The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas

PrettyInPunk

Just wondering have many people read this???i really enjoyed it and was wonding what peoples views on it were.

catspring

i enjoyed it too. not necessarily in the traditional sense of the word, more like a gross fascination. i did think it was nauseatingly awful, but very well written with regards to the 9 years old's perspective on life. i also thought that it was a great idea, an unusual twist compared to any other WWII novels i've read.
plus, the author is irish which makes me happy
i found it very hard to put down too - damn cliffhangers get me every time!
i'd definately recommend it.

Pighead

Yeah Pigheads just finished this one, thought it was a cracking read. Loved the little boy Bruno in it. Such an innocent wee chappie, loved the way he referred to his sister as "The Hopeless Case". Didn't cop the ending either but then again I hardly ever do.

All in all a cracking read which you'll get through in a day.

Esmereldina

I really liked this too...I read it almost a year ago, so I only have a fairly vague memory of it, dominated mostly by the really chilling way it ended. Those kinds of endings always work on me, as I never guess anything (in books or films) before it happens :rolleyes:

Sleepy

Loved that book. Saw the ending coming a mile off but it didn't really put me off it at all. The use of language is incredible, it really struck me as being told through Bruno's all too innocent eyes. I'm sure this will probably end up on the Junior Cert English course and be ruined for an entire generation but hopefully standards in English teachers has risen enough for that not to be the case.

Esmereldina

Sleepy wrote:

Loved that book. Saw the ending coming a mile off but it didn't really put me off it at all. The use of language is incredible, it really struck me as being told through Bruno's all too innocent eyes. I'm sure this will probably end up on the Junior Cert English course and be ruined for an entire generation but hopefully standards in English teachers has risen enough for that not to be the case.

I agree, I really liked the language that the writer used. It was very simple, but appeared very controlled too. I shudder also to think of the amount of books on leaving and junior cert courses that were slowly murdered by classes where you were constantly told what each word and sentence meant, with no room for discussion, and notes from the institute...

sambora

I've heard quite a bit about this book, actually. I might give it a read soon. Is it widely available in shops or what?

Oul Wan

Sorry to drag this one up but thought it better than to start a new thread. Has anyone else read it recently? I'm about a quarter of the way through. Didn't get to buy it until last week as I've been too busy to read. I'm finding it very easy to read. The author has really captured the child's perception and understanding of things. I have this strange feeling I'm probably going to be bawling my eyes out at the end of it.

Mrs. MacGyver

read the whole thing on the train home last weekend. The ending was so unexpected, and poignant. I'd highly recommend it as well. His other book Next Of Kin is excelent and is a real page turner indeed.

Eventhough the boy in the striped pj's is a 'children's book' i would be cautious in recommending it as such.

killbillvol2

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

Eventhough the boy in the striped pj's is a 'children's book' i would be cautious in recommending it as such.

I read it with my class this year (6th class primary school). They loved it. They demanded that at least a chapter a day be read and really got into it. Their reaction to the ending was very different to that of an adult though.

They blamed Bruno for getting himself killed and cited numerous other silly things he'd done throughout the book to back their case!

I enjoyed it myself too by the way.

ashyle

Loved this. But of course I have a werid fascination with all things WW2-Nazi related :P I wouldn't give it to a kid to read though--it's too traumatic Couldn't believe it was written by an Irish guy!

BaZmO*

Read it last year so it's not that fresh in my mind, although I do remember thinking at the time that, while it was a good story, I couldn't get it out of my head that it was written through the perspective of an adult rather than that of a child. I just felt that some of the words Bruno used wouldn't come from the mouth of a 10 year old boy (I think he was 10??) and because of that it just kept breaking the illusion of the story.

Another minor gripe was the blog on the back of the book. It went on about how they didn't want to give anything away about the plot of the book (

concentration camp

) because it would ruin the story but it was quite obvious after reading a few pages where the story was set.

But having said all that, I wasn't aware that the book was actually pitched for kids until I finished it and went online to read a few reviews to se what other people made of it. All in all it was a good read and I was actually quite surprised at the ending.