Unfortunately I never got to read the book (by John Boyne) - as they usually are better than the movie - however, last night we watched the movie.
When the movie finished I wasn't quite sure how I felt. Gobsmacked was the first word that came to mind when I was speaking with a friend about it today, however, after speaking with Evan today over morning tea, I jumped on to Wikipedia and found out that the book is purely fiction - with no historial claim to it at all.
Worth having a look.
The premise of the movie (if you haven't seen it) is:-
Bruno is a 9-year-old boy growing up during World War II in Berlin. He lives in a huge house with his parents, his 12-year-old sister Gretel (whom he refers to as a hopeless case) and servants. His father is a high-ranking official who, after a visit from the Fury (Hitler), is promoted to 'Commandant', and to Bruno's dismay the family has to move away to a place called Out-With (which turns out to be Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz).
When Bruno gets there he is immediately homesick after leaving behind his home, grandparents, and his three best friends for life. He is unhappy with his new home. It only has three floors, there are always soldiers coming in and out of the house and there are no banisters. Bruno is lonely and has no one to talk to or play with. However, one day while Bruno is looking out of his window he notices a bunch of people all wearing the same striped pajamas. As he is a curious child, Bruno asks his father who these people are, but gets a rather unusual answer. His father tells him that these people are not people at all. They are Jews...
Bruno finds out he is not allowed to explore the house or its surroundings. Due to the combination of curiosity and boredom, he is forced to explore. He thinks he spots a dot in the distance on the other side of the fence and as he gets closer, he sees it's a boy. Excited that there might be a boy his age Bruno introduces himself. The Jewish boy's name is Shmuel. He was taken from his family and forced to work in Auschwitz. Almost every day, they meet at the same spot and talk.
The story ends with Bruno about to go back to Berlin with his mother and sister on the orders of his father. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and goes in under the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who went missing in the camp. The boys are unable to find him, and just as it starts to rain and get dark, Bruno decides he would like to go home, but they are rounded up in a crowd of people by the Nazi guards who start them on a march. Neither boy knows where this march will lead. However, they are soon crowded into a gas chamber, which Bruno assumes is a place to keep them dry from the rain until it stops. The author leaves the story with Bruno pondering, yet unafraid, in the dark holding hands with Shmuel. "...Despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go".
In an epilogue in the book, Bruno's family spend several months at their home trying to find Bruno, before his mother and Gretel return to Berlin, only to discover he is not there as they had expected. A year afterwards, his father returns to the spot that the soldiers found Bruno's clothes (the same spot Bruno spent the last year of his life) and, after a brief inspection, discovers that the fence is not properly attached at the base and can form a gap big enough for a boy of Bruno's size to fit through. Using this information, his father eventually pieces together that they gassed Bruno to death. Several months later, the Red Army arrives to liberate the camp and orders Bruno's father to go with them. He goes without complaint, because "he didn't really mind what they did to him any more". (Wikipedia)
When the movie finished I wasn't quite sure how I felt. Gobsmacked was the first word that came to mind when I was speaking with a friend about it today, however, after speaking with Evan today over morning tea, I jumped on to Wikipedia and found out that the book is purely fiction - with no historial claim to it at all.
Worth having a look.
The premise of the movie (if you haven't seen it) is:-
Bruno is a 9-year-old boy growing up during World War II in Berlin. He lives in a huge house with his parents, his 12-year-old sister Gretel (whom he refers to as a hopeless case) and servants. His father is a high-ranking official who, after a visit from the Fury (Hitler), is promoted to 'Commandant', and to Bruno's dismay the family has to move away to a place called Out-With (which turns out to be Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz).
When Bruno gets there he is immediately homesick after leaving behind his home, grandparents, and his three best friends for life. He is unhappy with his new home. It only has three floors, there are always soldiers coming in and out of the house and there are no banisters. Bruno is lonely and has no one to talk to or play with. However, one day while Bruno is looking out of his window he notices a bunch of people all wearing the same striped pajamas. As he is a curious child, Bruno asks his father who these people are, but gets a rather unusual answer. His father tells him that these people are not people at all. They are Jews...
Bruno finds out he is not allowed to explore the house or its surroundings. Due to the combination of curiosity and boredom, he is forced to explore. He thinks he spots a dot in the distance on the other side of the fence and as he gets closer, he sees it's a boy. Excited that there might be a boy his age Bruno introduces himself. The Jewish boy's name is Shmuel. He was taken from his family and forced to work in Auschwitz. Almost every day, they meet at the same spot and talk.
The story ends with Bruno about to go back to Berlin with his mother and sister on the orders of his father. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and goes in under the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who went missing in the camp. The boys are unable to find him, and just as it starts to rain and get dark, Bruno decides he would like to go home, but they are rounded up in a crowd of people by the Nazi guards who start them on a march. Neither boy knows where this march will lead. However, they are soon crowded into a gas chamber, which Bruno assumes is a place to keep them dry from the rain until it stops. The author leaves the story with Bruno pondering, yet unafraid, in the dark holding hands with Shmuel. "...Despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go".
In an epilogue in the book, Bruno's family spend several months at their home trying to find Bruno, before his mother and Gretel return to Berlin, only to discover he is not there as they had expected. A year afterwards, his father returns to the spot that the soldiers found Bruno's clothes (the same spot Bruno spent the last year of his life) and, after a brief inspection, discovers that the fence is not properly attached at the base and can form a gap big enough for a boy of Bruno's size to fit through. Using this information, his father eventually pieces together that they gassed Bruno to death. Several months later, the Red Army arrives to liberate the camp and orders Bruno's father to go with them. He goes without complaint, because "he didn't really mind what they did to him any more". (Wikipedia)
