The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

This is the best book I have read in a long while, the story is simple enough but the multiple themes that run through it makes it so much more. The story is about two boys divided by culture, religion, society, a war and a real life fence. They are brought together by their common need for a friend and this is something that can happen due to their innocence. They understand that what's happening to them is not right but are unaware of the true horrors behind the things that are happening all around them. This innocence allows their friendship to grow without the knowledge that they are really on different sides and without them realising that indirectly they are the others reason for being where they are.

Both boys have been torn away from the life they loved, from family and friends. In their own way they are both prisoners, Shmuel in the true sense of the word, trapped in a concentration camp without food, love or hope. Bruno, although he lives in a house with food and servants is still trapped in a world without friends and the comforts he is used to. Meeting at the fence is escape for both boys, it brings a little normality to their lives. Bruno's family does not adapt to their move, Mother gets more and more depressed, Gretal, his sister, although only 13 looks to a much older soldier for some attention, both because of the social isolation.

The only part of the book I found a little difficult to understand was the section where Shmuel was in the kitchen of Bruno's home. I thought at first it was because the soldier knew that they had been meeting and it was to punish them both. But this did not materialize as the reason. It did lead to Bruno's denial of their friendship and the beating of Shmuel but I think the story would not have suffered if this part had been left out, it seemed too much of a coincidence that of all the boys in the camp he was chosen for the job in the kitchen.

I anticipated the ending well before it occurred, but this did not mute the effect of it, the horror of what was happening and the despair of knowing the inevitability of their actions. The only saving grace for me again was their innocence, they were unaware of the true horror of what was about to happen to them, they couldn't image anything so awful so they were spared from the terror that those around them felt in those last few seconds. When father suddenly realises what must have happen you see the life drain from him. He no longer cares what happens to him - the horror is too much. I have only scratched the surface of this book, it leaves you thinking about it for a long time after it's finished. I see it as a book that needs to be read more than once as I believe you will gain more with each reading.

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