The incredible story of The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas

Bruno and Shmuel (Image from the film)
Image: Pinterest

Despite the background being the most sad, as it happens in the 2nd World War in the period called by the Holocaust, John Boyne, the book `s author, tell us a story in a simple and beautiful way, that was what won me over, after all. 

Once again, there are two sides, the book and the movie. The book was so well written that you cannot - and do not want - escape to feel an huge affection for Bruno, and later by Shmuel and the friendship which they build. They come from different social classes, but that`s not a problem for them. What I would like to highlight, in this story, is how their friendship is portrayed, free of intolerance and prejudice; simply by showing the value of the human being and true friends. And the book is the clear representation of that. 

I noticed that it was one of the books easier to visualize the story and all the character actions, that i've ever read. All of the aspects, announced in the book,  were quite clear in my mind, with exacting detail, which is not very common when I, for example, read a book. It is the carried by the emotions and sensibility, the most important element in my opinion  - at least, when the book has this delicacy, I feel more connected to the events, and that is, for me, very crucial.

To see a movie after reading the book, there is always a small shock and that comparison between what you have imagined and what you're watching. I was, at least, noting mentally the similarities, things of which I miss… And in "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" I missed a couple of things. I did not find the movie bad, but it did not approach me, in relation to the story, like the book did. The film version does not leave so clear the importance of Bruno´s grandmother, among other details, like the lice`s scab and the importance of shaving the head, characters profile unexploited, for example, Gretel, Bruno sister`s, which looks like so unbiased and irrelevant in the film, comparatively to the literary work. 

I must confess that i have created so many expectations about the book, which the movie ended up disappointing me, more than I expected. However, i strongly recommend the book`s reading and, if you want, watch the movie too, because, in both, the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel is so well-built, which transforms the all story in a true lesson for our days society, despite all the differences and prejudices that could exist between them. 

Video: Youtube

David Magalhães.