Mother and I escaped Germany in early 1946, only a few months after the war ended, travelling by train from what was left of Berlin to what was left of Paris. Fifteen years old and knowing little of life, I was still coming to terms with the fact that the Axis had been defeated. Father had spoken with such confidence of the genetic superiority of our race and of the Führer’s incomparable skills as a military strategist that victory had always seemed assured. And yet, somehow, we had lost.”

as a ‘story’ ….. contemplating the experience of overwhelming guilt, complicity, grief, moral responsibility….and a private atonement….which a child carries into adulthood… ‘being-at-cause’ for the evils done by others is a thought-provoking controversy. Boyne introduces us to Gretel at ninety-one, living in a very comfortable flat in Mayfair, London, which her son, Caden, is anxious to sell (to tap into his inheritance) and move his mother into a nice retirement village. Gretel loves her home. It’s very much a story about grief and guilt. About trauma, and attempting to escape the past. About running, but never being able to hide. But it's also a compassionate book, and Gretel is a deeply flawed but likeable character and we can see how she has been shaped by events. Gretel is a wonderfully complex character, and John Boyne does an incredible job of challenging us to like or dislike Gretel. She is a woman who can show incredible generosity yet show dislikeable traits. Gretel rises to action driven by concern yet can deliver harsh reactions. The remarkable aspect of Gretel’s story is deciding how culpable she was at fifteen to the inhumane compassionless environment of Auschwitz and the gnawing guilt that has been her constant companion for eighty years. “If every man is guilty of all the good he did not do, as Voltaire suggested, then I have spent a lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.” If she was innocent, why was she living under an assumed name? Why had she kept her past hidden from everyone, including her son?

READERS GUIDE

MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window) This is a very different story, one that definitely feels pitched toward an older audience – no real surprise given Gretel’s advanced years, but the tone is definitely more grown up, more earthy. It’s a convoluted but easy to follow tale full of echoes from the past and yet with plenty of intrigue wrapped up in the present day element too. Boyne is a brilliant storyteller and here he manages to spin a yarn that grabbed me on an emotional level whilst also teasing me predict what might be an acceptable outcome to a challenging current conundrum. Among my most popular books are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky and My Brother’s Name is Jessica. Writing about the Holocaust is a fraught business and any novelist approaching it takes on an enormous burden of responsibility,” Boyne writes in his author’s note. “Not the burden of education, which is the task of non-fiction, but the burden of exploring emotional truths and authentic human experiences while remembering that the story of every person who died in the Holocaust is one that is worth telling.” Mia Levitin

Boyne’s style continues to be hypnotic and sharp. He delivers a Holocaust story with brutal precision and bold prose. But memories start to stir within Gretel when a new family moves into the flat directly below her. The nine year old boy, Henry, reminds her of the loss of her brother when he was that very same age so long ago. And as the mind plays its game of dominoes, one memory parlays upon another and dead timber rises to the surface. John Boyne does a great job in not connecting the dots. He lets readers contemplate their own conclusions: I respect him for it…..

At the behest of his publisher, Boyne has included an author’s note with “All The Broken Places” alluding to criticisms of “Striped Pajamas.” “Writing about the Holocaust is a fraught business and any novelist approaching it takes on an enormous burden of responsibility,” he tells the reader. “The story of every person who died in the Holocaust is one that is worth telling. I believe that Gretel’s story is also worth telling.” Ultimately, the book motivated me to write an opera about the Shoah and integrate Holocaust education into my music,” Max said. “Any book capable of that is worthy of attention.”