Reviews

• 一生心に残る本

  9歳の少年BrunoとShmuelの物語です。恐ろしい時代の波にのみ込まれた、短くも美しいふたりの人生を、あなたは一生忘れることはないでしょう。

• シンプルで短いながらも、ものすごい力を秘めた良作

  よくアマゾンから勧められるこの本が図書館にあったので借りて、予備知識なく読み始める。最初、タイトルからして（しかも児童書？）、ファンタジーものかと思ったらとんでもない！ 語りは9歳の男の子なので、英語は非常にシンプルでわかりやすい。ストーリもシンプル。しかしながら、衝撃的なラストに、ふかーく考えさせられる。映画も観てみたい。これだけシンプルで短いながら、読者を思いっきり揺り動かす力を秘めた作品というのもなかなか無いのではないだろうか？

• 時代背景の基礎知識があると味わい深い

  英米語文化圏では中学生あたりを対象にしていると本だと思われ，難しい単語はほとんど使われていませんが，著者の文体のせいか，米国の大衆小説作家の文章のようにはすらすらと読んでいけませんでした． はじめに“ベルリンからの一家の引越し”や“主人公Brunoの父親が軍人”という話が出てきて，異様な雰囲気にとまどいますが,それから“鉄条網に囲まれた土地”，“父親の上官らしきFuryという名前の人”，“引越し先のOut-withという変な名前の場所”などが出てきて，これは･･･と思わせます．Brunoは1934年生まれの9歳の少年ですので，舞台は1943年のドイツもしくはドイツ占領地域のどこかということになります． 話は窓から見える鉄条網に囲まれた土地の様子などBruno少年の目を通して，たんたんと進んでいきますが，そういう時代背景に関する基礎知識があると，味わい深いものがあります．そして，たまたま知り合ったこの鉄条網内に住んでいる同い年の少年Shmuelとの鉄条網越しの交流がこの小説の中心となり，これはまた最後の2章のための伏線にもなっています． 日本語訳も出版されているのは，この最後の2章が印象的なためであると思いますし,確かにこの2章がないと映画にはならないでしょう．しかし，Bruno少年の目を通して当時の状況をたんたんと語っていくことによって，人間がどういものになりうるのかを浮かび上がらせるというのが，作者のほんとうに書きたかったことかもしれません． なお，ご参考までにFuryはFuehrerの，Out-WithはAuschwitzのpunのように，私には思われます．

• 教科書

  息子の小学校の時の教科書として購入しました。大変良い内容だと思います。

• 原書での読破におすすめー英語で感動できる作品です。

  日本名は『縞模様のパジャマの少年』世界中で５００万部を超える売り上げを記録している児童書。作者はアイルランド出身のJohn Boyne. 第二次世界大戦下、ドイツの将校を父に持つ8歳の男の子Brunoは父親の仕事の関係で大好きなベルリンから引っ越しを余儀なくされる。引っ越し先の周囲には民家もなく、同年代の子供も全くいなかった。ある日、家の裏庭から通じる森への冒険中、同い年のShmuel と出会う、 友達となり心を通わせる彼らだが、二人の前にはいつも電流の流れるフェンス。それが何を意味するのかBrunoにはなかなか理解ができない。 戦争という非常事態を背景にしながら、“人がどうあるべきか、人権とは何か？”を考える大切さを、8歳という子供の視線を使いながら、丁寧に伝えています。 英語を習得中ということであれば、原書へのチャレンジがおすすめ。 200ページの作品中には会話文が多く、比較的早く読み進むことができます。 読破すれば、英語での感動を心から体験できます。英語力向上に役立つのは当然ですが、更にこの感動を通じて ”机上の勉強” から“リアルな英語” への扉が開くかもしれません。

• 児童書であることを踏まえても…

  9歳の少年の目を通し、第二次世界大戦時のドイツで、生粋のドイツ人の少年とユダヤ系ポーランド人との間に生まれた「あってはならない友情」を描いく。映画化されたことも手伝って、本書は、児童書の枠を超え、（ＵＫでは）多くの大人たちにも読まれている話題作だ。 ドイツ軍人である父親が、司令官に昇格したのと同時に、家族と共に偏狭の”アウト・ウィス”へ引越しすることになった9歳のブルーノ。3つ上の姉グレーテルとはそりが合わないし、近所には学校もなければ他の家すらもないので、遊び相手が全くいない。 戦争の現実から隔離されて育ち、幼さを残すブルーノは、ある日、冒険に出ることを決意する。そこは、両親から絶対に近づいてはいけないと言われている場所だった。金網に囲まれ、縞模様のパジャマを昼夜を問わず着ている人々が暮らす場所。そこで、ブルーノは、同い年の少年シュムエルに出会う。二人の少年の友情の先にある運命は…。”アウト・ウィス”の正体は…。 対象年齢は、小学校の中・高学年といったレベルの英語で、英語が苦手な人でも簡単に読めると思われる。目線が子どもであることも手伝って、物語は詳細を紡ぐことがなく、かなり読み手の想像力に任されているといっても良い。そのため、読後の満足度を問われると、太鼓判を押した推薦は出来ない。いうなれば、国語の教科書用に大幅な編集が行われ、内容がスカスカになってしまった名作を思わせるからだ。言語を問わず、この時代を描いた作品を読みなれている人は、物足りなさを感じるのではなかろうか。 万人に進められる本ではないが、着眼点がとてもよい。この時代の歴史の重さに耐えられるほどに心が成長した児童が、初めて手にするナチス時代の本としてならば、とてもいい本だといえる。

• 嘘らしい⁉

  英語版を勉強のために購入しました。あり得ない内容らしいと買ってから知りました。映画化されたのを機に購入したのですが、何だかガッカリ。途中で読むのをやめました。

• 読まなきゃよかった

  英語は簡単で読みやすいが、簡単すぎたかもしれない。大した内容もないのによくこれだけページ数かけたなっていう感じ。9歳ってもっと世間のこと知ってるんじゃないの？フェンスってそんなにやすやすと近づけたりしないっしょ？色々と非現実的すぎてシラケて、読むのやめようかと思ったけど意地になって読み切った。読まなくても良かったかもしれない。レビュー1の方のレビュー内容は本編よりも読みごたえがある。

• Gripande!

• Ottimo per chi ha bisogno di consolidare la conoscenza della lingua inglese. Non troppo facile, né troppo difficile.

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is a well-written piece of literature, in which we follow Bruno, a nine-year-old boy, while he goes through circumstances that will transform his life. The book starts out in the city of Berlin, Germany, where Bruno is quite content with what his life consists of. He has a big house with five floors (if you count the basement and the little room at the top with the window), as well as three best friends for life. He comes home one day and discovers that the maid is packing all of his possessions into four large crates, then later finds out from his mother that they are moving. When he arrives at the new house he utterly loathes it. The new house only has three floors, is miles from any other dwellings, and there’s a strange tall fence behind it. Bruno meets a boy on the other side of the barricade and befriends him, but a perfect friendship doesn’t always promise a perfect ending. Written from a child’s point of view, innocence is a major theme of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Bruno doesn’t know the difference between good and evil, and can’t seem to figure out the difference between himself and the boy on the other side of the fence. Bruno’s friendship with this boy demonstrates an extreme lack of knowledge. The people on the other side of the fence were Jews, and he was German. During that time there was extreme prejudice held against the Jews. They were considered less than human, and no German that wanted any respect would have anything to do with them. Innocence and prejudice go hand in hand, a lack of innocence can lead one to prejudice, but if one has innocence, there can be no prejudice. Innocence can keep you from harm, but in Bruno’s case, it led him straight into it. John Boyne’s writing captures the very essence of equality. None of the adults realize that Jews are no different than they are, and yet Bruno can see past the mask of prejudice and recognizes that he is indeed the same as the boy on the other side of the fence. Boyne writes the way a child would think, for example: “[Bruno’s] mouth made the shape of an O (pg 6).” The average adult would not think this way. Boyne also supplants words like “Führer” with “Fury”. Because Boyne is writing from a child’s point of view, his writing corresponds with the mentality of a child. Boyne’s sentences are exceedingly lengthy and sometimes slightly confusing, which can make reading aloud quite difficult, rereading certain passages may be necessary. Silent reading will essentially eliminate this problem, and will keep the message unhindered. Reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a great experience, and it will definitely be worth your while. John Boyne’s book reveals the major injustices of the Holocaust, while creating a bond between us and the characters. Overall The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fantastic novel that everyone should take the time to read.

• It is quite possible that more has been written about The Holocaust than any other historical event in history. Not just in regard to hard research, but many of the world's finest novelists have fictionalized the story, film makers have touched upon the subject, playwrights, composers, painters and poets. If there has been a way to express the shock- and shock is an understatement in this case- it has been attempted. John Boyne, a gifted and now internationally known Irish author, wrote the book "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas" in about two weeks time. As he said, in order to maintain "the voice," once he began he was afraid to stop. The same is true when reading it- we are compelled to continue and it is evident from early in the book that Boyne has disguised the terminal words so that it can apply to any and all of the other holocausts' that occurred prior to and after this one. In fact, only once does Boyne choose to use a "telling" word; on page 54 one of the officers says, "Heil Hitler" but then we are told that the boy assumed that this was like saying, "Well, goodbye for now and have a pleasant afternoon." The boy, his name Bruno; his age nine, misunderstands the key words and Auschwitz is written as "Out-With" every single time. The negative pun- the only way I could describe this- suggests the old work rhythm, "In with the good; out with the bad." Then the boy mishears the Furher as The Fury" and this negative pun needs no description at all. We have a moment when Bruno meets "The Fury" as well as "her" when they come for dinner and Bruno is appalled at how small The Fury is, but how kind the beautiful blonde woman with him is (her name is simply Eva). The innocence and ignorance of this young boy is as critical to the brilliance of this work as the story of the Titanic. (I speak not just of Cameron's film, but Maury Yeston's musical, "a Night to Remember" and the three other films made between 1938 and 1984) Boyne uses the literary tool that his audience not only knows so much more than Bruno, but that we are anticipating the sadness that ends the novel. So we are prepared to cry but when the end does come, Boyne shocks us in such a way that instead of tears, our mouths are opened in the O shape that he uses to describe several characters through the book. This book is by no means a "Sophie's Choice" though the horror is just as shocking, but few writers in history have been able to achieve what William Styron did. Still Styron's novel and Boyne's novel use a similar foundation but their books are about very different things. Where the ending is horrifyingly shocking and, like Styron's "Sophie's Choice," completely unexpected (who in fact could have imagined an ending such as this one) the poignancy of "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" makes it impossible for this book- and the fame it will bring Mr. Boyne, you heard it here first- to become satirized in any way. Because the innocence and ignorance, as a result of the way his parents have shielded Bruno, is a metaphor for the way in which the population who was aware of the death camps were inactive; complacent and how the same continues to occur day after day from the beginning of recorded time to the continued genocide in Darfur- the world's largest death camp- to which the UN has placed sanctions against while The full force of the American military tore apart Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The current political winds in the United States suggest that Gay Americans and Female Americans are just as vulnerable. All of these circumstances suggest that you could very well be next. John Boyne manages to suggest all of this is his two hundred page fable using a modicum of brilliantly chosen words. John Boyle has sub-titled his book, A Fable" and it is. His final words are like a double edged sword: "And that's the end of the story of Bruno and his family. Of course all of this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age." The irony of this ending reminds us that this is a fable, but more so, it makes us stop and think of the responsibility that we all owe to anyone who has been maltreated, either in the form of Bruno, Anne Frank, Sophie Zawotoski or Carol Stewart, Amy Fitzpatrick, Dave Pelzer and the millions of others. This novel is worthy of a prize. It's not a children's book, though my children should read it. It's not an adult book, but all adults should read it. This would rule out the Newbury or Caldecott. In regard to its literary merit, the American version needs some editorial work (only once did the editors miss a pajamas and leave pyjamas) but the writing is pristine and brilliant and worthy of The Pulitzer. As far as The Nobel Prize for Literature, it is worthy there too. But mostly it's is worthy of you. And, like "Sophie's Choice" I am told that a motion picture is in the making. Depending on whose hands it falls into this could be a miracle. The innocent eyes through which Bruno's story unfolds are critical and these innocent eyes are just as important as Sophie's guilty and lying soul. If Benton could do it, perhaps "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas" will as well. But there are a lot of "Maybes" involved with the hopes of John Boyne, this critic and every other artist who has attempted to move us. As far as I can see, Boyne has done his part. This book, like Elie Weisel's "Night" needs to be published in as many languages as possible and marketed toward as many customers as possible. No one should keep this book from the hands of a nine year old nor should anyone consider it a book too young for adults. In short, this is a remarkable book in every way and perhaps, after more times has passed for thinking and another read through or so, l may well see that there is no other possible way for this story to have ended. Not in this day and age.

• Parfait pour un niveau intermédiaire en anglais

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