book report on boy in striped pajamas

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Word of Mouth

Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, the boy in the striped pajamas.

In his Author's Note, John Boyne writes of his fourth novel, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS: "the issue of writing about the Holocaust is, of course, a contentious matter, and any novelist who explores it had better be sure about his or her intentions before setting out...it's the responsibility of the writer to uncover as much emotional truth within that desperate landscape as he possibly can." Given this fairly strong sentiment, Boyne has written a definitive novel about this much-explored --- though often not explored well --- subject, but his approach is one that might be considered controversial, and rightfully so. A book billed as a "fable" about the Holocaust --- especially one narrated by the son of a prominent Nazi leader --- is bound to ruffle a few readers' feathers, especially those of the older generations.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS opens as nine-year-old Bruno comes home from school to find that he is moving. Following his parents' dinner with "the Fury" (i.e. the Fuhrer) wherein the Fury tells Bruno's father that he "[has] big things in mind for him," Bruno and his family gather up their belongings from their five-story house in the heart of Berlin and move to "Out-With" (i.e. Auschwitz) in Poland where Bruno's father is called "Commandant" by everyone around him. Bruno hates his new desolate surroundings compared to the opulent comfort he is used to and wants to return to Berlin immediately. Of course, this doesn't happen.

As the plot progresses, Bruno slowly gets used to his environment. Before long, he becomes bored with his indoor trappings and decides to go exploring along the barrier that separates his family from the hordes of "neighbors" on the other side of the fence. He is curious about the "hundreds of people in the distance going about their business...wearing the same clothes as each other: a pair of grey striped pajamas with a grey striped cap on their heads." On one of his jaunts, he befriends a boy his age named Shmuel and visits him daily, often sneaking leftover food for him from the kitchen. It turns out that he and Shmuel were both born on the same day and the two become quite close from the commonality.

(As far as what happens to Bruno and Shmuel...to give away the ending would be to spoil the impact of the book and whatever gnawing gut reaction is bound to follow its conclusion. This is truly a climax worth waiting for and one that shouldn't be spoiled for the sake of a review.)

What makes THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS different from just any old friendship-in-the-midst-of-tragedy story is that Bruno and Shmuel are from two glaringly dissimilar backgrounds and are living two disparate lives in close proximity to each other, yet they consider themselves equals. What makes it different from many (if not all) other Holocaust stories is that it's told through the eyes of a German boy --- the son of the man put in charge of Auschwitz by Hitler, no less --- who has absolutely no idea what's going on . Bruno is blissfully unaware of the atrocities taking place around him and nothing --- not even what he sees with his own eyes --- seems to alter his seemingly permanent naiveté.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS is a bundle of fascinating conjectures, questions and contradictions, many of which beg to be examined and will surely ignite any number of heated conversations about the nature of reality, perspective, prejudice and more. John Boyne is a masterful storyteller who, through the eyes of Bruno, has attempted to tackle and put forth his version of one of the most heinous periods in human history. It remains to be seen where readers' opinions about the novel will fall, but this nonetheless is a worthwhile and profound journey that most should take to find out.

Reviewed by Alexis Burling on October 23, 2007

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

• Publication Date: October 23, 2007
• Genres: Fiction , Historical Fiction , Holocaust
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ember
• ISBN-10: 0385751532
• ISBN-13: 9780385751537

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

By john boyne.

The novel is based on historical events but is primarily fiction. It takes place in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Nazi Germany and follows a young boy whose father is a high-ranking Nazi official. 

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The main character, Bruno, meets Shmuel, another boy around the same age, on the other side of the fence, separating the prisoners from those working at the camp. Bruno, curious about his friend, decides to climb under the fence and put on a pair of striped pajamas, or what he thinks are striped pajamas.

The author uses interesting linguistic choices to mimic Bruno’s understanding of people and places. For example, he refers to Adolf Hitler as “The Fury” rather than the “Fuhrer,” alluding to strange the unusual word would sound to a child. Another good example is the word “Auschwitz,” which Bruno pronounces as “Out-With.”

Key Facts about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

• Title : The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• When Written and Published : 2004 and 2006
• Literary Period : Contemporary Young Adult
• Genre : Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
• Setting : Berlin and Auschwitz
• Climax : When Bruno climbs under the fence and puts on a prisoner’s uniform that he sees as “striped pajamas.”
• Antagonist : the Nazis, Bruno’s father specifically
• Point of View : Third-person omniscient

John Boyne and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Throughout his life, John Boyne loved and studied literature. He received his master’s degree in creative writing and began his career as a short story writer. After several notable short stories were published, he turned his career toward longer fiction.

Boyne’s lifelong interest in writing and literature culminated in the bestselling ‘ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ‘ when the novel was published in 2006. Although sold as a children’s book, it’s been read by literature lovers of all ages around the world. Its intense subject matter has meant that some readers, young and old, can struggle with the emotional content.

Since he wrote the story of ‘ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ,’ John Boyne has published five more novels aimed at young readers and nine others written for adults. Other John Boyne books include ‘ The Absolutist ,’ ‘ All the Broken Places ,’ ‘ The Boy at the Top of the Mountain ,’ and ‘ The Heart’s Invisible Furies .’  

Books Related to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

‘ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ‘ is far from the only contemporary novel inspired by the events of the Holocaust. Others, like Markus Zusak’s ‘ The Book Thief ,’ ‘ They Both Die at the End ‘ by Adam Silver, ‘Number the Stars’ by Lois Lowry , and ‘ All the Light We Cannot See ‘ by Anthony Doerr, also contend with this difficult subject matter.

Slightly older novels, like Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ and ‘ The Diary of a Young Girl ‘ by Anne Frank, are incredibly important examples that should not be ignored when considering historical fiction from this period of time. Readers might also find themselves interested in:

• Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered by Ruth Kluger
• If This Is a Man by Primo Levi
• Denial: Holocaust History on Trial by Deborah E. Lipstadt
• The Choice: Embrace the Possible  by Edith Eva Eger

Also related is ‘ The Boy At The Top Of The Mountain ,’ a 2015 novel written by Boyne that follows another child in Europe and is centered around the events of World War II.

The Lasting Impact of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

‘ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ‘ has been read by children and adults around the world since it was published in 2006. While it doesn’t have the long history that Wiesel’s ‘ Night ‘ or the emotional reality of ‘ The Diary of a Young Girl ‘ does, it’s an incredibly important children’s novel that tells the story of the Holocaust from a different perspective.

It asks readers to consider how they would’ve seen Auschwitz if they had been, as Bruno was, a nine-year-old child at his father’s side. The novel challenges readers’ perceptions and is highly effective in reminding all who read it of the true horrors of this period in history. The added fact that it focuses on children can make that message all the more memorable. It seems likely that this novel will one day be read in schools around the world, along with works like ‘ Night ‘ and ‘ The Diary of a Young Girl .’  

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Review

The boy in the striped pajamas themes and analysis, the boy in the striped pajamas quotes, the boy in the striped pajamas characters, the boy in the striped pajamas summary, about emma baldwin.

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno , a nine-year-old boy living in Berlin, Germany in 1943, comes home one day to find his family’s maid, Maria , packing all of his things away in boxes. Bruno’s Mother explains that the family is moving away due to the demands of his father’s new job. “ The Fury ,” as Bruno calls Adolf Hitler, had come to dinner at Bruno’s home the previous week, and has promoted Bruno’s Father . Father is a Commandant in the German army. He is a stern and imposing figure, but still expresses his care for his children. Bruno is unhappy to be leaving his best friends, grandparents, and the hustle and bustle of Berlin, but is presented with no other choice than to go with his family. Before they go, Father gets into a fight with Bruno’s Grandmother , a former singing star, at their Christmas celebration. Grandmother is furious that Father would accept his new job from the Fury, but Father counters that it is a great honor for himself and for the Fatherland.

The family packs up all of their belongings and soon head out on a train to reach their new home. The new house on a hill is the only house in a very desolate area. Bruno is sad to be away from Berlin, and bored to have only his twelve-year-old sister Gretel , whom he does not get along with, for company. Their maid Maria and butler Lars staff the house, but there are also new waiters that Bruno has not met before. One of them, Pavel , is an old, stooped man who cleans up Bruno’s cut knee one day when he falls from a tire swing. Pavel tells Bruno that he has been a doctor in a past life, and Bruno is confused as to why a doctor would be working as a waiter in his house. Bruno comes to learn that Pavel lives on the other side of a fence that runs near their house. On the other side of the fence, as Bruno can see from his bedroom window, are thousands of people living in a sandy, fenced-in camp, all wearing “ striped pajamas .” Bruno cannot properly pronounce the name of their new home, but calls it “ Out-With ” (Auschwitz).

As Bruno settles into life at Out-With, he comes to dislike Lieutenant Kotler , a soldier who hangs around their house and whom Gretel has a crush on. Kotler is harsh and calls Bruno “little man.” Mother takes a liking to Lieutenant Kotler, though everyone is horrified when he beats Pavel one day for spilling a glass of wine. Bruno is given lessons in history by a tutor named Herr Liszt , who tells him that Bruno’s father and his family are at Out-With in order to correct the “great wrongs” that have been done to him. Gretel becomes very involved with history and politics, and takes to tracking the events of the news via pushpins in maps on her wall.

Bruno misses the exploring he so enjoyed in Berlin, and one day he walks along the length of the fence, despite the fact that he has been forbidden to do so. He meets a boy who lives on the other side of the fence named Shmuel . Shmuel wears the striped pajamas that Bruno has seen from his window, and he is extraordinarily thin. The two boys strike up a friendship, and Bruno begins to visit Shmuel nearly every day. Shmuel tells him how he was taken by soldiers from his home in Cracow, Poland, to the camp, which Bruno comes to realize is also in Poland. Bruno struggles to understand exactly what life is like on Shmuel’s side of the fence, but complies when Shmuel asks him to bring him food.

Bruno begins to like life at Out-With a lot more as his friendship with Shmuel develops. One day he is shocked to find Shmuel inside his house—Lieutenant Kotler had brought him there to shine the family’s tiny glasses, a job for someone with small hands. Bruno nonchalantly gives his friend a piece of leftover chicken. Kotler catches them, and demands to know if Bruno is friends with Shmuel. Terrified, Bruno denies knowing the boy, and Kotler later beats Shmuel. Kotler is later transferred away from Out-With—due to the fact that he reveals to Father that his own father fled from Germany to Switzerland in 1938, at the onset of World War II.

Eventually, Mother convinces Father to move the family back to Berlin. He consents, though he himself will remain at Out-With due to obligations to his job and the Fury. Bruno is saddened to leave Shmuel behind. When he goes to say goodbye, the boys agree that Bruno will dress up in striped pajamas the following day, in order to explore Shmuel’s side of the camp and to help Shmuel search for his father, whom he has not seen for several days.

The next day, Bruno dresses up in pajamas Shmuel has brought him, and climbs under the fence. Inside he finds people sick and thin, with soldiers yelling at them. Scared, he wants to leave, but Shmuel asks him to help him find his father. Though they find nothing, the soldiers round up prisoners for a march before Bruno can sneak back under the fence. Scared, the two boys comply, and end up in a dark room together. They hold hands as the soldiers shut the doors, and everything goes dark.

Bruno is never heard from again. His mother and sister eventually return to Berlin, and his father becomes hated by the soldiers for his merciless orders. Bruno’s clothes and boots are found where he left them outside the fence when he changed, and one day Bruno’s father pieces together what must have happened to his son. He collapses from the weight of his realization, and months later, different soldiers arrive at the camp. Father complies with all of their demands, as he no longer cares what happens to him after realizing his son’s grim fate.

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