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A review by spow
All the Broken Places by John Boyne
5.0
Leave it to the author to perfectly summarize what this book is about--“…I would say that it is a novel about guilt, complicity, and grief, a book that sets out to examine how culpable a young person might be, given the historical events unfolding around her, and whether such a person can ever cleanse themselves of the crimes committed by the people she loved.”
John Boyne does a brilliant job writing about such a difficult topic, and from a point of view that some might think controversial. As we learn more about Gretel’s history, the reader is repeatedly left asking how much responsibility children bear for their parent’s actions. Does silence at a young age equal complicity? Does loving someone who did horrible things mean that you agree with that they did? The internal conflict that Gretel feels as she battles through these thoughts comes through loud and clear. There were many times that I really sympathized with her and the pain she went through, and wasn’t sure if that was ok. How confusing it must have been for these children to figure out these answers if as a reader I didn’t know what was right or wrong?
I loved present day Gretel and how the issues she encounters with the Darcy-Witt family mirror her situation at the concentration camp without being too obvious. Being placed in another situation where something has one appearance from afar but is very different up close, she is faced with so many of the same questions she had in her youth, and has a chance to redeem herself from any guilt she may still have. I won’t lie, for awhile there I thought I might be disappointed with the ending, but while a bit shocking, I felt satisfied with the story when I was done.
I did not read “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and don’t think it’s necessary to enjoy this novel and the beautiful writing style contained within it. While definitely dealing with heavier topics, this is a book I would highly recommend everyone give a chance to.
John Boyne does a brilliant job writing about such a difficult topic, and from a point of view that some might think controversial. As we learn more about Gretel’s history, the reader is repeatedly left asking how much responsibility children bear for their parent’s actions. Does silence at a young age equal complicity? Does loving someone who did horrible things mean that you agree with that they did? The internal conflict that Gretel feels as she battles through these thoughts comes through loud and clear. There were many times that I really sympathized with her and the pain she went through, and wasn’t sure if that was ok. How confusing it must have been for these children to figure out these answers if as a reader I didn’t know what was right or wrong?
I loved present day Gretel and how the issues she encounters with the Darcy-Witt family mirror her situation at the concentration camp without being too obvious. Being placed in another situation where something has one appearance from afar but is very different up close, she is faced with so many of the same questions she had in her youth, and has a chance to redeem herself from any guilt she may still have. I won’t lie, for awhile there I thought I might be disappointed with the ending, but while a bit shocking, I felt satisfied with the story when I was done.
I did not read “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and don’t think it’s necessary to enjoy this novel and the beautiful writing style contained within it. While definitely dealing with heavier topics, this is a book I would highly recommend everyone give a chance to.