The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a 2006 novel from the point of view of a naive young boy, written by Irish novelist John Boyne. Unlike the months of planning Boyne devoted to his other books, he said that he wrote the entire first draft of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in two and a half days, barely sleeping until he got to the end. [1] To date, the novel has sold more than 5 million copies around the world, and was published as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in the United States. In both 2007 and 2008 it was the best selling book of the year in Spain. It has also reached number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, as well as in the UK, Ireland, Australia and many other countries.
Characters
Bruno Hoess: Bruno is the nine-year-old son of a Nazi Commandant. He was born on April 15th, 1934 in Berlin, Germany and has a sister named Gretel. Bruno has brown hair and is constantly made fun of because he is short for his age. He loves exploring and wants to be an explorer when he grows up. Bruno is very upset when his family moves to a place called “Out-With” because he has no friends there. He goes exploring along the fence outside his new house and finds a boy named Shmuel. The two soon become friends.
Gretel Hoess: Gretel is a twelve-year-old girl who loves to play with dolls and rearrange them on her shelf. Gretel is very rude, sarcastic and bossy, especially to her brother Bruno. She tries to act more mature than she actually is which annoys her brother very much. He thinks she is a “hopeless case.” Gretel always follows the rules and believes almost everything anyone tells her. She doesn't have any friends at Out-With so she spends her time talking with Lieutenant Kotler .
Shmuel: Shmuel is a nine-year-old Jewish boy who was captured by the Germans. He is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Shmuel was sent to a concentration camp called “Out-With.” He is a quiet, frail, and very lonely person who spends most of his time