The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Lissa Coffey
Grade: B+
| The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes place in Germany during the time of the Concentration Camps. It looks at one family where the father is assigned to run one of the camps, and he moves his wife and two children out of the city and into the country to be with him during this new job. The boy is lonely, isolated as he is, and goes exploring. He stumbles upon the camp, which he perceives to be a farm, and a boy, whose prison uniform he takes to be pajamas.
The German boy is just 8 years old, and doesn’t fully comprehend what is going on. As he starts to piece things together, he makes friends with the boy in the striped pajamas. Meanwhile, the wife is devastated when she learns just what goes on at the camp, and it causes a strain in the marriage. This is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever seen. It is played out really well, hitting all the right emotional notes. Just be prepared, there is no happy ending, no neatly wrapped up story. It’s just sad, as it should be. |