A review by 1librarianspath
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

4.0

Bearing in mind that this is a fictional piece, and that the author stated he wanted to contrast the atrocious behaviour towards those targeted by the nazi’s with the naïveté of a boy who misses his family and friends, I think this book does a good job. It’s main focus is almost domestic. It deals with sibling rivalry, and household politics, and most of all it deals with friendship. It introduces, in an almost gentle way, some of what is going on, as the main character starts to question things that make no sense to him. It is not very realistic, but for the storyline to work, and for it to be so haunting, it works around this in a way that fiction often does. I felt that the boy’s last scene with his best friend was naive and touching, and contrasted starkly with the final chapter of the book. It is a story which can open up a dialogue about the holocaust, or WWII in general, with the young in a more gentle way, though it is by no means the best one.