Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us. Nine year old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He’s oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has moved from Berlin to a desolate area where he has no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel. Shmuel lives in a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence, where everyone wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Despite the wire fence separating them, the two boys become best friends. As they grow closer, Bruno starts to learn the terrible truth that lies beyond the fence, and what life is like for his friend. John Boyne’s classic novel explores the friendship and loss of innocence of Bruno and Shmuel, during one of the worst points in history.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

Having visited Krakow earlier this year and having seen the ghetto, Schindler’s factory and the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps, I couldn’t help but be intrigued to read more on the subject – both fiction and non-fiction. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas topped that list for me.

Though billed as a young adult novel, there is something deep in this book. To take such an horrific period of human history and narrate it through the eyes of children is something special. More specifically, through the lens of the fictional friendship of Bruno, the son of the Nazi Commandant of the camp, and Shmuel, a Polish Jew imprisoned on the other side of the foreboding fence.

The tale is one of mixed emotions. The sheer joy in the innocence of childhood as the two boys from contrasting backgrounds with very different fates manage to forge a friendship that transcends who they are. Their sense of connection and adventure overrides everything. Then there’s the semblance of foreboding that fills every page. There’s a deep awareness that things won’t end on such a joyous note.

It’s a wonderfully crafted novel, beautiful and horrific in equal measure, and in my opinion a book everyone should read.

My rating: