Started: June 24, 2012
Finished: June 28, 2012
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback, purchased at Border’s during its closing sale
Price: $8.99
I was reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on the Metro this morning, and another rider asked me if I had seen the movie. That’s the kind of book it is, one that people will stop to ask about. For the record, I haven’t seen the movie.
I pretty much knew how it was going to end, because a former housemate spilled the beans after he read it. I spent the whole time reading it filled with a sense of dread and impending doom, as is appropriate for any book about the Holocaust.
The main character is a nine-year-old boy names Bruno, whose father is appointed commandant of Out-with, as it is called in the book. (He is appointed by The Fury, an apt name if ever there was one.)
Bruno is incredibly naïve, with no clue as to what is going on with all those people in striped pajamas who are on the other side of the fence near his house. He befriends one, Shmuel, whom he meets at when the other boy is sitting near a part of the fence that apparently is unpatrolled. The book strains credulity on that score, and on the issue of Bruno’s continuing cluelessness. At the same time, it’s chilling. Two young boys are caught up in the tragedy of the times, and neither has a clear understanding of what is going on or why.
This is a short, easy-to-read book and the story pulled me through. The author, John Boyne, does a good job of creating scenes and dialogue, and has an artful knack for the use of repetition. The writing style is simple enough for a child to read. In an interview included at the end of the book, he says that he doesn’t see a reason for distinguishing between books for children and adults. That makes sense to me because this book has a childlike style and sophisticated themes. I’m not sure it would be appropriate for a child to read or not, but it might make a good introduction to the Holocaust for children.
The cruelty of the situation is more hinted at than depicted. Bruno doesn’t like one of the soldiers who is always hanging around his house. He is mean and bullying to Bruno, which of course fits in perfectly with the way he treats the people on the other side of the fence, including Shmuel.
All of this makes for flat characters. It’s possible that even a Nazi soldier had good qualities, and in fact, it is more uncomfortable to think of these people in such a light. What separates us from them? What circumstances would prompt people – such as me – from becoming cruel and depraved? These are questions that aren’t addressed at all in the book. That’s not a lack, really. This is a book about innocence in the face of barbarity.
