Historical fiction book · Curated
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne · historical fiction
Nine-year-old Bruno is moved from Berlin to a lonely house beside a fence his sister calls Out-With; from his window he sees people in striped pajamas, and he makes a secret friend named Shmuel on the other side. John Boyne’s 2006 novel is WWII Holocaust historical fiction told as a child’s fable: a friendship through the wire at Auschwitz, and a title readers still search by name.
Why read it: A perennial title-search WWII historical novel—the Boyne classroom staple (and 2008 film) readers look up by title, and a child’s-eye counterpart to The Book Thief already on the shelf.
About this historical novel
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is historical fiction set around 1942–1943 in the World War II era period with key settings including Berlin, Auschwitz, Nazi Germany, occupied Poland. Nine-year-old Bruno is moved from Berlin to a lonely house beside a fence his sister calls Out-With; from his window he sees people in striped pajamas, and he makes a secret friend named Shmuel on the other side. John Boyne’s 2006 novel is WWII Holocaust historical fiction told as a child’s fable: a friendship through the wire at Auschwitz, and a title readers still search by name.
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction and 5. Military & war so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include Holocaust, childhood, friendship, innocence, and war. A perennial title-search WWII historical novel—the Boyne classroom staple (and 2008 film) readers look up by title, and a child’s-eye counterpart to The Book Thief already on the shelf.
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Plot summary
Nine-year-old Bruno is moved from Berlin to a lonely house beside a fence his sister calls Out-With; from his window he sees people in striped pajamas, and he makes a secret friend named Shmuel on the other side. John Boyne’s 2006 novel is WWII Holocaust historical fiction told as a child’s fable: a friendship through the wire at Auschwitz, and a title readers still search by name. A perennial title-search WWII historical novel—the Boyne classroom staple (and 2008 film) readers look up by title, and a child’s-eye counterpart to The Book Thief already on the shelf.
Subgenres
Eras
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More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
A girl steals books in Nazi Germany; Death narrates a story of words and survival.
- Tightrope · Simon Mawer
A female SOE agent’s wartime courage and Cold War aftershocks (Walter Scott Prize 2016).
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
Death narrates the story of a girl who steals books in Nazi Germany—and the family that hides a Jewish man.
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz · Heather Morris
Based on a true story: a Slovakian Jew forced to tattoo prisoners at Auschwitz falls in love against impossible odds.
- Schindler's List · Thomas Keneally
In German-occupied Kraków, womanizing industrialist Oskar Schindler runs an enamelworks on Jewish labor—then, as the ghetto is liquidated and Płaszów’s commandant turns murder into sport, he spends fortune and SS credit to keep twelve hundred names on a list that means life. Thomas Keneally’s Booker-winning novel is WWII biographical historical fiction of a war profiteer who gambled everything to pull workers out of the path of the camps.
- Atonement · Ian McEwan
In the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis misreads a moment between her sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, the housekeeper’s son, and a false accusation follows them into World War II—Dunkirk, a London hospital, and a guilt Briony will spend a lifetime trying to rewrite. Ian McEwan’s novel is literary historical fiction of class, war, and the stories we tell to atone.
Regions & places
Europe
Berlin · Auschwitz · Nazi Germany · occupied Poland
Themes
- Holocaust
- childhood
- friendship
- innocence
- war
Tags
YA-crossover · war · literary · juvenile