Reviews

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

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noesbookishthings's review against another edition

3.0

First of all, this a really quick read. I got through it in less than five hours. It's a Young Adult book and it's writing is pretty dumbed down. While I understood why it was this way once I finished the book, it was REALLY annoying to me as I read it. I did not see the ending coming at all, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Basically it's an extremely watered down version of Night by Elie Wiesel. It's from the perspective of the young son of a Nazi Commandant. It would be interesting to see a grown up, more sophisticated version from the point of view of the mother perhaps. Glad I read it, but it didn't really resonate with me much.

jol69's review against another edition

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2.0

Rating and review to come

sophieguillas's review against another edition

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1.0

I was troubled by this one. Bruno reads much younger and more ignorant than any nine year old that I've ever met, which really hurt the storytelling I think. It's important to discuss the Holocaust in accessible ways but I don't think this was it. Ive read a few Jewish perspectives on this book that say that factual inaccuracies and telling this story as a kind of fable are not appropriate and I see where they're coming from.

josiethompson's review against another edition

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5.0

I've obviously heard of this book years before I finally decided to read it (and no I have not yet seen the movie either). So I did not know what to expect going into it. But I was very happy with the refreshingly new perspective that came w a world War II novel being told by a 9 year old. It was innocent and sweet and caused you to use those context clues that your teachers in school always honed in on. I loved realizing what things were and knowing what was happening even if he didn't, because he was a sweet and innocent little kid. Innocence is bliss as they say.

Very good, simple book.

jessicajessica101's review against another edition

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5.0

Un livre tout simplement magnifique, à la fois horrible par certaines aspects et merveilleux par d'autres !
Dès le début du livre, le ton est donné, nous suivons Bruno, un enfant de 9 ans, fils d'un officien nazi, qui apprend qu'il doit déménager. La façon de l'auteur d'écrire est simple, enfantine ce qui fait parfaitement ressortir, à travers les mots innocent et la naïveté d'un enfant, toute l'horreur de ce qui s'est passé à cette époque.
L'amitié entre Bruno et Shmuel est tout simplement magnifique, avec deux contraires qui se sont raccrochés l'un à l'autre pour ne pas sombrer. Shmuel est un personnage particulièrement touchant et attachant, l'un de ses personnages qu'on a envie de serrer contre soit et de le protéger quoi qu'il en coûte.

Enfin, la fin est horrible, déchirante, magnifique tout simplement, quand je l'ai lu j'ai su que c'était la fin parfaite, que je n'aurais pas aimé que les choses se termine autrement.

Je conseille réellement, ce n'est pas une lecture légère, mais terriblement touchante et inoubliable.

manha10's review against another edition

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5.0

My first read of 2019!! I watched this movie at the very end of last year and was actually the last movie I finished in 2018 so it’s only fitting that the book is the first I finished in 2019. I loved the book and the movie. While I was reading I found myself comparing it to the movie and I do believe the book is better I mean what else is new? But I loved the book a lot and the relationship that Bruno and shmuel had. The book was more realistic as in the movie Bruno went into the camp with all of his hair so wouldn’t someone notice?? And also at the end, when Bruno went missing, the family looked for him for days the father connected what happened almost a year later while in the movie they find everything out in one day. This story is so good !!