THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS
May 19, 2020POST LECTIO : A Poignant tale of Humanity and Friendship
Title : The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Author : John Boyne
Year : 2006
Genre : Historical Fiction
Summary : The nine-year old son of the Commandant of Auschwitz befriends a boy from the other side of the fence who wears the striped pyjamas.
This story will reduce even the hardest of man/woman to tears. The novel offers a child’s view of the affairs of the world. The kid witnesses all kind of emotions running through his parents, but mainly his father, a SS officer. The story moves in such a way that the author makes you go back to your childhood and see the decisions the grown-ups make in a completely new perspective.
“We don't have the luxury of thinking ... Some people make all the decisions for us.”
When Bruno, the son of the Commandant first arrives at Auschwitz, he notices the stark difference between the town he left and the place he has just arrived. He doesn’t like that place because he has been uprooted away from his friends and places he knows and is familiar with. His situation is similar with the prisoners of the concentration camps. Except that he is not in perpetual danger but they all are.
“The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing you've found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered. And other things are probably better off left alone.”
Bruno befriends Shmuel, a kid of his own age and coincidentally they share the same birthday. He meets him everyday and they become very good friends. Bruno doesn’t understand why some people are on the other side of the fence and he doesn’t even know who they are. He tries to get answers from Shmuel, but the boy himself does not have any idea about the ongoings in Auschwitz. The story then follows Bruno and reaches the climax.
“What exactly was the difference? He wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?”
Even though the book is smaller in size, the story it contains too heavy to process. This story will stay with you for a very long time.
The book ends with this chillingly moving phrase, “Of course, all of this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age.”
Written By : Gautham Selvarajan
Post Lectio is a series where we present a spoiler-free review of the books we read.
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