John BOYNE, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,

Mauricio García Blanco, 2º Bachillerato EFL

Bruno is a 9 year-old boy who lives in Berlin during the Second World War. His father, a high-ranking Nazi official, is given the order to supervise a concentration camp (outside the city). As Bruno is so adapted to the city life he cannot see any fun on the new house. The days passed and one day Bruno decided to walk across the forest to explore. Running through the vegetation he found a big camp; at first he did not know what it was, but the little boy sitting inside the fence started giving him an idea. The boys become friends in a time that they were not supposed to (in the novel you can see an example of it).

My favourite part is when the boys were playing through the electric fence. I think that image represents the whole idea of the book: two bored lonely boys that just wanted to have a break from the world they were living.

I would recommend this book to a mature person that wants to know more about the World War. The book shows the value of tolerance and if you really want to understand what was happening at the time and see the meaning that the author tries to express, you should be mature.

This book has been recommended before. See previous posts