Amazon Synopsis:

Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us ...Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process.

A powerful and thought evoking childrens book based upon events around the Holocaust. The book is written from a naieve child's point of view of when his family relocated to 'Out With' from Berlin due to his fathers prestigeous position in the German army. Its a really interesting perspective and another way to approach the astrocities that happened during the war.

I enjoyed the story and really liked the premise of the novel but the ending was really well thought out and makes the story all the more powerful for it. Not sure I want to say too much more as I don't want to hint at what happens, but I would really like to see the film now.

Highly recommended for established young readers (about 12+) and adults alike.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Taken to the Daventry Meet and added to the table of books.

Picked up at the Daventry meet. I know it'll make me cry but this is a book I just have to read. Onto TBR.

Wow! The ending of this book has stayed in my mind since I finished it last night. Very haunting and rather sad. Very well written and worth a read for children and adults alike. Although, as Martha said in her review, maybe more suited for 12+ readers.

It took me a while to get around to reading this, although I get there in the end ;-)

This is a wishlist book for Isisjem. Enjoy :-)

Not sure why this wasn't on my wish list before. Have been curious about it for years. Not seen the film but if I'm going to I'd like to have read the book first. Thanks Beqi

I think any faults I found with this novel came about because it really is aimed at a pre-teen audience. For example would a German boy really have been given a copy of Treasure Island to read by his German Nazi father? I guess if the book had been aimed at adults, then substituting the name of a popular german title would have been acceptable, it just would have been lost on many English/American young readers. Having said that I liked some of the child like touches: Hitler being referred to as 'The Fury' and Auschwitz as "Out-With".

I liked the way the simple telling of this story left a lot to the imagination. Although whether, for some younger readers, who don't know much about WW2, it left too much to the imagination remains to be seen. The ending is quite shocking. If more than a tad ironic. Would like to see the film now to see how that compares. Being so simple and short a story I should think Hollywood have had to beef it out a bit?

Glad I have read this.

passed this on to my sister in law. Think my niece my read it.