Boy in Striped Pajamas

While waiting for a movie to begin a while back, I was drawn into a preview of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It showed a young German boy befriending a young boy through a barbed wire fence. Quite obvious from this scene was the fact that the German boy was healthy, clean, and well-cared for compared to the toothless, sickly, young boy in striped pajamas. I waited patiently to see this movie and was surprised when it opened on November 14th and could only be found in five theaters within a 500-mile radius of my home – only two in my state & too far for me to go.

So what’s a girl to do?

I went to the library, only to find that it was out and already on hold. I thought maybe the audio book version, that too out and on hold. When I noticed it was in the Young Adult section, I took a quick look-see. Lo’ and behold – it was there! I opened it up to learn more.

Let me say that if you read the inside of the book jacket and hadn’t seen the coming attractions as I did, you’d have no idea what it was about. The inside flap of the jacket said:

"The story of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the jacket, but in this case we think that it would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.

If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter one."

In less than 1½ hours, I was done with it. All I can say without adding any spoilers is...

Wow!


PS Logan is now reading this novel for a school book report.