All The Broken Places
The Sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
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4.7 • 87 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
'Beautifully told and gripping from first page to last' Sunday Express
'An incredible feat of storytelling... and an old-fashioned page-turner' Donal Ryan
'Gripping and well-honed...consummately constructed, humming with tension' Guardian
'You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel' John Irving
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From the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, comes its astonishing and powerful sequel.
Gretel Fernsby is a quiet woman leading a quiet life. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany seventy years ago or the dark post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps.
But when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but befriend their little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back painful memories. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between his parents, which threatens to disturb her hard-won peace.
For the second time in her life, Gretel is given the chance to save a young boy. To do so would allay her guilt, grief and remorse, but it will also force her to reveal her true identity.
Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself?
The new novel from John Boyne, FIRE, is available now.
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Praise for John Boyne
'A master storyteller' Daily Express
'One of the best novelists of Ireland' Sunday Express
'Boyne offers writing of insight and beauty' Observer
'John Boyne is a maestro of hisoritical fiction' John Irving
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
John Boyne reflects on the lasting toll of personal choices and guilt in this poignant sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Almost 80 years after the events of that book, Gretel Fernsby is now a widowed nonagenarian living in London. She largely keeps to herself, but a chance friendship with a nine-year-old boy sends her mind back to her past in Paris, Sydney and Auschwitz. There are notable parallels with the earlier book, as Gretel grapples with losing her younger brother all those decades before. Another touching moral fable, All the Broken Places is about how it’s never too late to make things right.
Customer Reviews
Life changing
The stark changes in time period between chapters is rage inducing but also gripping. Gretel is such a complex character that I found myself endeared towards, despite her horrific past.
At times this book is gruesome, but there are events that cannot be sugar coated. I haven’t managed to read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas yet but this text was perfectly digestible without having done so. However, it will be my next read.
Riveting
Beautifully written, an epic tale about one woman’s life, I didn’t want to put it down. It encourages you to consider culpability, guilt and the responsibility that should come with it. I heartily recommend it.
Thought provoking
Another great read from the master storyteller, reintroducing characters we already know so well a very challenging and thought provoking story of guilt, blame and fate.