How much innocence can you ignore? None.
John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas spills every bit of Bruno’s innocence, yearning for love and friendship. The book is about how Bruno (the son of a Nazi commander) who never really wanted to leave his five-storey house in Berlin and three best friends due to his father’s transfer to a rural occupied area in Poland. Later, ignorant of the situation’s reality, he found his best friend in Shmuel, a Jew adorned in striped pyjamas and living in a camp surrounded by a huge fence and soldiers.
When I started reading the book, I could understand the worries and frustrations Bruno was facing in leaving his comfort space and going to a new location and house, leaving his friends and his room. But his explorative skills at Out With (his house’s name) never bored him. His nature was completely different from his sister Gretel. He was intrigued about trying new things in life and hated unkind behavior. His efforts toward keeping his friendship with Shmuel despite the odds is an example of his courage. They shared food and daily chit-chats, and their bond only grew stronger with time.
This is how life should be, but there is always a “but”.
When I reached “the last chapter”, I could guess the emotional ending but didn’t want to believe the tragic ending. Bruno, the explorer, had taken a new journey which no one knew. He was supposed to leave for Berlin but ended up on the other side of the fence, holding the hand of his secret friend. And for the last time, together.
A heart-wrenching fiction by John Boyne takes you on a multi-level journey of emotions, emptiness, friendship, family values, care, and exploration.
