The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas- A Book Review

The Overview:

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 novel about a young German boy named Bruno growing up during the Holocaust by John Boyne. He faces difficult changes for a nine-year-old and when he makes a new friend, Shmuel, a boy on the other side of an electric fence, he doesn’t understand what is happening to him.

The Diction:

I found this book to be a very good read, but only to some. The way the book is written is very Junie B Jones-esque and written from Bruno’s perspective, but not his point of view. What I mean is, because the main protagonist is a child, although the book is not in first-person, it is written in a childlike way, using his diction as the story’s diction. For example, the new house that Bruno moves into is referred to as “Out-With”, because that is how Bruno hears his sister say it. It might fly over the head of some, like me, that the place is actually called Auschwitz. But the book reads “Out-With” because Bruno is mispronouncing it.

A Potential Turn-off:

Something that might not appeal to a potential reader is the fact that Bruno is a child, a German child growing up during the Holocaust at that; therefore, he will behave as such. He lies at times to get out of trouble, and he gets into petty disagreements with his sister. He can also be a little self-absorbed, and he can definitely be ignorant. These qualities might put the reader off if they are used to older protagonists and subconsciously compare Bruno to those protagonists. The conclusion might lead the reader to think badly of Bruno, because, yes, it’s true: an older main character with these traits could be considered a nuisance.

For me, though, I excuse Bruno from the category of “Nuisance” because of his young age. Simply put, he doesn’t know any better, and any child of his age would most likely behave the same. In my book, that makes him a more realistic character. Unlike so many other child characters, Bruno isn’t horribly misbehaved or unbelievably angelic; he is a good mix of the two. It’s really up to the reader to determine how to feel about Bruno’s character.

An Appealing Factor:

Something else interesting is the little insinuations that Bruno doesn’t understand but the reader might. At one point, a German officer makes an insulting joke about another officer, and Bruno can’t understand why his sister is laughing.  Small things like this make the book a better read. Either way, the story takes place over a time period of at least a year, so naturally Bruno experiences character growth. He tries to be as truthful as possible and he becomes more considerate towards Shmuel, even going so far as to sneak him food. He learns to ignore his sister’s antics, and overall, grows the way a normal child would.

My Rating: Eight out of ten stars.

I thought this book was utterly charming, and I highly recommend it.

Author: Jordyn Harper

If I were to describe my writing style, it would be... volcanic. Most of the time, I sit, looming, silent, harmless. My writing is generally romantic, pleasing to the eye. I imagine a scenario that in my opinion would be mutually satisfying. But every now and then, maybe after a particularly odd dream or an especially horrible day, I will erupt. And these eruptions might last for a long time. My writing devolves, or evolves, however you choose to view it, into madness. Scrawls of controversy and scribbles of the chaos of my inner mind. That is my best writing, and I can rarely summon that at will, which means, I have plenty of room to improve. But then again, don't we all?