The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a beautifully written story, which captivated me from start to harrowing end. I read it through in one sitting and was entirely transported into Bruno's world. Whilst I have read reviews which question the probability of Bruno being ignorant about the mass extermination of Jews happening alongside his home; I feel that as a literary devise Bruno's naievity works to echo the feelings of incomprehension I have when I read about the atrocity millions of Jews faced at the hands of the Nazi regime, not so very long ago. I also found the parallels between Shmuel and Bruno, who are linked yet divided by circumstance, very moving. The ending to the book served further to highlight  the sense that human circumstances are so often arbritary. Born to different parents the boys may well have found themselves standing on opposite sides of the fence.
The horrors of the holocaust are hard to comprehend and this powerful little book made me think hard about both sides of the fence and the consequences for human kind.
Claire Sutton
Bangabandhu Primary School
Bethnal Green