The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Access

There are some books that you read. And then there are books that happen to you. John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas definitely falls into the latter category.

The book is historically inaccurate. The death camps weren't places where a nine-year-old German could sit and chat with a prisoner for a year. Bruno’s naivety is unrealistic (most German children knew the fences were dangerous). And the idea that a Commandant’s son could get into the gas chamber is a fictional plot device that misrepresents how the camps were organized. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

That exchange summarizes the entire tragedy of war in two sentences. It is a reminder that hate is taught, not born. There are some books that you read

October 26, 2023

If you are a student reading this for class: Please, for the love of Bruno, read the historical notes in the back of the book. Don't use this novel as your only source for your history paper. The book is historically inaccurate

What makes this book so devastating isn't the violence. In fact, Boyne cleverly avoids showing us the true horror directly. Instead, we see everything through Bruno’s naive, literal eyes. He doesn't understand why the people on the other side of the fence wear striped pyjamas. He doesn't understand why his father is a Commandant. He just thinks it’s a farm.