The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 historical fiction novel by Irish novelist John Boyne.[1] The plot concerns a German boy named Bruno whose father is the commandant of Auschwitz and Bruno's friendship with a Jewish detainee named Shmuel.
Boyne wrote the entire first draft in two and a half days, without sleeping much; but also said that he was quite a serious student of Holocaust-related literature for years before the idea for the novel even came to him.[1][2]
The book has received a divided response from critics, with positive reviews praising the story as an effective morality tale. Holocaust scholars, historians and memorial organizations have criticised the book for its historical inaccuracies, which have been deemed potentially damaging to Holocaust education efforts.[3][4][5][6][7]
In both 2007 and 2008, it was the best-selling book of the year in Spain,[8] and it reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.[9] The book was adapted into a homonymous film in 2008, a ballet in 2017 and an opera entitled A Child in Striped Pyjamas in 2023.[10][11][12][13][14] A sequel, All the Broken Places, was published in 2022.[15]
