The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
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4.7 • 20 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us.
Nine year old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust.
He’s oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country.
All he knows is that he has moved from Berlin to a desolate area where he has no one to play with.
Until he meets Shmuel.
Shmuel lives in a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence, where everyone wears a uniform of striped pyjamas.
Despite the wire fence separating them, the two boys become best friends.
As they grow closer, Bruno starts to learn the terrible truth that lies beyond the fence, and what life is like for his friend.
John Boyne’s classic novel explores the friendship and loss of innocence of Bruno and Shmuel, during one of the worst points in history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Through the eyes of an innocent nine-year-old boy named Bruno, listeners become complicit bystanders, observing some of the horrors of the Holocaust. Maloney's soft-toned narration and chipper, believably childlike characterization of Bruno dramatically bring home the fable-like qualities of Boyne's moving text. Bruno's limited comprehension of all going on around him begs listeners, presumably with more knowledge than the protagonist, to glean the fuller story between the lines. When his father, an officer for "the Fury," as Bruno refers to him, is transferred from Berlin to a new post in Poland called "Out-With," Bruno and his family try to adjust. From his new bedroom window Bruno can see a fenced-in camp where all the inhabitants wear striped pajamas. He learns more about this intriguing place when he befriends a boy inside the camp named Shmuel (who happens to share Bruno's birthday). Their friendship progresses dangerously and brings Boyne's tale to a shocking end that is sure to be a discussion starter. A bonus interview between Boyne and his editor David Fickling is included. Ages 12-up.
