An account of a dreadful episode, short on actual horror but packed with overtones that remain in the imagination. Plainly and sometimes archly written, it stays just ahead of its readers before delivering its killer punch in the final pages Independent
An international bestseller and a truly unforgettable and life-changing story.

The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the cover, but in this case we think that 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. And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence.

We hope you never have to cross such a fence.

Der neunjährige Bruno weiß nichts von der Endlösung oder dem Holocaust. Er ist unberührt von den entsetzlichen Grausamkeiten, die sein Land dem europäischen Volk zufügt. Er weiß nur, dass man ihn von seinem gemütlichen Zuhause in Berlin in ein Haus verpflanzt hat, das in einer öden Gegend liegt, in der er nichts unternehmen kann und keiner mit ihm spielt. Bis er Schmuel kennenlernt, einen Jungen, der ein seltsam ähnliches Dasein auf der anderen Seite des angrenzenden Drahtzauns fristet und der, wie alle Menschen dort, einen gestreiften Pyjama trägt. Durch die Freundschaft mit Schmuel werden Bruno, dem unschuldigen Jungen, mit der Zeit die Augen geöffnet. Und während er erforscht, wovon er unwissentlich ein Teil ist, gerät er unvermeidlich in die Fänge des schrecklichen Geschehens.

John Boyne is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet, and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart's Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes. His novels are published in sixty languages.


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