The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Let me start by saying books like this are important. Books that remind us of events in human history when we were not at our best. Books that remind us of the real people who lived through such events. Books that remind us of the people who did not. Those books will always be important.

This book approaches the events surrounding WWII differently than many do. The book is a work of fiction, following Bruno. Bruno is a young boy (9 according to the book although he certainly reads younger, in my opinion) who is completely out of touch with what is going on in Europe despite having a father who would be very in touch with it. Bruno is a child, he reads like a child, and yet it reminds us that such characters would've existed. Characters who wouldn't known what was going on.

Historically, I'm sure there are problems with this story. It certainly paints a different picture of the camp than I've had in my head when reading other novels centering around the Holocaust. I don't intend to pick this one apart for details. It was intended to be a work of fiction, I think, and to give us another viewpoint. One we, maybe, haven't heard.

Overall, I was shocked by the ending. I was intrigued with the viewpoint. I would recommend this one.
4 smiles.