The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
  • Published: 30 August 2022
  • ISBN: 9780552773805
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $26.00

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Formats & editions
Paperback
30 Aug 2022
Paperback
3 Nov 2014
Paperback
1 Aug 2012
Paperback
2 Feb 2009
EBook
1 Jun 2010
Audiobook
6 Oct 2016
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The million-copy global bestseller that captured readers across the globe.

'A small wonder of a book . . . A particular historical moment, one that cannot be told too often' Guardian
What happens when innocence is confronted by monstrous evil?

Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country.All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas.

Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation.And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process.

'The Holocaust as a subject insists on respect, precludes criticism, prefers silence. One thing is clear: this book will not go gently into any good night'
OBSERVER

'An extraordinary tale of friendship and the horrors of war...Raw literary talent at its best'
IRISH INDEPENDENT

'A book that lingers in the mind for quite some time...A subtle, calculatedly simple and ultimately moving story'
IRISH TIMES

'Simply written and highly memorable.There are no monstrosities on the page but the true horror is all the more potent for being implicit'
IRELAND ON SUNDAY

'Stays ahead of its readers before delivering its killer-punch final pages'
INDEPENDENT
  • Published: 30 August 2022
  • ISBN: 9780552773805
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $26.00
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About the author

John Boyne

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, six for younger readers and a collection of short stories. Perhaps best known for his 2006 multi-award-winning book The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John’s other novels, notably The Absolutist and A History of Loneliness, have been widely praised and are international bestsellers. Most recently, The Heart's Invisible Furies was a Richard & Judy Bookclub word-of-mouth bestseller, and A Ladder to the Sky was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week.

His novels are published in over fifty languages.

portrait photo of John Boyne

Also by John Boyne

Water
Earth
All The Broken Places
Noah Barleywater Runs Away
This House is Haunted
The Heart's Invisible Furies
The Echo Chamber
See all

Praise for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

A small wonder of a book . . . A particular historical moment, one that cannot be told too often

Guardian

The Holocaust as a subject insists on respect, precludes criticism, prefers silence. One thing is clear: this book will not go gently into any good night

Observer

An extraordinary tale of friendship and the horrors of war . . . Raw literary talent at its best

Irish Independent

A book that lingers in the mind for quite some time . . . A subtle, calculatedly simple and ultimately moving story

The Irish Times

Simply written and highly memorable. There are no monstrosities on the page but the true horror is all the more potent for being implicit

Ireland on Sunday

Stays ahead of its readers before delivering its killer-punch final pages

Independent

Full of shocking juxtapositions and leads to a horrifying denouement . . . this is a deeply affecting novel

The Sunday Times

An extraordinary story of friendship

Daily Express

A very human and profoundly moving introduction to one of the darkest moments in history

The Good Book Guide

Thought-provoking and moving, Boyne's book is one that lingers in the mind long after its last page

Lincoln Target

An extraordinary story of friendship

Daily Express

I couldn't put it down. Through the eyes of a child it was innocent and oh, so chilling. I was hooked to the last page

Dalla Galton, Woman's Weekly

This novel is a fine addition to a once taboo area of history, at least where children's literature is concerned. It provides an account of a dreadful episode short on actual horror but packed with overtones that remain in the imagination

Nicholas Tucker, Independent