The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Infobox Book |
name = The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas
title_orig =
translator =


author = John Boyne
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Ireland
language = English
series = Andrew Wilson
genre = Children, Historical, Tragicomedy
publisher = David Fickling Books
release_date = 5 January 2006
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 224 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-385-60940-X
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" (ISBN 0-385-60940-X) ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" in USA) is a 2006 novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. Boyne is the author of 6 novels.Unlike the months of planning Boyne had for his other books, he said that he wrote the entire first draft of "Boy" in two and a half days, barely sleeping until he got to the end. cite web | url = http://www.sarahwebb.info/childrens-books-John-Boyne.html | title = Interview with Children’s Author John Boyne (2006) | work = Sarah Webb | accessdate = 2007-02-23 ] To date the novel has sold more than 3 million copies around the world. In 2007, it was the best selling book of the year in Spain.

Plot

The book follows a young boy, Bruno, the son of commander general of a Nazi concentration camp. He has a head strong sister, Gretel (called "the Hopeless case"). They used to live in a five storey mansion, but are one day suddenly move to a place called "Out-With." This is perhaps a translation of "aus mit", a corruption (due to Bruno's age) of Auschwitz.cite news | title = Educating Bruno
url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/childrenandteens/0,,1691208,00.html | first = Kathryn | last = Hughes | publisher = The Guardian | date = 2006-01-21 | accessdate = 2006-07-31 (contains plot detail)] Bruno, angered and confused by his father's decision to move, and desperate to go home, spends his time in his room, without any friends to play with. He misses their old five-storey mansion. With such a small space, there isn't any room for exploration (a hobby of Bruno's) like there was in his old home.

From his bedroom window, Bruno spots a fence behind which he sees many people in 'striped pyjamas'. These are the Jews, and they are in a concentration camp. One day his parents come to an agreement that both Bruno and Gretel need a tutor for their education so they hire Herr Liszt. To Bruno, Herr Liszt is the most boring teacher one could ever have; he teaches social science (such as geography and history), instead of reading and arts, which Bruno prefers. So, in boredom and confusion, Bruno wonders what is going on at Auschwitz and why people are always dressed in striped pajamas there. One afternoon, he goes exploring, and finds a Jewish boy called Shmuel, a name Bruno has never heard of before but which apparently is quite common in the concentration camp. Shmuel soon becomes Bruno's friend and Bruno goes to see him every afternoon to talk. Bruno is told that the people in the striped pyjamas on the other side of the fence are Jews and that he and his family are "the opposite". Shortly after this, Bruno and Gretel get a bad case of lice and Bruno has to have his head shaved. This makes him look a lot more like his friend Shmuel and he finds himself thinking that it is as if "they weren't all that different, really."

The story ends with Bruno about to leave Auschwitz and return to his previous home with his mother and sister. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and climb under a loose wire in the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who went missing in the camp. They are unable to find him, and just as it starts to rain and Bruno decides he would like to go home, the people in the area of the camp which the boys are in must go on a "march." Neither boy knows where this march will lead. However, they are crowded into a gas chamber, and the author leaves the story with Bruno pondering, yet unafraid, in the dark.

The book ends with the effects of Bruno's disappearance on his family and his father discovering his clothes outside the fence, realising the implications of this.

Film

A Miramax film adaptation of the novel was shot in Budapest between April and June 2007 starring David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Asa Butterfield, and Jack Scanlon and directed & adapted for film by British filmmaker Mark Herman. The film was released on September 12, 2008 in Ireland and the UK, on September 17, 2008 in China and Japan, on October 3, 2008 in Finland and on November 7, 2008 in USA. [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0914798/releaseinfo The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) - Release dates ] ]

Awards

The novel has won several literary awards including:
* Two Irish Book Awards
* The Bisto Book of the Year Award (Ireland)
* The Qué Leer Award (Spain)

The novel has been shortlisted for many literary awards including:
* In Ireland, shortlisted for 3 Irish Book Awardscite web | url = http://www.johnboyne.com/stripedpyjamas | title = The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2006) | work = John Boyne | accessdate = 2007-02-23 ] : the Novel of the Yearcite web | url = http://www.kennysirishbookshop.ie/categories/bookawards/ | title = Irish Book Awards 2007 | work = Kennys Irish Bookshop | accessdate = 2007-02-23 ] , the People's Choice Book of the Year, and the Children's Book of the Year. It won 2 awards.
* In the UK, shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2007, the British Children's Book of the Year, Ottakar's Children's Book Prizecite news | title = The stuff of nightmares | publisher = Guardian | url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1681323,00.html | first = Kate | last = Kellaway | date = 2006-01-08 | accessdate = 2007-02-23 ] , the Berkshire Book Award, and the Sheffield Children's Book Prize, also longlisted for the 2006 Carnegie Medal..
* In Italy, shortlisted for the Paolo Ungari Literary Award.
* In the USA, shortlisted for the Border's Original Voices Award.
* In 2008, Miramax and BBC Films released a film adaptation shot in Budapest. [cite news | url = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-battsek30mar30,1,2496477.story?ctrack=2&cset=true | title = Miramax's newest star | publisher = Los Angeles Times | first = Claudia | last = Eller | date = 2007-03-30 | accessdate = 2007-05-12 ]

Book cover

There are several covers available:

* striped in a dull blue and white, reminiscent of the striped pyjamas of the title.cite news | title = Walking into darkness | date = 2006-02-05 | url = http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2006/02/05/story11467.asp | first = Fiona | last = Ness | publisher = The Sunday Business Post | accessdate = 2006-08-11 ]
* an old looking cover with a picture of part of a boy in the pyjamas, but the picture only in greyscale
* a picture of part of two boys in the pyjamas, side by side, maybe lining up for inspection.
* a movie tie-in cover with the film's poster as the cover, with the two boys separated by the fence.

Reflecting the author's view that books should be read without foreknowledge of the contents, there is no 'blurb' on the book jacket. [cite web | title = The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Hardcover) | work = Amazon.com | accessdate = 2006-08-11 | url = http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/038560940X/202-3767698-2395034?v=product-description&n=266239 ] In fact, Boyne was angry when a review in "The Guardian" revealed the ending.

Appropriateness for children

When Boyne finished his first draft, he gave it to his agent, saying, "I’ve written this book, it’s very different to anything I’ve done before. I think it may be a children’s book but I think adults might like it too."

Ed Wright of "The Age" noted that the Holocaust subject matter may lead parents to "find [themselves] needing to explain the Holocaust."cite news | title = Book Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | first = Ed | last = Wright | publisher = The Age | date = 2006-01-03 |url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/book-reviews/the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas/2006/01/03/1136050420787.html | accessdate = 2006-07-31 ] However, Kathryn Hughes of "The Guardian" felt that because the book is at a slow enough pace, children can learn all about the events at that time.

References

External links

*
* [http://picasaweb.google.com/strewin/BOYINTHESTRIPEDPYJAMASSETVISIT Pictures from the set of the movie]
* [http://uk.player.playnetworks.net/popup.php?mid=1226&version=2.0&channel_user_id=441100018-1&width=640&height=380&bgcolor=000000 English language trailer for the movie]