Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
By John Boyne
David Fickling Books, 2006. 216 pgs. Young Adult.

When his father gets an important new assignment with the military, nine-year-old Bruno is forced to move from his beloved Berlin to a desolate place he mistakenly calls "Out-With." Bruno notices that there are hundreds of people living behind a fence, all of whom appear to him to be wearing striped pajamas. On an exploring expedition, Bruno meets one of the pajama-clad boys, Shmuel. Although a fence separates them, the boys quickly become friends.

The story is told as a fable, so characters are not fully developed, but the story is a poignant one. It is told through a limited third person narrator, with the reader needing to read between the lines of Bruno's naive observations. This book is definitely worth reading and worth discussing with others.

AE

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