BOOK REVIEW: Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Today it would be nearly impossible to hide from the fact that two planes crashed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. It would be impossible to not know that there is a war on terrorism because we hear it all the time on the television, see it on newspapers, and view it on our computer screens. However, what if we did not have access to that media? Could we actually remain oblivious to the reality that 4,376 American soldiers have died in Iraq? In John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Bruno, a nine year old boy, remains completely unaware of the Holocaust even though it is literally happening in his backyard. Yet, however unreasonable it sounds, the reader goes along for his journey and sympathizes with his character because his story and perspective is unlike any other World War II fiction novel.

Even though, he is the son to an Auschwitz commandant, he believes that he lives in “Out-With,” not Auschwitz, a concentration camp for Jewish prisoners. He sees the world around him in total innocence: the criminals’ prison attire is merely striped pajamas, his father is loving, handsome, and intelligent, not a cold-hearted commandant, and the phrase “Heil Hitler” means, “Well, goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon.”

It is this innocence that makes the overall theme of friendship and bravery so powerful. Bruno is not aware of the social discrimination going on around him because his mother feels, ‘“War is not a subject fit for conversation”’, and his main concern is homesickness. He is forced to move from his five-story home in Berlin, Germany, and immediately misses his three best friends and how they reached out their arms and pretended to be airplanes as they ran throughout the streets. His new home in Poland offers no places to explore like he once did with his friends. Bruno simply passes the time by looking out his window at a large fence and the men on the other side of it.

Soon enough the loneliness and the natural adolescent inquisitiveness act as catalyst for Bruno’s exploration of the long fence that separates him from the people dressed in black and gray striped pajamas. He walks along side of the fence until he sees a dot in the distance which to his surprise is a boy his age—but much more thin. The two become fast friends, claiming to be twins because they have the same birthday. Bruno walks to see Shmuel almost every day and a very odd friendship results in the unthinkable. This friendship is a paradox in a world that fosters discrimination, violence, and innate hatred. Time and time again, Bruno wonders why he cannot play with Shmuel like he did with his friends back in Berlin. In the most heart-wrenching ending, Bruno decides to crawl under the fence to be with his only friend. The only problem is once they hold hands for the first time, they never let go.