The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Published by Random House

This a story about a nine-year-old German boy Bruno, whose father is given a new important job which means they have to move away from everything he has known.   Their new home is in a place he calls ‘Out-with’; theirs is the only house, but behind the huge fence are hundreds – maybe thousands – of people who wear stripped pyjamas.

Bruno wrestles to make sense of what is going on around him.   We have the benefit of hindsight, and so can guess from the title what is happening, but he himself does not understand.   Then Bruno goes exploring.   He sees a dot that becomes a speck that becomes a blob that becomes a figure that becomes a boy. ..

Written in a simple, childlike style, this book is much more than a children’s story.   The reader will dread Bruno being slowly robbed of his innocence as the truth begins to dawn, but maybe what is worse is whether he will ever discover the truth at all..

Completely compelling.