THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS.

   " Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed".

     This is what the Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO declares. 

 

    Ever since I read the novel 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas', this is what I could recall. And now, when writing a mini-review and my experience of reading this book, I have had to add those wordings.  

The boy in the striped Pyjamas- the title of this book is enough for me to remember it for a lifetime. It would be a paradox to say it all concurrently, but this is the most 'heart wrenching' and the 'magnificent' book I have read till now. Even though this book by John Boyne falls into the genre of Children's Literature, it is a must-read for all ages at least once. 

    This simple heartbreaking story is told from the eyes of a 10-year-old boy, Bruno, who is the protagonist. The story begins when Bruno sees Maria, their maid packing his belongings to get shifted from Berlin to Auschwitz ( Which Bruno mispronounces as Out-with), as his father Ralf is promoted to a Commandant. From the first day of reaching Auschwitz, Bruno keeps on comparing his new home with that of Berlin. He is seen complaining to his mother that he wants to get back to Berlin. However, his complaints are not taken into consideration. Bruno remembers how the visit of Fury(the way he addresses Adolf Hitler) got his father promoted. But, he never knew what job his father had. 

                         (Poster of the Motion Picture).

      Days passed and Bruno somewhat started liking his new surroundings. He started to wander here and there in search of new friends. It is then Bruno happens to see something far away, on the opposite side of the fence. He already had seen the fence, a tall wired one before, from his house. But now, there seems to be a dot. He kept on walking to approach it and 'the dot became a speck that became a blob that became a figure that became a boy'( This is how the author introduces the new character). Bruno feels delighted on seeing someone of his age. He goes near the boy who is in Striped Pyjamas, just like all other people across the fence and introduces himself. He gets to know that the boy opposite the fence is Shmuel and is from Poland and was a Jew. Bruno finds it difficult to pronounce his name but gradually starts enjoying the way it sounds. Slowly a bond starts blooming in between them and they become best buddies.  

   The story proceeds and both the boys meet daily. Over time, Shmuel gets more and more skinny. One day Bruno's mother, Elsa tells him that they have decided to get back to Berlin, as Auschwitz was not a place meant for children. This time Bruno feels more vulnerable as he might need to leave his new friend all alone. He runs to the wired fence to inform Shmuel of this news. But, what he gets to know is Shmuel's father's missing story. Bruno promises Shmuel that before going back to Berlin he will help him find his father out.

       

      The next day both of them meet and Bruno makes up a plan to go past the fence. He asks Shmuel for one pair of Striped Pyjama set so that he could get there without anyone having any doubts.  He removes his boots and other clothes and wears the clothes given by Shmuel.  They start searching for Shmuel's father. But they couldn't find him. While returning to the fence, they are rounded up along with some prisoners on a march. They all are led to a warm, securely built room. The room was air packed with people, all in the Striped Pyjamas. All of a sudden, the room goes dark. Bruno notices that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own, even amidst the chaos. And "nothing in the world would have persuaded to let him go". 

     There ends the beautiful story of Two boys, the boys who didn't even get a chance to live their Childhood. The boys who never knew they were different as marked by humans- as Nazis and Jews, as Bruno Wondered-" What exactly was the difference? Who decided which people wore Striped Pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?".

  

The story with simple language depicts the dreadful things that happened to the Jews during World War 2. 

This historical fiction which tells us about the holocaust serves as one of those novels which portray the tale of the world's biggest concentration camps.  

I can never forget the ending of this book.

" Of course, all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age". 

Haunting!

- Namratha