of each other, yet affects innocent children such as Shmuel and Bruno. My favourite line in the book is - “We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?"
 The book kept me going from start to finish, left a strong impact on me afterwards and truly is a story of innocence. I would recommend it to anyone who interested in reading a heart-breaking story told through the eyes of an innocent child. Boyne's use of fantastic characters, an eery setting and a heart-warming and at times wrenching plot left me not wanting the story to end. 


Saoirse McCloskey.