The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is known in the Netherlands under the name ‘The boy in the striped pajamas’. The book has now also been made into a film. The book is set in the second world war. A summary, list of the main characters, information about the writer and an opinion can be found in this article.
Book summary
Bruno is a nine-year-old boy who grows up in Berlin during the Second World War. He lives in a large house with his parents and his 12-year-old sister Gretel. There are also a few slaves living in the house. His father has a very important job and they were just visited by the ‘Fury’ (aka Adolf Hitler) at that time. After his visit, his father is promoted to commander and they have to move to a place called Out-With (aka Auschwitz).
When Bruno arrives there, he is immediately homesick for his grandparents and his 3 best friends. He is not happy with his new home. It has ‘only’ 3 floors and there are always soldiers walking in and out. Bruno is alone and has no one to talk to or play with. One day when he looks out the window he sees a large group of people, all wearing the same striped pajamas. Bruno is a curious boy and decides to ask his father who these people are. He did not expect the answer he will receive, according to his father they are not even people.
Bruno likes to research things, which he already did in Berlin. Here, however, he is not allowed to do that, but due to curiosity and boredom, he does investigate. He comes to a gate and sees a boy behind it. Since he hasn’t talked to a peer for a long time, he introduces himself. The Jewish boy is called Shmuel. Bruno goes to talk to Shmuel almost every day.
Bruno is supposed to go back to Berlin with his mother and sister, his father would not come. As a final adventure with Shmuel, he also decides to put on striped pajamas and find Shmuel’s father, who has lost Shmuel in the camp. The boys can’t find him and then it starts to get dark and it starts to rain. Bruno wants to go home now, but they are surrounded by a people who are again led by the Nazi guards. They join the march, without knowing where it will lead them. They soon arrive in the gas chamber, however Bruno thinks they should stay here to hide from the rain. The story ends with Bruno and Shmuel in the gas chamber, holding hands.
In the epilogue, Bruno’s family tries to find him, this is in vain. The soldiers found Bruno’s clothes near a hole in the fence, through which a boy like Bruno fits exactly. His father therefore rightly assumes that he was gassed. A few months later the Red Army comes to liberate the camp and they take Bruno’s father with them, he does whatever they want without resisting, because he doesn’t care anymore anyway.
Main characters in the book
- Bruno: A German boy who grew up in Berlin. However, he has to move to Auschwitz. There he meets Shmuel and in the camp where Shmuel is he is eventually gassed.
- Shmuel: A Jewish boy who lives in the Auschwitz concentration camp. One day his father is missing and he goes looking for him with Bruno, but then they are led into a gas chamber and both die hand in hand.
About John Boyne
John Boyne was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1971. He studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin and then creative writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. There he was awarded the Curtis Brown prize. In the beginning he mainly wrote short stories and he has published about 70 of them. His first short story, The Entertainments Jar, was nominated for the Hennessy Literature Award in Ireland.
John Boyne has written 7 real books:
- 2000: The Thief of Time
- 2001: The Congress of Rough Riders
- 2004: Crippen
- 2006: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
- 2006: Next of Kin
- 2008: Mutiny on the Bounty
- 2009: The House of Special Purpose
His 2006 book ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ has turned into an award-winning Miramax film. The book itself won 2 Irish Book Awards, the Bisto Book of the Year and has often been nominated for international awards, of which a few have been won. It has been # 1 in Ireland for over 80 weeks and has been on the New York Times Best Seller list. It was the best-selling book in Spain in both 2007 and 2008. More than 5 million copies have been sold worldwide and was the 6th best-selling book in 2008. The book has now been translated into 41 languages.
Opinion about the book
The book will really touch you when you have read it. It’s about the second world war and you can imagine some things like you have always seen in movies and maybe heard about it at school or from grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers. The book is told very realistically and as I said, the book really touches you. I would definitely recommend the book, because it is a fantastic, but also emotional book!