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| The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Definitions) | 
 enlarge | Author: John Boyne
Publisher: Definitions
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £2.42
You Save: £4.57 (65%)
New (36) from £2.42
Avg. Customer Rating:  197 reviews
Sales Rank: 675
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0099487829
EAN: 9780099487821
ASIN: 0099487829
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Surprising November 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ever since this book was released I have been attracted to it. In need of a "quick" read this weekend, I decided to purchase it and I am so glad that I did.
I wont tell you the story because that would spoil the book for you but what I will tell you is that it is a story about a boy called Bruno aged 9 and totally innocent and the story is told through his naive eyes.
I read the book in two days and it was a pleasure to read. The style was simple but evocotive.
The ending was a total surprise, there were no hints at what was coming and I felt the desolation as the story ended.
I am not sure if this book would right for a younger reader but certainly one in the early teens and definately adults like me.
 Some wry irony but a little lightweight for the subject November 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a very simply written short novel describing Auschwitz from the perspective of a nine year old boy. The writing is clear and very easy to read, divided into short chapters, some wry irony throughout. However, I personally felt that the naivety of the boy was somewhat overplayed: would a nine year old really be so unaware? Some of the boy's language and mispronounciation producing puns that only work in English, such as 'Fury' and 'Out with', I found a bit contrived and the constant repetition began to grate. I'm not sure I could really believe the storyline, although the ironic impact of the ending was strong. It provided a much lighter treatment of the subject than offered by Primo Levi and Ken Keneally for example, but because of this the book is somewhat lightweight and lacking impact. However, it is still an easy and thoughtful read.
Just read it November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm going to keep this review simple: just read this book. Do yourself a favour, and grab it before the story is ruined by any movie trailers/previews etc...
I too finished the book in 2 days, and will risk spoiling a lot by mentioning anything other than it's about the holocaust, and a friendship between two young boys. AMAZING STUFF.
The Boy In Striped Pyjammas November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was reccomended this book by a friend who's really in to books set during wartimes. We don't often find that we like the same stories as i'm more in to thrillers and fantasy. However, I gave the book a shot and I'm glad I did. It was a very easy read but i think that made the story all that more effective. The narrotor, you see, is a young boy and the great saddness of his story and his time is intensified when seen through his naive eyes.
This book is one which leaves the reader stunned, thinking for a long while after, moved and leaking tears.
I reccomend that you read it and, if you like it, read 'The Book Thief'. Another book I was advised to read, by my Grandad this time, and found it so unbelievably detailed, passionately written, effective, and movcing that i was blubbering for days.
Laura Gray, 15.
Absorbing yet inplausible November 13, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found it hard to believe that a child of Bruno's age could be so unaware of what was taking place in Nazi Germany. He seemed to have never noticed Jews wearing the Stars of David on the streets, nor even to have heard the word Jew until he hears it from Shmuel. He meets Adolf Hitler and is underwhelmed by him. Given that his father is a high-ranking official in the Nazi regime this seems unlikely and it somewhat undermined the book's credibility for me.
Also the fact that he befriends Shmuel for over a year is a farce. Any one who has studied the Holocaust knows that Jewish children were killed as soon as they entered the concentration camps.
Nevertheless, it is an absorbing book to read. The ending brutal. Throughout the book you know that this story cannot end happily and you are steeling yourself for various outcomes. Having said that, I didn't see the one that came... and it hit me hard!!
This is a quick and easy book to read, but I don't think I will forget it easily.
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