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  • The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

  • By: John Boyne
  • Narrated by: Michael Maloney
  • Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (834 ratings)
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas cover art

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

By: John Boyne
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
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Summary

What happens when innocence is confronted by monstrous evil?

Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas.

Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process.

©2016 John Boyce (P)2016 Random House AudioBooks

What listeners say about The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best books I have ever read.

Would you listen to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas again? Why?

Yes. Loved the reader and characters.

What other book might you compare The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to, and why?

Buddha in the attic and Farm and War Horse.

Which character – as performed by Michael Maloney – was your favourite?

Shmoul.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but I don't have the time.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I'm Now The Man With Striped Feelings!

When I read some of the rather angry reactions to this book that have appeared on sites like Goodreads coupled with the effusive praise that the majority of readers documented for it I thought I saw the signs of intriguing literature in The Boy With Striped Pyjamas. Even though it's billed as a Young Adult book I thought that to have provoked so much strong reaction there must be a lot of interest even to us (ahem!) older sorts too.

So that's how I found myself being carried along inside the mind of nine year old Bruno who did seem to come across as younger to me. A bit too innocent and naive maybe. Then again the book is described as a fable and that's exactly what it turns out to be. It's a moving story of childish curiosity and innocence being thrown hard up against the wall of the worst sort of evil that mankind has produced.

It really does take liberties with the history though and as the author and publisher explain in a fascinating interview at the end this was deliberate and why they billed it as a fable. There are obvious question marks over the approach and whether it weakens the historical message of the holocaust and these nagged at me all the way through. However, in that final interview Boyne very eloquently talks through his reasoning and gives a largely compelling case for his approach though it won't satisfy everyone.

If you accept the nature of a fable for this story though it's a moving, almost heartbreaking tale with a very dramatic ending that juxtaposes justice and injustice into a single tragic event. If you accept this for what it is you will be rewarded with an emotional and thought-provoking story.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An important and terrifying fable still relevant

It's probably quite important to understand that this is a novel and so there is a lot of artistic license taken with it by the author. That being said the main protagonist, nine-year-old Bruno was brilliantly written, a great juxtaposition of unwaning innocence and extreme cruelty in a time of brutality.

Having visited Auschwitz myself, the naive descriptions of the young boy is gut churning especially as he is so unaware of his fate. The reader does a great job in performing the role of an innocent child.

The most significant chapter, however, is the last one where the author himself describes the reasoning for his decisions as many feel that it was unrealistic and a little insensitive in dealing with the subject matter. It is a moral story about complacency and how easy it is to fall into patterns, so it is essential to read with an open mind.

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7 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Listened on the way to Auschwitz

My mother and sister both loved this book and I chose to listen to it on the way to and from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau today. I understand the positive reviews at a simplistic level but I can’t reconcile what I saw and heard during my visit with this story. Today I saw the Kommandant’s house, which overlooks the gas chamber and crematorium and heard how Hoess described the view as ‘paradise’. I heard about the lives of men, women and children who would never have been allowed to sit by the [electrified] fence day after day and I just can’t put this story together with that, even as a fable. I don’t think it’s a starting point for children, especially modern ones desensitised by all that they see and hear, although I applaud the author’s efforts to start that conversation. For me, the innocence and naivety of this story are completely irreconcilable and discordant with the things that I saw and heard today but I wish it were not so.

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good but…

Do you only thing that I could say is that it's a bit too sad for younger readers and younger readers like myself don't really understand the ending he doesn't give you a clearer idea of what happens so not really for under 12's

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Don’t look up anything about this book before you listen as you may hit some spoilers as I did! Was a great and moving story

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love Love Loved it !!

Beautifully written book. I listened to this with my twin daughters age 10 and we all loved it. The Narrator
was superb and brought all the characters to life. We shared laughter and tears together over this story. I think this is one of my very favourite books ever.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The most moving book I have ever read.

This is a truly stunning, heart breaking, moving and thought provoking story that I am so grateful to have had the experience of reading!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

ionnance of Bruno

when his father realised under his command so many atrocities were committed. How deeply he cared for Bruno but could disassociate himself from the prisoners in the camp.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read….

I recall when I read this book decades ago - it struck such a nerve inside me - that it became one of 3 books in my library which outweigh all other books I own- I have this title in hardcover, as well as in kindle and now in audio form … the movie is equally recommendable!! Many other books I never reread - this title I reread so many times and … as it always touches me - The innocence- the trust and friendship of the young - always touches my heart…
The narrator is doing a great job! 👏

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