Happy Endings are a comforting thing to believe in. It’s something which gives you assurance that someday, maybe you too will achieve your happily ever after, and ride away on a horse.
But, reality is a bit different…

A book that taught me that I can’t keep on believing that everything will turn out the way I want it, was “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, an all time favourite written by best selling author John Boyne.

This book is set in 1900’s, when the Germans were causing turmoil in the world. A young nine year old boy, whose father works in the army of Adolf Hitler, move far away from their bustling city, to a barren patch of land with a house, and a fence in the distance.

Absolutely devastated at his shift, while staring out of his window, our protagonist, Bruno, notices the fence. He sees the hundreds of thousands of people, different ages, different shapes, different features, but in the same kind of clothing. The same striped pyjamas.

His curiosity aroused, Bruno sets off on an adventure, with an aim to discover what lies behind that fence. One afternoon, while everyone is busy. Bruno slips out. He walks towards the fence, a bar of chocolate in his pocket. As he progresses, he sees a figure in the distance, which turns out to be a boy.

Bruno strikes up a conversation with the boy, and comes to know that all the people on the other side of the fence were Jews, and the German army hated them. The boy, Shmuel, also tells him that his father was missing since a long time, and that the entire camp was looking for him.

Bruno also found out, that Shmuel and he share the same birthday. Captivated by Shmuel, and the life on the other side of the fence, Bruno starts making regular visits to Shmuel, his pockets almost always filled with food for him, which he slides to Shmuel from a gap in the fence.

After many of these conversations, Shmuel convinces Bruno that he should help him find his father. They elaborately plan it out, debating about how Shmuel would get clothes for Bruno to disguise himself in, for how long they would search for Shmuel’s father, and how Bruno would then change into his regular clothes, and head back home.

The day of the plan turns out to be an unexpected rainy day, but the two boys still decide to go o with their plan. Bruno changes into his pair of borrowed pajamas, and keeps his clothes neatly in a pile in front of the fence.

They go to the other side, Shmuel’s side. After looking for over an hour, and still not getting any evidence, Bruno decides to head home. Just as he starts to head towards the fence, the soldiers arrange a big group of men and make them march towards a large compartment, or rather, a room. As the door closes, Bruno grabs hold of Shmuel’s hand, the intention of never letting it go..

And he did’nt. For that room, it turned out to be a gas chamber.

This is a truly beautiful book. Being portrayed through the eyes of an innocent nine year old, it captures the theme brilliantly. As Bruno portrays the world in a rosy view, he is gradually introduced to the ways of the world. The camp, the world on the other side of the fence he pictured to be a world full of joy, turns out to be a ship of sadness, its people with pale faces and sunken eyes with empty looks in them.

In addition to portraying the innocence of a child, this book also depicts hoe difficult the life of Jews was, during the Nazi rule.

Truly brilliant…