The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne

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.

This is another title that was listed in Amazon’s top 100 books to read in a lifetime. I had already seen the film, which I found heartbreaking, so decided to go ahead and purchase the book.

The story follows Bruno, a young German boy who has been made to move from his big house in Berlin to a house on the outskirts of the Auschwitz camp (although it is only ever referred to as “Out-With”) His father has been made Commandant in the German army and is in charge of the concentration camp. After exploring, Bruno meets a young Jewish boy from the other side of the fence named Shmuel and they strike up a friendship.

The novel is told from the perspective of a very naive 9-year-old which can cause you to question the choice of this character’s personality slightly (a 9-year-old born at this time would certainly know all about Hitler, Jews and Auschwitz, however, Bruno doesn’t seem to have a clue!)

The book is targeted to a much younger audience, which might explain why Boyne has chosen to write in such a simple way. However, it is still effective and moving with the narration drawing you into the story, so could be enjoyed by adults too.

If you do plan to read this to children, it might be worth reading it first and checking whether you agree with who the target audience is, some scenes are dark and might not be acceptable for young children.

The ending is very raw and horrific which, if you haven’t seen the film, will definitely shock you and stay with you for a long time after. The book is a fast read, written as a ‘fable’ in order to talk about the Holocaust with children, so an adult can certainly read it in one sitting.

The book is an emotional read and it’s brilliant that Boyde came up with the idea of writing from the perspective of a child. It’s definitely one that you will never forget, however, I’m not sure whether I would necessarily recommend. It’s not the best book that I’ve read this year, but it’s definitely no where near the worse. I have mixed feelings where I was drawn in so much that I couldn’t put the book down, however, it can get quite annoying how naive the main character is.

 

 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson

 

 

‘We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like, “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive …”’

Hunter S. Thompson is roaring down the desert highway to Las Vegas with his attorney, the Samoan, to find the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, the duo engage in a surreal succession of chemically enhanced confrontations with casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans.

This book was listed in Amazon’s Top 100 books to read in a lifetime, so I decided to buy. I’m sorry to say that I had never heard of Hunter S Thompson before, but a little research told me that he was a well known and much loved journalist with Johnny Depp even playing him, not once, but twice in two movies.

It was a well known fact that Thompson loved drugs, and would use them while being sent of on journalist errands to get stories. This book definitely shows this.

The whole story is a reworking of real drug-fuelled road trips taken by Thompson and his friend. You follow their adventure to Las Vegas while they are high on drugs and driving dangerously. It’s fast paced and hilarious!!! There were many times where I laughed out loud at the descriptions.

The book is absolutely bonkers as you follow the characters while they cause chaos across Las Vegas. The writing is superb, considering Thompson happened to be off his face on drugs at the time of writing and as the book is rather short, it can easily be enjoyed and devoured in one sitting!

All in all, a fantastic, humorous read and I would definitely recommend.

 

 

 

When The Music’s Over – Peter Robinson

 

 

Two young girls.

Two unspeakable crimes.

Fifty years separate them – their pain connects them.

When the body of a 15-year-old is found in a remote countryside lane, beaten and broken, DI Annie Cabbot is brought in to investigate how the child could possibly have fallen victim to such brutality.

Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is faced with a case that is as cold as they come. Now in her 60s, Linda Palmer was attacked aged 14 by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet the crime has never been investigated – until now.

As each steps closer to uncovering the truth, they’ll unearth secrets much darker than they ever could have guessed . . .

I picked this book up while doing my weekly food shop, it was very much an impulse buy and as I’m a big fan of Peter Robinson’s books, I thought I would give this a try.

When The Music’s Over is the 23rd DCI Banks novel, it contains two parts that relate to current events, the first is historical sexual abuse by celebrities and the second is the grooming of girls by Asian men. Both story lines are being investigated separately and are not intertwined at all. You follow both until they reach their individual conclusions.

The pace is much slower than your average thriller, however, this is done purposely to show the pace of actual detective work. If you can get to the final third of the book, when both cases are reaching the end, then you won’t be disappointed!  The only negative I can think of for this novel is that a lot of dialogue is used to explain what happened and sometimes it feels like it causes the story to drag.

It has taken me over a week to read this novel, but I think this is more due to the fact I have been rather busy job hunting and socialising and not had enough time to sit down and get into the book.

Even though it has taken a while to get through the book, I still think that this is another fantastic title from Peter Robinson, and there is no doubt that Robinson, with his Detective Superintendent Alan Banks, writes superb novels!

Book Haul!

I recently came across Amazon’s ‘100 Books To Read In A Lifetime’ list, and decided that I wanted to read the majority of the books. Below are the titles that is due in this week, then once I have read and reviewed these, I will either order the next batch of titles or hopefully head to the library for them!

Trainspotting – Irvine Welsh 

I absolutely love the film, the first is one of my favourite all time films and I equally loved the second film that was released not long ago. I never did get round to reading the book by Irvine Welsh but I wasn’t surprised to see it in the top 100. I’m looking forward to reading this book first!

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne

This is actually a Young Adult title, so I reckon this is a title that I will be able to get through rather quickly yet still enjoy. It has been listed as a top seller and the film received superb reviews. I actually watched the film myself and was very moved by the story line so I anticipate that this is going to be a tear-jerker read.

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

The title explains itself with this one. It is something that I have always been interested in and I look forward to reading.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S Thompson

I hadn’t actually heard of this book, nor of Hunter S Thompson, however, after reading the blurb and researching who Hunter S Thompson was, I felt intrigued enough to purchase the book and at only £2.81 it was a bargain!

Atonement – Ian McEwan 

Another book with fantastic reviews and the blurb definitely was intriguing, again I look forward to reading this one.

I’m currently reading the fantastic ‘When The Music’s Over’ by Peter Robinson. Once I have finished and wrote up my review, I will be making a start at going through the above bundle.

What has everyone else been purchasing/ reading recently? 🙂