It Will End in Tears - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is literally the saddest book I have ever read. Before reading it, I had somehow avoided all spoilers to the events of the novel and that was a huge mistake because I am now utterly destroyed.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is set in World War II and surrounds Bruno, a nine-year old German boy whose family moves to their mysterious new home which Bruno calls ‘Out-With’. From his bedroom window, Bruno can see a large fence that stretches as far as the eye can see and, upon exploring, he meets Shmuel, a nine-year old Jewish and Polish boy who is on the other side of the fence. The novel follows the story of how the two boys develop a friendship.

I personally loved how the book was executed because it showed the effects of the war through the eyes of an innocent child. As children, we are less judgemental of others and usually just seek out to find friends so the whole reason why Shmuel was on the other side of the fence was completely unreasonable. This story goes to show that people are not always bad just because we chose to perceive them that way. If Bruno knew that Shmuel was Jewish, he likely wouldn’t care or treat him differently because he was never really taught to perceive Jewish people as a problem until after he had already befriended one.

Throughout the novel, Boyne chose to replace the word ‘Führer’ with ‘Fury’ and replace the name ‘Auschwitz’ with ‘Out-With’. I believe he did this to make the story start peacefully and uneventfully as he replaced words which are heavily associated with the Second World War. I personally did not pick up on the name change to ‘Out-With’ until nearly the end of the novel so the sudden realisation made the seriousness of the story increase dramatically.

I am giving this book at 7 out of 10 because, despite having a great story, it completely and utterly destroyed my heart in ways that I will never repair. Even though it does include sad events, I would recommend this book to others because it really gives an insight into the true nature of those affected my war. I would say to only give this book to children 12 years or older because of some potentially scarring events.

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