The cautionary tale is about two boys, one the son of a commandant in Hitler’s army and the other a Jew, who come face-to-face at a barbed wire fence that separates, and eventually intertwines their lives.
Set during the Holocaust, Bruno is only nine-years-old when his father, a commandant in Hitler’s army, is transferred from Berlin to Auschwitz. The house at “Out-With,” as Bruno calls it, is small, dark, and strange. He spends long days gazing out the window of his new bedroom, where he notices people dressed in striped pajamas and rows of barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Bored and lonely, and not really understanding the circumstance of his new existence, Bruno sets out to explore the area and discovers Shmuel, a very thin Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence. An unlikely friendship develops between the two boys, but when Bruno learns that his mother plans to take her children back to Berlin, he makes a last effort to explore the forbidden territory where the boy in the striped pajamas lives.
This is a book club book that we all decided to read ...... And I thought it was a good read ... It is definitely a Young Adult book as it is told from a nine years old perspective ....It is a very easy read ....... And you could easily finish it in one sitting as it is also large print .... I loved the concept of the story being told from a child's view .... Very clever ... The way that he calls the place "Out-With" and also the name he calls the leader "Fury".
It did make me reflect on how Innocent Bruno is ......... And how much responsibility that we have as parents to teach our children correct principles because what we say and teach them is how they view the world ......
There is just enough of sadness in the book to reflect the awful circumstances that surround the two boys ....... My only complaint with the book is that if the reader doesn't have a knowledge of what happened in these camps you cannot really grasp what is occurring in the story .... I think this may be one of the rare occasions that a visual movie would capture the story better ...... And probably in my case cry the whole way through the movie ........
I enjoyed the book and like I said before it would be good for a young reader .... But you would have to have a good discussion about the book and the context to make sure that they understood what was happening ... But felt that The Book Thief was more sensitive to the victims of the Holocaust and War times ...... As it gives a more graphic and realistic description of what actually happens at war times ....
I rate this book 4****
This is the Books to Movie part of the review ........ And didn't I tell you that I would cry :( .......... But only at the very end :( ......... I enjoyed the movie but I have to say like so many times the book is far better ........ I was waiting and waiting for the little quirky sayings of 'Out-With' and 'Fury' but they never happened !!! ........ I felt the movie lost abit of its charm and innocent because of that ...... But I felt the movie was good and the acting excellent by the boys :) .... Well worth watching ........ But Please read the book !!!!
